Introduction to the Gardens
As the first step in revitalizing the neglected landscape of the park, the Conservancy recruited world renowned Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf to develop a horticultural master plan for the Battery.
The 10,000 square feet of the Gardens of Remembrance are the first phase of Oudolf’s horticultural master plan. The plan combines 114 varieties of hybrid perennials and native plants, offering stunning beauty through all four seasons, while contributing to the sustainability of the park’s landscape and greatly increasing the efficiency of the Conservancy’s maintenance operations.
The yearly installation of new plant material has been replaced by the nurturing of plants that return stronger with each succeeding year. These plants, with their yearly renewal, echo the resilience of The Battery and of all New Yorkers.
Completed in 2005, the 4–acre Battery Bosque features 60,000 square feet of new perennial gardens. These gardens compliment Oudolf’s work in the Gardens of Remembrance with a graceful mix of rugged prairie and woodland perennials.
By creating 75,000 square feet of gardens with sustainable perennials, many native plants and preserving a grove of 140 plane trees, the Conservancy has made a strong commitment to environmental conservation. This horticultural focus is increasing awareness and stirring public interest in the unique plants and garden designs at the Battery.
The Conservancy has extended its educational outreach through the production of a unique guide book, Gardens of Remembrance: A Garden Guide, as well as the annual plant sale, offering a variety of organic, pest-free and hardy perennials propagated from the Battery's own gardens.
When strolling through the gardens, the restorative beauty of this world-class horticulture now at the Battery is sure to inspire, nurture and educate.