BBG: First Blossoms

I've been noticing some blossoms around the city recently, so I thought it would be worthwhile to check on my beloved cherry trees at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. If you don't live a few blocks away from the BBG, they have a handy bloom map which is fun to check obsessively.

A few of the trees have just started to bloom, but it was definitely worth it to take advantage of the free admission on Saturday morning (from 10am - noon). I love the BBG in all seasons and I can't wait to go back when the main cherry grove is finally in bloom. It's under those trees that I first seriously decided to move to New York, and they'll always be magical to me.

I don't know much about plants, which is probably why I'm always so amazed by them. The section of the garden around the Bonsai Museum was exploding in blossoms of all kinds and I was finally lucky enough to catch daffodil hill at peak bloom. There were dozens of turtles sunning themselves in adorable little piles all around the Japanese pond, which were somehow mesmerizing to watch, even if they were so still they looked almost fake.

After such a mild winter, spring doesn't feel as revelatory as it has in past years but it's still nice to see signs of life springing up around the city.

BBG: Cherry Blossoms 2015

This is my third time being in the city for the blooming of the cherry blossoms and I still can't get enough. Although I'm a member of the New York Botanical Gardens, I've never really seen their cherry blossoms. By now I already feel as if I have a nostalgic attachment to Brooklyn's cherry grove—it was under these trees that I really cemented my resolve to become a New York resident—and now I can't imagine a spring without them.

I also haven't ever actually been to the Sakura Cherry Blossom festival, but I seem to be able to catch the blooms at their peak without paying the $25 ticket price. The garden is free on Saturday mornings, and is never as crowded as I think it should be—especially when the weather is as perfect as it was last Saturday.

No matter how many times I see the cherry blossoms, I still marvel at their insane beauty and intricate blooms. They seem completely unreal and as perfect as if they were crafted from tissue paper. The only downside to cherry blossoms, if you can call it that, is that they don't have a scent. It's almost disorienting to see such beautiful blooms and have zero fragrance attached to the visual, but no scent is definitely preferable to those white cat-piss-scented trees that sneak up on me every year.

BBG: Cherry Blossoms 2014

Two years ago this week I saw the cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for the first time ever. In fact, it was my first time really seeing cherry blossoms en masse and I was instantly enchanted. I wasn't able to see them last year because I was back in Ohio, but I've been looking forward to cherry blossom season ever since.

Well, this year I managed to schedule two back-to-back weekend trips (to Texas, then Ohio) right during what is usually peak blossom season. Thanks to the crazy cold/long winter that we've had the blooms are definitely delayed, and I'm hoping that I can still catch them at peak bloom after I get back. I didn't want to take any chances, however, so I knew I had to find a way to see whatever had started to bloom before I left. I had yesterday (and Tuesday) off work because of Passover (the joys of working for a Jewish cultural institution) and although it was cold — it actually snowed  again Tuesday night — it was brilliantly sunny so I went to check on the cherry trees at the BBG.

Not a single tree in the cherry esplanade is in bloom yet, but thankfully a handful of other trees around the garden have gotten an early start. I took so many photos that I was actually fearful of filling up my 32 gb memory card, but I just couldn't stop myself. Every time I walked two feet the view was even better than the previous one and the light was so beautiful that I couldn't put down my camera.

I'm certainly not an expert, but there are at least a few different varieties of cherry trees at the BBG — from white and pale pink to brighter, almost fuchsia blooms. They come in different sizes and configurations, some trees have weeping branches (my favorite) and some have twisty black limbs that contrast with the pale blossoms in the best way.

Especially after the winter we've had this spring feels well-deserved and very much overdo. I can't really even convey how happy it made me to be walking around and under such incredible beauty, but words aren't really necessary or could ever be adequate in situations such as these — good thing I maxed out my computer hard drive with photos documenting nearly every single blossom I came across.

I'm going to try to make a return trip at the beginning of May and hopefully catch the rest of the late bloomers, but I won't feel as if I've missed out if for some reason I can't make it. I doubt they'll be in peak bloom for the Sakura festival next weekend, although that's definitely something I'd like to check out next year.

I'd also like to plan a trip to DC for their cherry blossom festival even if I fear that I might actually die of happiness if I actually make it there during peak bloom season. If I do, just dig a hole, throw my body in and plop a cherry tree on top — I don't know if I believe in reincarnation, but there are way worse things to come back as than a crazy beautiful blossoming cherry tree.

Springtime in New York, part 1

This past weekend I went to New York City, which just happens to be my favorite of all of the cities. I've lost count of how many times I've visited, but I'm pretty sure I've covered every month — December was the coldest (-22 with windchill), June the hottest (90+, a record that year) and August the rainiest (I nearly lost a flip flop down a storm drain).

I've been there when it was 60 degrees in January and 40 degrees in May, but this past weekend it was absolutely perfect. Sunday was chilly and rainy, but Friday and Saturday were some of the most gorgeous days I've spent in the city.

Determined as always to see as much as humanly possible, I packed an extraordinary amount of sightseeing into two-and-a-half days. I can't possibly pick a favorite spot, activity or even borough when the contenders include most everything on my to-do list with notable additions being the "Cat You Care For" book I bought for forty-eight cents, delicious burgers at Shake Shack and an entire grove of lilacs.

I have to say though, for being such a city, New York certainly knows how to do nature. I spent a considerable amount of time walking around Central Park, Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and every time I turned a corner something was blooming and taking my breath away. The highlights:

I spent Friday morning walking most of Central Park, eventually ending up at the Conservatory Garden. I was just about to exit the gate, when I walked into this courtyard ringed with the most gorgeous tulips I've ever seen. Believe me when I say these tulips were a game changer.

I hesitate to say they took my breath away, but I'm still having a hard time believing I even saw something this beautiful. Did I mention the Conservatory Garden is free?

After the Conservatory, I headed to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I went for the flowering cherries, and they didn't disappoint. I wish I was still there, sitting under the canopy of peak-bloom cherry trees — every time the wind would blow, a few petals would fall and I had to keep reminding myself that it was real life. Sometimes I can't believe I'm so lucky.

Also, I got in for $5 thanks to my student I.D., even though it's been 4 years since I could call myself a student.

Don't tell New York.

As if the cherries weren't enough, the Botanic Garden also has the most delicious smelling lilac grove I've ever seen. Well, it was also the first lilac grove I'd ever seen, but seriously I wish you could smell my photos. That's not usually something I wish when presenting New York City photos, but trust me.

Not to be outdone, the azaleas were also in peak bloom and in such vibrant colors I could barely trust my own eyeballs. Luckily I took approximately six thousand pictures as proof. Apparently the bumble bees enjoyed them as much as I did — I tried to take a picture of two bees getting fresh with one another, but they were all "stop creeping on us" and flew away.

I can't recommend the Brooklyn Botanic Garden enough — every where I looked was incredible. The bluebell field is apparently in bloom as of right this second, so grab your fraudulent student I.D. and head over to Prospect Park if you can — tell the cherries that I'll see them next year.