by Lois Rose

Lucky me.  My new grandchild lives a half mile from the Botanical Garden in Brooklyn so naturally during a recent visit we went to see the cherry blossoms in full swing.

Coincidentally, and somewhat unfortunately, there was a massive Japanese festival going on, complete with drummers, dancers, food, ceramics, demonstrations and thousands of children and parents roaming the grounds.

Parts of the garden were closed off: the roses were behind bars. 

Many tulips in sunnier locations, like beside this water feature, were gone by and the perennials were just emerging, too early for flowers.

Massively large trees, like this wingnut, were featured in several locations.  Newer plantings along this meandering creek, were mostly in bloom with daffodils, early tulips and Fothergilla. 

An outcropping of huge boulders was cleverly surrounded by carefully managed conifers and flowering shrubs and was adjacent to a lovely display of early emerging flowers, like Pulsatilla.

The vegetable and fruit area was enviously pristine with stunning pruned shrubs, meticulously planted vegetables, many varieties of small fruit like blueberries, currants, raspberries, figs and some espalier. 

A beech hedge sported a sitting bird in nest, surprisingly close to the hordes of visitors.

Wild flowers were carefully arranged in protected nooks around some tremendous very old trees, with paths wandering up and down, giving unique vantage points as you walked.

Turning the corner we came upon the children’s garden, not yet cultivated for the season except for bulbs and early perennials.  The greenhouses were crowded as it began to rain, so we skipped to the tulips, and several garden rooms nearby with raised beds of daffodils, a Shakespeare garden and woven wooden enclosures.  

At the end of our tour was the Japanese Garden, surrounded by a charming fence and entered through a gate which limits the number of pedestrians allowed in at a time.

The garden was replete with well managed trees, shrubs, and plantings, right off of Grand Army Plaza.   Despite the distractions, this is a tour worth repeating during the seasons. Can hardly wait to see it—and my grandchild—again soon.