NEW YORK CITY’S MOST BEAUTIFUL GARDENS

NEW YORK CITY BOTANICAL GARDENS

Concentrated springtime beauty bursts forth in abundance at urban botanical gardens around the world. New York City boasts two of the finest ever: The New York Botanical Garden and Brooklyn Botanic Garden. And, since the BN HQ is in NYC, we are lucky to be able to immerse ourselves every spring.

From loads of cherry blossoms, to tulips, to one of the most spectacular orchid shows, and more, these extensive gardens are flower lover spring meccas.

Both gardens were established in the 1800s, so both have period conservatory architecture and both feature very mature plantings. Both are welcome oases in the concrete jungle. Visitors come just for the pleasure of it all, and there’s plenty. But some also come to learn about horticulture. And many come for inspiration as they ponder their own home gardens. Check them out below.

BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN

One of the best places to see springtime cherry blossoms outside of Japan, is Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG).

The Garden was established more than a century ago, when New York City was getting built up and paved over, as a way of preserving natural green space that city dwellers could enjoy. It has since come to represent the very best in urban gardening and horticultural display.

The Garden has more than 200 cherry trees of 42 Asian species and cultivated varieties. The first cherries were planted at the garden after World War I, a gift from the Japanese government.

Each spring, BBG hosts a month-long cherry blossom viewing festival, called “Hanami,” at the Cherry Esplanade, culminating in a weekend celebration called Sakura Matsuri.

Cherry trees are found on the Cherry Esplanade and Cherry Walk, in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, and in many other locations throughout BBG.

Depending on weather conditions, the Asian flowering cherries bloom from late March or early April to mid-May. The many different species bloom at slightly different times, and the sequence is tracked online at Cherry Watch, on the BBG website.

Other specials gardens at BBG include the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, a 3-acre landscape featuring rolling hills, a waterfall, a koi pond, and an island. Architectural elements of the garden include wooden bridges, stone lanterns, a viewing pavilion, a torii or gateway, and a Shinto shrine, a Japanese temple dedicated to the wolf spirits.

The Cranford Rose Garden, which opened in 1928, was designed by Harold Caparn, a landscape architect, and Montague Free, the Garden's horticulturist. Many of the original plants are still in the garden today. There are over 5,000 rosebushes with nearly 1,400 kinds of roses, including wild species, old garden roses, hybrid tea roses, grandifloras, floribundas, polyanthas, hybrid perpetuals, climbers, ramblers, and miniature roses.

The new Shelby White and Leon Levy Water Garden is a 1.5-acre wetland and riparian environment. The water garden, designed by award-winning landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA), features a pond and brook system and more than 20,000 aquatic plants.

NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN

The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a 250-acre landscape treasure, located in the Bronx borough of New York City. Established in 1891, with over one million plants in extensive collections and the extraordinary Victorian Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, it is a National Historic Landmark  supports over one million living plants in extensive collections.

NYGB boasts a range of indoor and outdoor gardens, representing several key climates, including a remarkable diversity of tropical, temperate, and desert flora.

Springtime is the most glorious time to visit NYBG. Daffodil Hill is a sight to behold. As are large swaths of tulips, lilacs, and cherry blossoms, to name a few. It is also time for NYBG’s annual orchid show.

Now in its 16th year, The Orchid Show showcases thousands of dramatically displayed orchids in the Conservatory, featuring a series of installations crafted by Belgian floral artist Daniel Ost.

Ost is celebrated worldwide for his eye-catching installations in private and public spaces, working with both living and cut flowers. His large-scale artwork has drawn comparison to that of renowned sculptors Anish Kapoor, Claes Oldenburg, and Andy Goldsworthy. In Belgium he has been called “the Picasso of flower arranging,” and in France he was touted as “the international star of floral decoration.”

In the Conservatory’s Palms of the World Gallery, an approximately 18-foot-tall sculpture complements the height of the 90-foot-tall dome overhead. In the Seasonal Exhibition Galleries, Ost’s designs speak to the architecture of the glasshouse. Ost’s designs showcase the widest range of orchid diversity ever presented in The Orchid Show.

Live musicians play your soundtrack as you sip cocktails and stroll through The Orchid Show in the beautifully lit Conservatory during Orchid Evenings.

Read more about In the Garden in Photographers in Gardens: Part 1,  Photographer In Garden: Part II, Magnum In The Garden and 10 Most Beautiful Gardening Books.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Mind/Body, Soul/Impact, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Arts/Design, and Place/Time, Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by delinquent. Untitled. Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Brooklyn, NY.
2. Image: by Antonio M. Rosario. Courtesy of Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Brooklyn, NY.
3. Image: by delinquent. Untitled. Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Brooklyn, NY.
4. Image: by Sarah Schmidt. “Wisteria and Azaleas.” Courtesy of Brooklyn Botanic Garden Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Brooklyn, NY.
5. Image: by Rebecca Bullene. “Prunus 'Kanzan' in bloom on Cherry Esplanade.” Courtesy of Brooklyn Botanic Garden.Image: by Mark Yokoyama. “Sakura Matsuri - Brooklyn Botanical Garden.” Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Brooklyn, NY.
6. Image: by Jiashiang. “Brooklyn Botanical Garden.” Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Brooklyn, NY.
7. Image: by Antonio M. Rosario. “The Cranford Rose Garden.” Courtesy of Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
8. Image: by Rebecca Bullene. “A sacred lotus bloom in the north pool of Lily Pool Terrace.” Courtesy of Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
9. Image: by Ivo M. Vermeulen. “The Enid A Haupt Conservatory with cherry trees.” The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY. Courtesy of The New York Botanical Garden.
10. Image: “Lilacs.” The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY. Courtesy of The New York Botanical Garden‏.
11. Image: by Ivo M. Vermeulen. “Orchid Show.” The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY. Courtesy of The New York Botanical Garden.
12. Image: by John. “And the Clown Laughed.” The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY.
13. Image: by Ivo M. Vermeulen. “Orchid Show.” The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY. Courtesy of The New York Botanical Garden.
14. Image: “Orchid Evenings.” The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY. Courtesy of The New York Botanical Garden.
15. Image: by gigi_nyc. “NYBG Orchid Show.” The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY.
16. Image: by Guian Bolisay. “The Long Way Home VOL. TEDDY MOOSE.” Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Brooklyn, NY.
17. Image: by Noel Y. C., of NYC Loves NYC. Tulips In Bloom At The Brooklyn Botanic Garden Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Brooklyn, NY.
18. Image: by Blanca Begert. “The BBG Visitor Center's living roof.” Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Brooklyn, NY.  Courtesy of Brooklyn Botanic Garden.