The entrance to the gardens in the Summer of 2022
If you want to see some of the most beautiful sites in New York City during the Spring months when Mother Nature truly works her magic then I would suggest going to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to see Daffodil Hill and Magnolia Plaza.
The sign when entering Daffodil Hill in the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens
My review on TripAdvisor:
My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:
https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/2785
This is when everything is in full bloom during the early Spring. There is nothing like it and it is so breathtaking with a quiet elegance. On this clear and sunny Thursday afternoon, the gardens were quiet so I had plenty of time to take pictures and enjoy the beautiful views.
I finally got the gardens in the early Spring to see the crocuses, the Snowdrops and the Ironweed flowers that come in the early Spring just as the Daffodils were just coming out. These sensitive flowers are only in bloom a short time and I wanted to see them. They are just beautiful when you see them up close.
The Garden was ablaze with the colors of almost a thousand purple crocuses that lined the hills on the Prospect Park side of the lawns in 2024. Beautiful purple and while colors were in full bloom and Mother Nature shined in the COVID era with all of us socially distanced but still enjoying the park.
Crocus Hills ablaze in purple in 2024
The purple crocuses in full bloom in 2024.
The beautiful purple crocuses in full bloom.
While I was taking pictures of the crocuses, I walked around the gardens and came across the Snowdrops and the Ironweed flowers were also in bloom. These sensitive flowers are only in bloom for just about two weeks. To see them in the gardens in the late Winter is a real treat. They sometimes are in bloom in early and you have to see them quickly before they disappear in the ground.
The Snowdrops in full bloom in the gardens in 2024.
The Snowdrops up close.
The Ironweed just as beautiful. To see these graceful flowers in bloom are a real treat.
The Ironweed flowers in bloom right by the stream.
The Ironweed flowers in full bloom.
An Azalea that was early blooming in the garden in 2024.
When touring the gardens ten days after visiting to see the crocuses, other flowering plants came out in full bloom to show us that Spring has arrived even though it was 49 degrees when we toured the gardens.
The Japanese Pieris Tree in the gardens was in full bloom on this early Spring day
The Japanese Pieris tree was in full bloom in March 2024.
The Paper Bark Cherry Tree was in full bloom too and smelled of Butter and Lemon. It had the most amazing fragrance.
The Paper Bark Cherry Tree has the most amazing smell.
I passed this little bird chopping away at the berries left on this tree.
The Holly-Leaved Hellebore in full bloom by Daffodil Hill.
The Holly-Leaved Hellebore was in full bloom at this time.
The Spring brings so many surprises at different times. I in the Gardens during the Solar Eclipse in April of 2024 and there were all sorts of flowers that were in their full bloom. The Virginia Bluebells were in full bloom for their one a year . The display was beautiful.
The Virginia Bluebells in full display.
The Virginia Bluebells in all their glory.
I came across these vibrant little yellow flowers that lined the lawns and hills right near the entrance to the Children’s Garden.
This beautiful yellow blanket lined the sides of the hill and was such a nice contrast to Daffodils Hill.
These tiny yellow flowers lined the hills just past the Magnolia Garden.
Daffodil Hill was still what I came to see in the late Winter/early Spring day. It was in full bloom by the last week in March and nothing is more beautiful then this part of the gardens.
Daffodil Hill at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Hundreds of Trumpet Daffodils are in bloom on a hill just off the Japanese Gardens flanked by hundred-year-old trees and it just plays into the backdrop of the greens and browns of the trees and lawns. I can’t tell you on a beautiful sunny day how breathtaking it is just to sit and admire these elegant flowers. It really is a site to see.
Daffodil Hill in full bloom
I love the way these hundreds of flowers make such a beautiful statement and there is such a burst of colors between the yellows and oranges of the daffodil flowers. This only lasts for about two weeks and then the flowers hibernate again.
The side view of Daffodil Hill from the walkway
Daffodil Hill just off the Japanese Gardens
Daffodil Hill is right next to the Magnolia Plaza that was also in peak bloom when I was at the gardens. The trees of the Magnolia Plaza bloom the last week of March and these delicate trees petals do not last more than a week. When I got close enough to them to take pictures, I noticed that some of them were starting to curl already.
The area between Magnolia Plaza and Daffodil Hill
The Daffodil Hill plaque
Not all the trees were in bloom yet but these delicate trees are very sensitive to the weather and I have noticed that the petals don’t last as long. Most of the trees were in full bloom but there was not much a smell to the trees. Still everyone was taking pictures in every direction between the Magnolia trees and Daffodil flowers.
The Magnolia Plaza in full bloom
The sign in the Magnolia Plaza
The edge of the Magnolia Plaza
The pathways in the afternoon
The Magnolia trees make such a bold and colorful statement
The array of colors in the Magnolia Plaza
The Magnolia Plaza facing Daffodil Hill in the distance
The Sundial in the middle of the Magnolia Plaza
After taking dozens of pictures of the Magnolia Plaza and Daffodil Hill, I walked over to the Rock Garden. There were not many flowers in bloom there yet as they come out later in the month. There was still an array of daffodils and a few crocuses still in bloom. The Rock Garden was quiet and perfect to walk around in as I had this part of the garden to myself.
The Rock Garden in the early Spring
The Rock Garden in the early afternoon
I headed to the northern part of the garden and visited the Japanese Gardens, where the cherry blooms started to bloom. These graciously landscaped gardens were created in the traditional Japanese form with a combination of trees and shrubs to balance the garden.
Entering the Japanese gardens from the path
The Japanese Gardens pool with traditional buildings
The Japanese Gardens in the early Spring
I came back about two weeks later to the Gardens and Daffodil Hill was starting to fade. The daffodils only have about two weeks until their season is done. The Magnolia blossoms were long gone as their season faded away too. There was only one tree blossoming when I came back.
Still other parts of the garden were coming into bloom and it was quite spectacular. The Cherry Blossoms were just coming into their peak period but not fully opened yet. The crowds started to get bigger in the gardens to see these.
The Cherry Blossoms were coming out in mid April
I walked along the pathways in the Cherry Blossom lawn area admiring all the buds that it shares with the Japanese Gardens. The trees bend gracefully and at this in this park I don’t see all the visitors climbing on the trees and pulling on the branches the way they did in Branch Brook Park in Newark or in Washington DC.
These beautiful pink trees were so colorful
People were taking wedding pictures along the paths and the trees made a glorious backdrop. I was so tired from all the running around from the previous week, I just stopped and sat under the trees myself and what a sight that was! It was so nice to just look up at all the flowering trees and see all the pink fluffy blossoms.
Along the Cherry Blossom tree path
People were snapping pictures left and right
The Cherry Blossoms were even more amazing when they were in full bloom in April of 2024. The fluffy blossoms had everyone running around the gardens snapping pictures.
The Cherry Blossom lawn in 2024.
The large crowds enjoying the afternoon under the blossoms.
The beauty of the canopy of blossoms.
The blossoms in peak form in April 2024.
What was also nice was the Bluebells were out in the gardens behind the Cherry trees. Their beautiful blue and violet hues were in full bloom as well and the gardens were awash with color.
The Bluebells were amazing this year
People were so busy looking at the Cherry Blossoms that they forgot to look at beautiful flowers. Their being planted by the Tulip tree made a nice backdrop.
The last thing I looked at before I left this part of the garden were the tulips that were in full bloom this time of year. This area of the park was really colorful with all the different hues of tulips.
The colors and the vibrance of the tulips were amazing
The colors and vibrance of the Tulip Tea at the gardens
The front of the Cranford Rose Garden in Spring 2024
When I arrived back in New York City in June after classes abroad, I had wanted to see the Cranford Rose Garden in full bloom with the thousands of roses that bloom and add some vibrance to the gardens.
The Cranford Rose Garden
The roses were in full bloom much early this year and were blooming at the end of May before my trip. I was finally able to sneak down to the gardens at the end of June and found that many of the roses were still in bloom and all the beautiful flowers that line the pathways were as well.
The Cranford Rose Garden’s roses at the end of the season
The Cranford Rose Garden Terrace
The back part of the Cranford Rose Garden with the Sundial Garden
The sundial statue in the Cranford Rose Gardens
I walked all the paths of the gardens, admiring the beautiful blooms of the roses and wildflowers that line all the gardens. Everything is time so nicely and there are all sorts of species of roses blooming during the season.
The roses still in bloom
The paths of wildflowers, roses and trellis shrubbery
The colorful flowers that line the paths
Certain species of roses still bloom in the gardens.
The Cranford Foutain Rose Garden
The fountain is so relaxing in the afternoon.
It was so nice walking around the terrace
The Cranford Family plaque dedicating the Rose Garden to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
The trellis on the back of the garden
The entrance to the gardens from the Cherry Blossom lawn
If you can get to the gardens in early June, I would suggest a special trip to see the roses. This special time of the year only lasts about three weeks and then like the rest of the flower displays in the gardens are gone until the next year. The gardens are now maturing for the summer months with lots of greenery and are still a nice place to relax and walk around or just sit and enjoy the views.
The Cherry Blossom Lawn after the cherry blooms are gone.
The flowers of the garden’s Marsh area.
Before I left the gardens for the afternoon, I stopped in the gift shop and looked around. They have some wonderful things to buy including a section of Brooklyn made products. There is also an array of plants, books and decorative products to buy.
The Gift Shop at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens
The Brooklyn made products and book selection at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens
After my visit to the gardens, I stopped at Bahn Mi Place at 824 Washington Avenue for lunch. I had one of their classic Bahn Mi sandwiches with ham and pate on a chewy hard roll. The food here is consistently good and their sandwiches are excellent.
Bahn Mi Place at 824 Washington Avenue
My review on TripAdvisor:
My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:
https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/2187
The Classic Banh Mi sandwich at Banh Mi Place
You have to order the sandwich with a Medium spicy sauce. It adds to the complexity
The sandwiches are excellent. The flavors of the fresh vegetables and meats with the spicy sauce makes complex flavor. The bread is fresh and chewy and don’t be fooled by the size of the sandwich. It is larger than I thought and very filling. See my review on both TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com.
I took my lunch and ate on the steps near the Brooklyn Museum and just enjoyed the afternoon. I people watched and enjoyed the cool, sunny weather. It was nice to escape from classes for a couple of hours and just relax and not think about school or work. It has again become a bit stressful between the two but I will handle everything.
I look forward to this time in the gardens and is one of the reasons why I keep my membership. I love to look at the hundreds of daffodils in bloom and watching as they sway in the wind and just want to look beautiful. It is the most amazing site every Spring.
Happy Easter!
mywalkinmanhattan 