The Boroughs are Blooming

By Stacey Zable

New York City may seem like it is only made up of tall buildings and concrete sidewalks, but it is also home to gorgeous gardens and outdoor green space. Escape among nature’s beauty and take some time to smell the roses…and the tulips, lilacs, cherry blossoms, bluebells and more when visiting these gardens and parks in the Big Apple and its boroughs.

The more than 100-year-old-public garden offers 52 acres of strollable paths, flowers, trees and plants. Spring at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden includes the flowering cherry trees located within Cherry Esplanade and Cherry Walk, as well as the Annual Border with its bulb display that features thousands of tulips, alliums and other seasonal favorites. Also, Bluebell Wood, where more than 45,000 bluebells are planted under oak, birch and beech trees, should not be missed. bbg.org

Set within Manhattan’s most famous of green spaces, the Conservatory Garden in Central

Park opened way back in 1937. Today, its six acres are made up of three spaces: the French-style North Garden, Italianate Center Garden and the English-style South Garden. A restoration project was recently completed on the South Garden, with the French and Italian Gardens up next. The entire project to be completed by late 2024. You’ll find plantings of tulips, lilacs, crabapple trees, summer perennials and chrysanthemums amongst plenty of Instagrammable backdrops. centralparknyc.org/locations/ conservatory-garden

At 250 acres, the New York Botanical Garden is one of the largest in any city in the U.S. Established in 1891, the National Historic Landmark is home to 50 specialty gardens and collections making up more than one million plants and 30,000 trees, many of which are more than 200 years old. It’s hard to pick which areas to explore first, but top choices include the award-winning Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, the Native Plant Garden and the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, a Victorian-style glasshouse. The Garden Tram Tour included in the All-Garden Pass offers an overview of the gardens and its history. nybg.org

Snug Harbor offers visitors programs that focus on the arts, horticulture and agriculture. There are 14 botanical gardens, plus a two-acre urban farm, 10 acres of wetlands and 26 historic buildings spread throughout the 83-acre campus. A must-visit is the New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden, one of the only of its kind in the U.S. It features eight pavilions, a bamboo forest path, waterfalls, a Koi-filled pond, Chinese calligraphy and a variety of Ghongshi scholar’s rocks including a 15-foot formation that towers over the central courtyard. Other gardens include the Rose Garden, with more than 100 varieties, and the White Garden, an English garden boasting white roses, hellebores, snowdrops, lilies and irises. Adding to the setting are surrounding European court garden-style grey lattices. snug-harbor.org