First Crocus, Rock Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Not in my garden, yet, but today I saw my first Crocus of the season in the Rock Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.



I almost overlooked it. It's tucked in at the base of the south face of a large boulder in the Rock Garden. A perfect location for solar heating to get a head start on his little crocusey friends.



Ah, but look. There are some crocusey friends to his left, two of them.



I'm thinking Crocus tommasinanus.

Here's the Yucca again which I photographed a few weeks ago. I like how the leaves capture the light.




The Witchhazels I also photographed a month ago are now fading, but still colorful.




Just starting to come into their own are the heaths in the Rock Garden. I look forward to watching them progress over the new few months.

Related posts

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, January 2008

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, December 2007

Center Hall, BBG Lab and Admin Building


Last Friday I visited the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It started out as a beautifully sunny day, clouding over as the afternoon progressed.

Admission to the gardens is free for non-members on weekdays through February.

The occasion or excuse for my visit was to register for the first course in their Certificate in Horticulture program. Their Winter sessions were already booked, but I was able to sign up for the Spring session, which starts in April. Outside of work, this will be my first classroom education since I studied American Sign Language over 25 years ago.

All that aside, it was a beautiful day. Here are some highlights from my visit.

Baby

Baby, BBG's specimen of the Titan Arum, Amorphophallus titanum, is in leaf this year. Each year, the Titam Arum will either flower or, more usually, put out a single leaf.

Baby, with humans for scale


This whole structure is a single, giant compound leaf.


The petiole, shown here, has the same distinctive mottling I saw on the base of last year's inflorescence.


"Baby" in bloom in August of last year

Bonsai Museum

Camellia japonica "Julia Drayton" trained as a bonsai in the literati style


Detail of the roots and moss at the base of a cascade style bonsai of Pinus mugo


Three bonsai

Magnolia Plaza

The photo at the top of this post is from inside BBG's Laboratory and Administration Building. That's where I went to register for my course. Here's a view of the center hall from the outside of the building, taken in March of 2007.


And here's a view of that main entrance from the inside.


BBG's Lab Admin building was landmarked earlier this year.

The Magnolias themselves seemed to be in bud, a couple months too early.


Hopefully, they're smart enough to not get too optimistic. We'll have lows in the teens this week.


Not everything was as monochromatic as the photo above suggests.


Athyrium nipponicum and Helleborus foetidus

Japanese Hill & Pond Garden

The highlight of my visit, as I expected, was the Japanese Garden.





It being a weekday, and the middle of winter, and the middle of the holiday week, I almost had the garden to myself. I even had a precious couple of minutes when there was noone else there, which has never happened on any of my previous visits. It was lovely.

Members Reception in BBG's Cranford Rose Garden

Calm before the storm in the Cranford Rose Garden


Wednesday evening, blog widow John and I went to the members' wine and cheese reception in the Cranford Rose Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. During the summer, BBG stays open until 8pm on Wednesday evenings for members only, one of their benefits to members.

John overheard another visitor say "Well, the roses are beautiful, even if the people aren't." Free cheese and crackers seemed to stir visitors into a feeding frenzy. Maybe it was the free wine, of which John and I don't partake. Away from the food, things were more pleasant, though still crowded in the rose garden. Away from the rose garden, the gardens were lovely.


Entrance to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden


Duck Family


Lily Pool Terace


Lily Pool Terrace


Water Lilies


Busy Bees on Milk Thistle, Silybum marianum "“Adriana”"


Water Lily


Mixed Perennial Border


Lily Pool Terrace Fountain


ID REQUEST: What is this plant?


Cranford Rose Garden


Cranford Rose Garden


Also Pink


Rose Garden from the Overlook


Rose Garden from the Overlook


View Through


Palm House Reflected

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, April 14, 2007

[Updated 2007.04.19 21:30 EDT: Added Fragrance Garden, Magnolia Plaza, Daffodil Hill, and Lily Pool Terrace.]

Magnolia Flower, Magnolia Plaza, Brooklyn Botanic Garden


We visited the Brooklyn Botanic Garden last Saturday. So did a lot of other people. It was a perfect day, the day before the Nor'Easter hit and dumped a record rainfall on New York City.

As before, two ways you can explore. The title of this post links to the Flickr set of photos. Or, you can explore the Google Map of my visit.



Rock Garden



Caucasian Wingnut

Best. Name. Ever. For a tree. This may be the most photographed non-flowering tree in the Garden. I'll honor it with its own post some day.



Compost Demonstration Area

Another feature of the Garden deserving of its own post. Just a couple of shots here. Check the Flickr set for all the signage. I liked the homemade styles; either one would work in my garden, now that I have enough space. Yes, I'm a geek.



Native Flora Garden



Japanese Garden

I walked the south path of the garden. I don't remember ever walking this way before. It's a different perspective. And it's also where the turtles like to hang out.



Fragrance Garden

This has the most beautiful stonework in the whole garden. It lies between the Shakespeare Garden and the recently landmarked Laboratory Administration Building which faces Magnolia Plaza.



Magnolia Plaza

They were at their peak when we visited. They'll be just passing their peak right now.



Daffodil Hill

Originally known as Boulder Hill, there's still a marker for the old name.



Lily Pool Terrace

The Annual Borders are about to explode with Tulips. I didn't get any shots of the Mixed (Shrubs and Perennials) Border, which has year-round interest and is lovely right now. Next trip.

Related content

Flickr photo set