One Week Later at NYBG - Hard to Imagine, Splendor in the Grass

can you top these? High Season – Tulips

Many years ago I read Ruth Reichl’s memoir, Comfort Me With Apples. I get that, I do. Perhaps, my version, even though I am just as in love with cooking, would be Comfort Me With Beauty – and Flowers would be the number one source, i.e. Comfort Me With Flowers – but in a totally uplifting way (not ANY of those funeral varieties – they’d all have to be out-of-doors in their own habitats and bees would be buzzing everywhere) – those ever-astonishing marvels of nature that never fail to amaze me. Closely following would be comfort me with old buildings, landscapes, street scenes and art – preferably all old. They’d all be “in the basket”. And, I suppose I must believe somewhere in the deep recesses of my silly little mind, that if I capture them all on one or more cameras, that they’ll never, ever go away – or at least they’ll be as close as my fingertips.

Let’s just say it’s great to have a new obsession less than one hour away from home. (It takes one tiny bit of pressure off my desire to hop on a plane every day and go off to, well, you know.) One can venture out, pay a few tolls, and, if you’re a member, get a treasury of free treats for basically nothing – maybe just the cost of lunch. What more could you possibly ask for? Let’s just say that when I’m walking through I feel that swirling feeling of wonder (somewhat akin to Marlo Thomas in the intro of “That Girl” if you’re at all as old as I am.)

Life can and does present you with wonderful little surprises that have been right under your own nose for your entire life and then – pop – you discover them at a completely serendipitous time – to enjoy and cherish from that moment forward. It’s not that I haven’t been there before, it’s that I haven’t been there in this frame of mind, at this stage of obsession and at this specific time of year – just in time to watch the entire spectacle unfold upon itself. Who could choreograph such a show in nature? I know that this has not all happened on its own. It’s 125 years worth of work by thousands of people. And, how could we possibly thank them enough? (this is one movement of that symphony I wrote about a couple of weeks ago) While we tend to believe it’s all due to Mother Nature, there are the hands of scientists, designers and worker bees evident everywhere.

Well, apparently last Friday’s visit to the “preview party” for Daffodil Weekend at NYBG was enough to whet my appetite for more. For some reason I had envisioned the state of the “art” to be just about the same as last Friday. I couldn’t have been more wrong. For someone who steps out the door every single morning to size up the changes from the day before, I am confounded that I can see the small steps in my own yard every day and yet I wasn’t expecting a big change over “there”. I actually thought I wouldn’t have much new to photograph and enjoy. Well……..

I set out early this morning for the Bronx again, optimistic and motivated, avec camera and trundled on over the GWB and into the land of “polar opposites”. On one side of the street there is the ultimate display of city grittiness in visual and sound. On the other, a paradise so totally splendid it is almost unbelievable. Today, my visit was initiated mostly by the prospect of scoring one great find at the 25th Annual Antique Garden Furniture Fair in the tent behind the Conservatory.

I parked and wandered in, scanning with the eyes of a hawk to spot the changes in 7 days. Wow, is there any way to truly overestimate nature’s miracles of magic and timing and precision changes? I think not. But, I tried to not get side-tracked too much before I took aim at my mission, which was to see the Garden Antiques. I was secretly hoping to score a few antique zinc flower containers like the ones found in florist shops………

Here are the photos from inside the show:

first, inside the Conservatory:

nothing like having your own grapefruit tree, laden with fruit intoxicating Gardenias – I’ve never been successful at keeping one, but I adore them; their heady fragrance perfumed the entire rotunda

Inside the Tent:

Great Dahlia’s for sale: suitable for framing

Inside the tent:

probably 12′ flower arrangement right inside the door

same size (well maybe 3x me)

Well, I made my way around and selected a few items, none of which I was willing to really say yes to but I added them onto my mental list. Lots of gorgeous artwork, statues, garden furniture, and implements. I did spy some planters that I bought in Lambertville for $100. priced for $2000. Yep. So, if you go, be careful and think if you might be able to find similar treasures at your favorite flea market or off the beaten path. No bargains here, I am sorry to say.

After a quick lunch, I went off to explore the gardens again – this time in my fleece-lined Barbour coat. The only good thing about this is that the cool (cold) weather has slowed down the evolution of the gardens so that we can all really enjoy the show. Each and every species and genus will get its due.

While last week the flowering trees and the daffodils were at their peak, the tulips were the stars of the show today – you’ll note there are only one or two duplicates from last week. It’s a special feast to see so many varieties of tulips in one spot – being that we live where the deer eat them all and most people don’t even bother to plant them any longer. What I love about photographing them is that each and every one is in its own unique setting and you can capture each one in a very specific light. Each seems to call out with its own invitation to step in and study with the eye. How marvelous is this moment in time in Spring.