We live just three blocks from Central Park, which is one of the best parts about living in Manhattan, honestly. If you look at this map, you will see Harlem in orange at the very top. This is where we live, at the north end of Central Park, which is where the Upper East and Upper West sides end and where Morningside Heights, Columbia University, and Harlem begin. If you need a big landmark, we’re walking distance from Manhattan’s majestic Cathedral of Saint John the Divine.

Source: nyctourist.com

Unlike the south end of Central Park, with its iconic cinematic images of the The Plaza Hotel and Fifth Avenue, the area surrounding the north end of Central Park is largely residential. It’s marked by a tranquil lake called the Harlem Meer and Lasker Skating Rink & Swimming Pool, where we swim in summer and go ice skating in winter. It’s also the home of the North Woods, which is one of the top ten birding spots in the United States. What never ceases to amaze me is how vast Central Park is; in a matter of minutes, you can quickly forget you’re in one of the largest urban jungles in the world. As a full-time working mom, Central Park is the best back yard I could ever ask for, we’re there nearly every single day. As you’ve probably figured out by now, Central Park is my favorite part of New York City.

We were looking for a good picnic spot recently when we ran into our downstairs neighbors, Peyman and Tomoe. They live in the apartment directly below us, and we’ve become good friends over the years. Tomoe is a Japanese fashion designer who creates lovely, flowing apparel for women. We noticed she was carrying a bag full of what looked like light green citrus fruit. Tomoe explained she regularly forages for wild black walnuts, which she uses to dye her silk fabrics a rich nut brown color. What does foraging mean? Foraging is the way animals search for wild food. In this case, Tomoe looks for black walnut fruit that have dropped to the ground on their own. What could be cooler than wearing a dress that is made in New York City and hand-dyed with black walnuts foraged from Central Park? Intrigued, we asked if we could join her the next time. The following weekend we did exactly that, and had such a great time we had to share it with you.

We met Tomoe on 110th Street, also known as Central Park North. She was wearing one of her breezy, silk designs, which she had dyed using black walnuts she’d found on previous hikes.

She explained that no commercial dye can quite match the deep saturation and shades of brown she gets from black walnuts, particularly visible when the sun hits it, revealing an almost golden color. She showed us a fallen branch from a walnut tree, so we would know what to look for. Tomoe pointed to small green golf-ball sized walnut fruit on the grass, and it was like an Easter egg hunt each time we discovered one, Liam thought it was very exciting.

Tomoe showed Liam what to look for, and as we carefully inspected each one like a small jewel, she showed the layers beneath the light green exterior, an inner orange-peach pulp and a tar-coated nut deep inside. She explained that it takes quite a lot of effort (whacking really hard with a hammer) to get through the green skin all the way to the nut inside, which she does back at her atelier.

We spent two hours, walking up, down, and through the North Woods and found tons of black walnuts that had fallen on to the soft green grass. The temperature was cool right before dusk, but the woods were still vibrantly green and lush like Spring, giving no hint that in a matter of days the foliage will turn quickly to crimson and yellow and orange.

It was hard not to laugh as we competed with squirrels seeking out walnuts too…especially when one suddenly glared at us confidently…and another one grabbed two walnuts at once and scurried away, worried his treasure would end up in Liam’s basket.

The sky began to darken quickly, and Sean was calling to ask if we would be home in time for dinner. We had foraged so many black walnuts we could hardly carry them all. As we beheld our bounty, Tomoe said we could swing by her place soon to watch her crack open the light green husks, and promised to show us how she dyes silk scarves. We can hardly wait and look forward to sharing it with all of you!