Cherry Blossoms on Roosevelt Island

Hundreds of cherry trees in full bloom on Roosevelt Island

Spanish Bluebells in Full Bloom at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

The Bluebell Wood has become a popular attraction at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in the spring. Designed by Robert Hyland, it is a woodland planting of more than 40,000 Spanish bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica 'Excelsior') that bloom in late April through mid-May. It is shaded by the beech, birch, oak, and elm tree collection of the garden. 

Spring Is In The Air - 2010 MACY'S FLOWER SHOW (New York's Herald Square)

Window display (clouds made of white carnation)

Window display

Window display

Bouquet of the Day

Chloe display

The 2010 Macy's Flower Show goes on display beginning today at the flagship store at Herald Square through April 11. The department store is transformed into a wonderland of beautiful gardens. This year's show features different garden environments including palm and topiary gardens and over 30,000 varieties of exotic trees and flowering plants. This year's Flower Show has a new centerpiece -- a magnificent hot air balloon that reaches two stories high and features a gondola filled with spectacular flowers and greenery; it serves as a gateway to the indoor floral fantasyland near the Broadway Street entrance. Thousands of flowers, trees, shrubs and plants grace the gardens at this year's Flower Show. While oversized butterflies and dragonflies buzz-about and nearly 200 kites fly high above visitors in an arrangement of six archways along the main aisle. 
"Each year, Macy's signals the optimism and renewal that is the promise of a new season with its Spring Flower Show -- an epic event that transforms the store with a vast, rolling landscape of breathtaking color," says Robin Hall, Macy's executive producer of the annual event. "Macy's Flower Show is a massive undertaking involving a year of planning and preparation, and an army of talented people who lovingly gather, transport and plant thousands of brilliant plants and exotic trees to bring the spring season into full flower." The show also features local artists from the city's top floral design houses will showcase their individual artistry when each creates a one-of-a-kind floral-themed masterpiece known as "Bouquet of the Day."

TULIPS ON PARK AVENUE

New York’s vegetation, so long stuck in a suspended animation, has finally shaken off winter. Strangely, when the rain stopped last week, the spring flowers seemed to bloom simultaneously rather than sequentially. My favorite spring flowers are tulips, such as these found on Park Avenue. Known for its soaring real estate prices and affluence, Park Avenue (formerly called Fourth Avenue) is a wide thoroughfare on the Upper East Side that runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east. The blooms and foliage in the median island of this wide boulevard are maintained by the Fund for Park Avenue. Aside from Central Park, this is where I enjoy photographing tulips. While most of the photos above were taken on Park Avenue, some of them were made outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on the Upper West Side, the Weill Medical College of Cornell University on the Upper East Side, and at the park in front of City Hall downtown. Whether the background are NYC yellow taxicabs, out of focus traffic lights or an off-white concrete wall, tulips are always photogenic.

The tulip is actually a native of Central Asia, in the Tien-Shan and the Pamir-Alai mountain ranges near Islamabad, Pakistan. A secondary genetic center developed in Azerbaijan and Armenia. The tulip is still closely associated with the Netherlands even though it is not a native Dutch flower. The Dutch, however made tulip cultivation the cornerstone of an industry that lasted hundreds of years. Tulips were not introduced to the Netherlands until 1593. These flowers were first seen by Europeans in Turkey and it is believed that the Turks had been cultivating tulips as early as AD 1000. The tulip got its name from the Turkish word for turban, owing to the flower's resemblance to the Middle Eastern headgear. Tulips are perennial bulbous plants with waxy-textured green leaves and large flowers with six velvety petals.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG

Today is the first day of spring, although it's probably the coldest day of the week in New York. This is when the sun sits directly above the equator on its apparent trip northward. As the Earth revolves around the sun, the Northern Hemisphere, becomes tilted more toward the sun as winter turns to spring. The Southern Hemisphere, on the other hand becomes tilted more away from the sun.

The daffodils and tulips are not in bloom yet in the city. Above is a film-based image that I made a while ago of white Ranunculus blooms on a stack of plates. The Latin name ranunculus means "little frog". These flowers originated from the Middle East, hence their alternative name "Turban Buttercup". They have tuberous roots and hollow stems.

Mythology of Ranunculus (from http://www.flowers.org.uk): In fairy tales frogs are apt to change into princes and it was an Asian prince in just such a story who gave his name to this flower, which grows naturally in swampy ground. The prince was so good-looking that he was loved by everyone. He also had a beautiful voice but this was his undoing. He loved the open country and sang delightful songs in the presence of nymphs. He did not have the courage to declare his love to them and this haunted him so much that he died. After his death he was changed into the flower with delicate tissuey petals which bears his name.

EARLY SPRING

In anticipation of spring which is officially three weeks away, I took photos of tulips on a vase placed on my window sill, with the sun-drenched wall of the neighboring apartment building as background. Tulips for me are a cheerful reminder that winter days are numbered. These blooms are widely available in Manhattan at modest prices, from corner Korean delis to fancy flower shops.

The tulip is actually a native of Central Asia, in the Tien-Shan and the Pamir-Alai mountain ranges near Islamabad, Pakistan. A secondary genetic center developed in Azerbaijan and Armenia. The tulip is still closely associated with the Netherlands even though it is not a native Dutch flower. The Dutch, however made tulip cultivation the cornerstone of an industry that lasted hundreds of years. Tulips were not introduced to the Netherlands until 1593. These flowers were first seen by Europeans in Turkey and it is believed that the Turks had been cultivating tulips as early as AD 1000. The tulip got its name from the Turkish word for turban, owing to the flower's resemblance to the Middle Eastern headgear. Tulips are perennial bulbous plants with waxy-textured green leaves and large flowers with six velvety petals. In three weeks, the botanical gardens and parks throughout Manhattan will flourish into full bloom with displays of brilliant flower blossoms including tulips.