If December’s dropping temperatures and barren tree branches have you craving the warmer months already (though winter hasn’t even officially begun yet), you can get a taste of summer at a sprawling botanical garden inside the Cadillac House. Summer in Winter by Studio Lily Kwong is a lush indoor summer garden that offers a revitalizing respite from the cold grey city outside with vibrant tropical plants from countries all over the world.
Throughout the 1,000 square foot garden on Hudson Street, visitors will find a dense landscape of ferns from Australia, flowering plants from the tropical Americas, rainforest trees, succulents native to Southern Africa, and cycads, palm-tree like trees that are known as living fossils. The diversity of the plant-life is meant to celebrate the beauty and environmental and cultural histories of the places from which they originate. Some of the trees featured in the garden are considered sacred by Buddhists and some plants are used in medicinal rituals. The garden acts as a warm and peaceful oasis from the bustling city streets outside, a place where people can reconnect with the vitality of nature in this dark season.
The “immersive avant-garden” was put together by landscape designer Lily Kwong who has previously created installations inside Grand Central Terminal and for special events on the High Line. The garden is located inside The Gallery at the Cadillac House, a creative space where Cadillac and Visionaire put on free, interactive exhibits that are open to the public year-round. Summer in Winter will be on view now until January 16th, 2019.
Next, check out, 12 New NYC Art Installations Not to Miss This December 2018