GREAT HEIGHTS

Elegant cottage blooms, buxus balls and mature trees flourish behind a manicured hedge on this Lower Manhattan rooftop.

- LINDYL CRABB

High above the madding crowds of Manhattan, spring blooms year-round in an Arcadian state of euphoria. While the streets below succumb to the summer heat and winter snow, more and more rooftops across New York City remain evergreen. In recent years, private gardens have become an increasingly desirable luxury. For those with a terrace, cultivating a bespoke outdoor area can be just as rewarding as growing an art collection. “Rooftop gardens are not only important for the environment but also for individual wellbeing, and they have the flow-on effect of increasing property value,” says Damien Harrison, principal at landscape architecture firm Harrison Green. “We are very lucky to be at the forefront of the movement.”