Vegetation in NY

People here can probably provide you with all the information you need, but if not, the City-Data forum is a good place for questions such as this. You can post and get replies from locals.

I'd contact the Park Rangers maybe, who will have the best knowledge of what's growing in the Park and possibly outside it.

There's also this guy, famously once arrested for munching on something or other growing in the Park - he gives tours of what's edible there, so I'm sure he'd have info too and you can probably email to ask.

These are the trees allowed on the streets -- you can request the City just show up with one if yours is missing or if you want a new one or plant your own but if you do it has to be from the approved list and stuff.

I don't think there are really approved lists of smaller plants - most blocks that hold plantings just go buy whatever afaik, though you probably can't buy poisonous things? Dunno. Huh. Not a lot of shrubs in Manhattan certainly (a couple inside building thingys if they have weird formations or if it's like a building takes up a whole block and has an courtyard, but then you couldn't see it from the street) or a lot of Astoria outside of parks.

Also plantings inside buildings in midtown. One of the Trump monstrosities has a lot of trees and some of the walkthrough bldgs with courtyard space have big planted walls and stuff?

Oh, and I dunno where you mean in midtown but the Park Ave. plantings have a schedule I'm sure you can find someplace - they're pretty standard though. Tulips in the spring, they do firs (not sure which variety) around the holidays, etc. I dunno what's generally growing in the middles though./

If you know better what area, that might help.

It also just occurred to me that there are some specialized things, though I dunno if they're where you're thinking, because not sure where you mean. Like the Shakespeare Garden in the Park has a whole bunch of specialty plantings that change with the seasons and include things, obvs., mentioned in Shakespeare's works. So if you're interested, you could ask the Rangers or the Wildman what's there at some particular time of year. You're gonna want to be careful there though - it's kind of close to the dog run and someone such as yourself, well, I mean, you know, just be careful!

When you say central Manhattan are you talking about Midtown? As a business area, there are less trees and/or vegetation outside of the parks than you would find in Greenwich Village or the Upper West Side, for example. Midtown includes several neighborhoods with varying "feel" and plantings. Theater District, Rockefeller Center, Diamond District, Herald Square, Sutton Place, Murray Hill, etc.

It can make a huge difference three blocks or even one block over. If you could be a little more specific, I might be able to give you more specifics on vegetation.

If your manuscript is set in the autumn, the gingko trees are a tremendous nuisance. I never knew they were gingkos until maybe ten years ago, because we always called them vomit trees. The leaves turn a beautiful yellow color, and they drop their seed pods, which smash on the sidewalk producing a stench that's unavoidable. They, of course, have all survived brilliantly through all of the storms and hurricanes of the last few years.

*Cornflake, I love Wildman Steve! And he isn't the only one I've seen "shopping" for food in the parks

ap123 said:

When you say central Manhattan are you talking about Midtown? As a business area, there are less trees and/or vegetation outside of the parks than you would find in Greenwich Village or the Upper West Side, for example. Midtown includes several neighborhoods with varying "feel" and plantings. Theater District, Rockefeller Center, Diamond District, Herald Square, Sutton Place, Murray Hill, etc.

It can make a huge difference three blocks or even one block over. If you could be a little more specific, I might be able to give you more specifics on vegetation.

If your manuscript is set in the autumn, the gingko trees are a tremendous nuisance. I never knew they were gingkos until maybe ten years ago, because we always called them vomit trees. The leaves turn a beautiful yellow color, and they drop their seed pods, which smash on the sidewalk producing a stench that's unavoidable. They, of course, have all survived brilliantly through all of the storms and hurricanes of the last few years.

*Cornflake, I love Wildman Steve! And he isn't the only one I've seen "shopping" for food in the parks

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He's the one with the most professional-looking outfit for the job though.

Seconding what ap says here, that's why I asked about where - but there are a lot of passthroughs and interior courtyards and such in midtown that have a bunch of stuff.

I've never heard the trees called that - not saying it's not appropriate.

This reminds me there are all the new plantings on the islands by the bike lanes though. A bunch had seriously huge sunflowers and stuff. I know you can do specific stuff there if it's approved, or the City does whatever.

lol, cornflake!

Well, I'm from a part of Brooklyn where language was always, umm, colorful

And you make an excellent point, there are many, many more trees and plantings than there were 30 or even 20 years ago.

Also a lot of new trees/plantings due to those taken out by the storms.

I also know that when it comes to the little squares around the trees in front of apartment buildings and brownstones, people plant whatever flowers/greenery they'd like. Most only bloom the one season (annuals?) and I've never heard of anyone being ticketed for this.

Most recently, I'm seeing a lot of ivy planted this way, and I suspect the city will complain about that eventually as it chokes its way up the young trees.

whimsical rabbit said:

Good point ap, thank you, truth be told I was typing in a hurry.

I'm particularly interested in Astoria, Queens and the Upper East Side (which is north Manhattan anyway, so "central" was quite random ).

Thank you, and to everyone else who's helping me out here. x

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Upper East is somewhat more specific but as you then say north Manhattan, it's not, heh.

Do you mean Upper East Side like 60s-90s between Fifth and like 1st or 2nd? That's what I'd mean if I said that. Or do you mean farther up? Or do you mean a specific within that, like Park in the mid-60s - 80th, which is a very specific look and a lot of specific plantings, vs. like the mid 80s and York, which is going to have less greenery or are you tipping into Spanish Harlem?

The Central Park stuff is likely very relevant to that part of the q. - the Astoria also depends, but I'm much less familiar so you'd be better waiting for someone who is.

Oh well for the East Side that's simple then. You can look up what's planted on Park when, and you can just go cruise Google maps/streetview and lookit. There's mostly going to be just the sidewalk trees and whatever ppl stick around them, if anything. You can see from one of my links what the trees would be limited to and just go cruise the streetview to see.

Just start at like 200 E. 80th st. and look both ways. The addresses start at 1 on Fifth avenue and go up as you go east, to around 400-500 or so by 1st or York. Then you can do the same, 200 E. 81st st. and look both ways, etc.

So you'd want the Park Ave. plantings, you can go look at the trees on those blocks and that's about it, save if you're going over to the Park or if you're going to look at flower boxes someone might have on a window or such, which you can also see on streetview.

Not sure what you're writing, Whimsical Rabbit, but a couple of things to keep in mind in the area you're referring to; outside of 86th street, those streets are quieter than people who aren't familiar with NY neighborhoods expect in the evenings/at night. 86th St is always crowded, it's a wide, major through street.

Many older people live on the Upper East, daytime you see many elderly people waiting for the buses to lower platforms for them to get on/off, with or without walkers/wheelchairs, with/without attendants. (and often on their way to/from the 92nd St Y, which has a large senior program)

For other flavor/tone, many drs offices are along Park Ave, quite a few hospitals on the Upper East, Mt Sinai, Lenox Hill, Cornell-Weill, Hospital for Special Surgery, Eye and Ear Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Gracie Square, and I'm not sure if Beth Israel North reopened or not. I mention this because you see a lot of people in scrubs walking around the area, as well as the fact that there are often lovely little "green" spots connected with these hospitals.