What’s Beautiful Now: Spring Blooms!
Posted in What's Beautiful Now on April 11 2013, by Matt Newman
It’s been a trying wait, I admit. But I seem to remember someone spouting off a line about “good things” in store for those with a little patience in hand. And after a drawn out season of waffling temperatures and flaky snowstorms–nothing at all like last year’s phoned-in winter–we’re finally seeing the rewards of all that waiting. It’s been a sleepy spring thus far, but the Garden’s now waking up to a fanfare of yellows, pinks, purples and whites!
Some spots, of course, are more alert than others. Most of the trees are still sleeping it off in the early going, but the snow-white and fragrant magnolia blossoms–thousands of them–are blooming en masse across the landscape. Narcissus crowd the lawns in dairy colors, and passersby won’t have any trouble finding hints of spring color along the Seasonal Walk, just to the side of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, where netted irises and dainty daffodils already perk up the atmosphere. Across the lawn in the Perennial Garden, orange pansies mingle with soft blue chionodoxa, spotted in between with drowsy snowdrops and a few electric tulips.
And the Ladies’ Border is no slouch, either; you’ll find the fan-favorite ‘Peggy Clarke’ plum blossom tree lighting up the branches with poodle skirt pinks; lime green ‘Honeyhill Joy’ hellebores at full attention; dense bunches of paper bush flowers; and the occasional crowd of bee-friendly Amur Adonis opening to the sky. Further back, look (or sniff) for the perfumed mahonia blossoms, right near the blushing ‘Spring’s Promise’ camellia flowers.
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The Azalea Garden display is starting to tease us with color, too. Late winter’s crowds of sunny witch-hazel have made way for the first of the blooming rhododendrons, meaning the kaleidoscopic flood of color that we’ve been waiting for isn’t far off. ‘Pink Peignor’, magenta ‘Pioneer’, and other cultivars are just the first on the hillsides to jostle for attention. Likewise, things are getting interesting in the newly reopened Rock Garden, though on a slightly different scale. Known for its engaging collections of minuscule plants, this NYBG landmark is filling in with mobs of red and green hellebores complemented by the occasional ‘Little Gem’ daffodil.
[Not a valid template]On Wamsler Rock, Siberian squill grows in frosty whites and blues, while the Home Gardening Center is a riot of shouting violets–row after row of ‘Sorbet Blue Heaven’. And, really, you can’t miss the ‘Okame’ cherry trees near the Library Building. There’s more to come, of course (so much more!), but I couldn’t help sharing some of the early bloom after such a long, dreary winter. We’ll be keeping your flower photo appetite sated as spring picks up the pace, so keep it here on Plant Talk for more of the changing landscape. And if you’re coming to visit–whether it’s to see the Orchid Show or otherwise–set aside some time to explore! We’re a 250-acre Garden for very, very good reasons, most of them pretty and fragrant.
