High Line Spring Cutback

Urban gardens on a far grander scale than my humble terrace patch are prepping for spring. The High Line, situated on abandoned railroad tracks in Chelsea, is in renewal mode right now. Crews last week began chopping back the layers of wild grasses, skeletal plant stalks, and dried seed heads that define the trendy  park’s winter landscape. Known as the High Line Spring Cutback, it's the park’s biggest horticultural event of the year, according to the organization.

Friends of the High Line has recruited more than 300 members, supporters, and neighbors to do the job over the next six weeks. Teams of volunteers will cut back 100,000 grasses, perennials and shrubs by hand.

And rather than sending the trimmings to landfill, much of the waste will be used as mulch to cover the soil in the High Line’s plant beds. The rest will go to the municipal composting facility at Fresh Kills, to be converted into compost for the High Line and other public parks.

If you're itching for an outdoor experience, get out there and pull up some weeds!