Spring has finally arrived in NYC! (About damn#$&% time he said 😉 )
And boy does this week feel like a new time in the city! The skies are blue, the sun is shining bright and flowers have bloomed overnight ALL across the city. EVERYONE, flora and fauna, have emerged from months of hibernation through a rough and endless winter…
We visited the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens (BBG) last weekend for the Sakura-Matsuri festival in Brooklyn. Also known as the BBG Cherry Blossom festival, it’s generally perfectly timed with the peak bloom of the cherry blossom trees lining the walkways and ponds.
Japan is probably the most famous for its thousands and thousands of cherry (“sakura”) blossom trees, and the significance of the flowers in Japanese culture stems from Buddhist influence. The flowers are a metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life; the extreme beauty and a quick death, reminding us of our own fragility. This symbolism can also be noted in most Japanese art and film with the cherry blossoms in the backdrop. Hmmm…so what should YOU be thinking about as you picnic under the blossoms this year?
Life is short, and extremely precious, so respect and cherish every moment of it.♥
The practice of flower viewing (“Hanami”) dates back many centuries. People gather in groups, with friends and families, to hold parties and have picnics under the trees; taking in the beauty and celebrating the season with music, food and sake. At night, they hang tiny lanterns on the trees turning the parks into enchanted forests. Sigh! some day when we visit Japan…
Until then, let’s enjoy the view from our very own Brooklyn 🙂
As the Spring season in NYC seems to be further delayed each year (to the point of being non existent I think), this year’s festival also included a few trees that weren’t quite ready; just a hint of green and tiny little buds still waiting for the right temperature…
But still – The rest of the park had a color EXPLOSION of sorts; lots of flowers including pink and white cherry blossoms, magnolias, daffodils, tulips – oh my! sheer joy on people’s faces 🙂
There were several women dressed up in pastel colored kimonos that added to the charm and made for some pretty pictures!
We walked a bit further, to pass a field of bright Daffodils reminding us of our hike in Murren (But that’s a different post 😉 )
Walking a little further to see rows and rows of bright tulips – of all shapes, sizes and colors!
Making our way towards the Bonsai garden, we took a little break by the pond to reflect upon the gorgeous weather (literally!). Look at this reflection of the sky in the calm waters of the koi pond…
The Bonsai garden had a special collection in time for the japanese festival. Trees that were close to a 100+ years old, and the textures were simply amazing to photograph!
All this nature-walking had gotten us pretty darn hungry, and we decided to grab a bite at Kimchi Grill just a few blocks over from BBG. The food was absolutely delicious; super flavorful! (Highly recommend the wings and the tacos.)
And THIS pretty much wrapped up an awesome day! Hope you’re enjoying this lovely weather just as much 🙂 xo
– A&A
theroamingpear.com 
Amazingly awsome. Very very nice. The power of Nature.
On May 2, 2015 9:03 PM, “The Roaming Pear” wrote: > > TheRoamingPear posted: “Spring has finally arrived in NYC! (About damn#$&% time he said 😉 ) And boy does this week feel like a new time in the city! The skies are blue, the sun is shining bright and flowers have bloomed overnight ALL across the city. EVERYONE, flora and ” >
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