One of the largest and most unique urban gardens I designed was for the Salvation Army’s International Social Justice Commission on East 52nd Street. As fate would have it, had just moved from bustling West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan to a home an hour north on the Hudson River on a Revolutionary War dirt road in Garrison New York.

So… I commuted by train to Grand Central Station with, yes – my favorite garden tools. Since it was post-9/11 I did preemptively check in with MetroNorth security since I would be openly carrying objects that could have been taken as weapons. True story!

A colleague on the Woodland Landscape Council of Manitoga: The Russel Wright Design Center, had recommend me for the commission and, after meeting and seeing the site, was hired. The first photo, the “before” was even worse than it was since they had just started excavating a large hole at the other end to add an elevator.

As I walked the site, I asked the elevator crew if they had run into the natural bedrock called Manhattan Shist. They promised to keep an eye out for any large hunks of the shiny quartz-and-garnet shimmers as they dug. About three weeks later, I was back on-site accepting nursery deliveries and arguing with Consulate General of Hungary employees that they did not own the sidewalk. Was absolutely amazed to see that a selection of absolutely stunning pieces and long thick “seats and tables” of gorgeous shist were placed carefully at one end of the backyard! Now THAT was a great crew to work with!

Just in time for the official dedication of the garden, a perfectly bored-out 5′ tall piece of shist was placed and the fountain was turned on to add the last of the 5-senses for the staff and visitors to enjoy. The “wishing tree” was created by artist Mark Martini (1956-2010), foreman of R&G Wrought Iron in Cold Spring, NY and copper “leaf” wished were added by participants.