Verdi Square has been brought back to life through a collaboration between the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and the newly formed Friends of Verdi Square. The beautiful transformation has been taking place over the past few months.
The garden is filling up with lush new plantings—native to the region—alongside a gravel pathway and new sitting area under the historic London Plane trees.
To celebrate this transformation, a ribbon cutting ceremony will be held on Saturday, September 21st from 11am to 1pm. Refreshments will be served and informal presentations will be made.
The newly designed gardens in Verdi Square are divided into three distinct planting areas: The Woodland, The Meadow, and The Rose Garden.
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The Woodland is the name given to the newly designed garden surrounding the Giuseppe Verdi monument.
The Meadow is the raised garden on the Broadway side of Verdi Square.
The Rose Garden is planted in two raised granite beds featuring four cast iron urns.
The garden design is inspired by community interest in a safe, beautiful and ecologically sustainable green space accessible to all, and includes only indigenous New York City plant species that are proven to thrive in the urban environment. Additional design criteria include safety, four-season beauty, and wildlife and educational value.
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Each of the native species planted in the gardens are designed to attract pollinators, butterflies and birds that can be expected to visit the gardens throughout the year. Weekend nature programming will be built around the diversity of native plants and their ecological role in a healthy, sustainable environment.
As a testament to the great work by Friends of Verdi Square, the newly restored city park is participating in Open House New York 2019!
Featured images by @cosyshots
