I live in a countryside where trees are the essence of our place; my dad was a voracious tree-planters in particular of fruit-trees; when I noticed this new book by Columbia University Press New
Yes because, let's think for a second at New York City. I haven't never been there, I would have wanted to visit the city so badly in my 20s I remember, but watching many iconic movies, like When Harry Met Sally with Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, You've got Mail, with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks or Everyone Says I Love You by Woody Allen, (just for naming three movies, there are many other ones of course) the city is also characterized by long walks of the various protagonists along beautiful parks and streets of New York City. Fall, Spring, Summer: NYC is always enchanting and you can notice in many scenes all the beauty of the green or fall scenario thanks to the other protagonists of it: trees and the powerful impact that they play in general. If it's fall they will bring romanticism and rich suggestions, if summer joy, if spring re-birth.
So to me the discovery of these trees had also an emotional and affective meaning. First of all let's say that they city has respected trees from the remote past, when the area was a great sheet of ice; later it became a fertile area cultivated by the Lenape.There was an abundance of trees, great food, and fish for sure.
In modern times when Europeans arrived in the New World and that territory once just green became a big city, it was indispensible at a certain time to find some green areas for the residents.
And, as I thought reading this book, that land and its past called the present; because respect for trees, for environment, for creating beautiful parks where people could enjoy spending their time, having fun with their families ad staying in peace has always been a devotion for this city, its citizens and administrators.
There are 43 wonderful realities in this sense in New York City and its five boroughs and they're all stunningly big. The creation of Central Park meant planting all together 1 million of trees and every year new trees are planted in the city for creating new green and not losing the exercise and philosophy of seeing green and trees all around.
This book is divided in various sections: in the first, the Best Places to See Trees is a real map of all the places where you can enjoying spending some time; there is of course Central Park but also Riverside, Fort Washington Park, (they all have an history, you will see) Oakland Lake, Bloomingdale Woods, Brooklyn Botanic Garden. And you musn't imagine for once that you will visit just a little place for few people; no, no: these gardens, these areas were and are created for recreational purposes and so they are big and wonderful and plenty of many, rich diversified trees; in another section you will see which ones are New York City's Great Trees. Some of them are surely amazing.
The third section is a real Tree Guide, so that thanks to the conformation of various leaves, you can with simplicity recognize a tree from another one; there is a stratospheric diversification in New York City regarding trees. There is the Austrian Pine close to the Himalayan one; but also the suggestive Japanese Maple, the Sycamore, the Dogwood, the Devils-Walkingstick, the TulipTree, the Chestnut Oak, and the Persimmon as well. I thought if New Yorkers loved to eat persimmons although for what I read they leave them in the trees. What a pity: yes they help little birds in that way because they tend to eat that fruits during the winter-time, but they are delicious fruits eatable also by men. I just ate one of them a hour ago.
I don't want to forget Magnolias's trees.
It's a beautiful guide this one and a real act of love for parks and trees. Trees are incredibly important for our existence. They provide us their fruits, they restore us with their shadows during the summer-time, they bring peace and joy during a pic-nic attended under their big "hat" and they present calm and suggestion.
You should bring with you this sunny guide when you will visit the city, in particular if you'll be there during spring, summer or fall if a tourist, but also if you are a New Yorker who, previously didn't pay too much attention at the topic.
When I open the package and I saw this book a lot of calm irradiated me and I know that the same will happen to you. The cover is stunning and this one is a precious book, written with love, dedication, originality and thought as a book that had to remain in the mind and in the heart of people to my point of view, centering the purpose.
Highly recommended.
I thank Columbia University Press for the physical copy of this book.
Anna Maria Polidori
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