New Yorkers live in a forest of glass and steel, and natural spaces can be hard to find. But two Manhattanites are fortunate enough to have green retreats right outside their apartments on their rooftop garden terraces.
The nine terraces outside of interior designer Freiderike Biggs' Park Avenue penthouse provide natural extensions of her magnificent interiors. Landscape architect John Carlofits achieved a sense of harmony between Biggs' rooms and her garden areas by continuing the color scheme of each indoor space out to the terraces beyond. On one terrace, blue flowers such as lobelia echo the blue colors of Biggs' office. The pink terrace, outside of her bedroom, features roses and loosestrife. Some less attractive parts of the terrace are disguised--such as the elevator shaft camouflaged with a garden mural. Large, mature trees in planters afford both beauty and privacy and prove that gardening in a high-rise building doesn't have to mean limiting trees to young, small-scale versions. Author Abbie Zabar's terrace overlooks Central Park, which she calls the "best lawn in the whole world."
Zabar's own design for the garden relies on evergreens that withstand New York's winter climate. The garden's yew and hornbeam bushes can alternately screen out the city or take in its spectacular view. Hollowed cobblestones serve as planters for Zabar's alpine collection of flowers, including saxifrage and hens and chicks. Stones are used to prevent Zabar's more delicate garden chairs from blowing around in the winds that buffet her building from the park. Abbie Zabar chose her apartment because its 800-square-foot terrace actually was larger than her indoor living space. On the terrace, she can stylishly balance the big city with nature, creating "green architecture" to complement New York's famous buildings.
Millesgarden, Sweden
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