The majority of British gardeners may never have heard of Lynden B Miller but the city of New York and its inhabitants owe a lot to this artist turned designer. When a friend on the New York public parks committee asked her to restore the neglected Conservatory Garden in Central Park it was the beginning of a new career in the restoration and creation of public spaces. Not only was she asked to restore the planting but also raise the money and encourage people to make use of the space; all of which Lynden achieved with phenomenal success.
Located at the northern end of Central Park, the Conservatory Garden was known to be a dangerous place, favoured by drug dealers and general low-lives. However Lynden worked to the principle that if parks are attractive places to be, people will want to use them and the more people that use a park the safer it will become. Indeed this was proved to be the case and the Garden quickly became a bustling, family oriented space with not a drug-dealer in sight! Not only that, the local area began to regenerate with new business moving in and local residents taking an interest and pride in their surroundings.
In this publication Lynden looks at some of the projects she has worked on in New York and through these gives the reader an insight into how the spaces were conceived, transformed and affected the surrounding areas. There is also much practical advice including types of plants to use, soil improvement, examples of good signage and the provision of seating and rubbish bins! Any designer asked to create a public space would be advised to read this book before putting pencil to paper.
It might be a good idea to make this compulsory reading for all mayors, county, town and local councillors and anyone else who might have a say in our towns and cities. I doubt all of society’s problems can be solved by creating public gardens but the success of New York and garden cities such as Chicago should be an inspiration. Having been to both I know how wonderful it is to walk down city streets and come across small oases in the middle of a concrete jungle. Chicago especially has the most wonderful street planting that lifts the spirits and I would highly recommend a visit for any gardening enthusiast. All should note that properties in areas surrounding these parks often experienced a substantial increase in value, sometimes as soon as a park restoration was announced!
Some of Lynden’s advice on subjects such as fund raising and recruiting volunteers are specific to the USA where volunteering is commonplace and wealthy American families often donate large sums of money to worthy causes. However, the general principles could perhaps be tweaked to suit our way of working or perhaps we need to change our mindset and be more open to new ideas. Interestly, most of the recommended plants for use in public spaces would also do well in our climate so the plant lists are a handy resource.
