At Long Last Spring

Linus Gelber

It's early for the Hanami cherry blossom extravaganza at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The main splash of color and flowers comes next week, and I've got plans to be there then with a friend in need of portraiting.

I'm glancing through the Garden's web site, seeing what's up (they have a tree-by-tree map showing the flowering status of each of the cherry trees), and all of the main esplanade is bare - but over in the Japanese Garden, a couple of my favorite trees are in bloom. I've got a great soft spot for the weeping Higan cherry tree flowers, and they're at peak. A trip to the Garden is in order.

I won't say I've got the place to myself, but the real crowds are still days away, which makes the afternoon there lovely, laid-back, and restful. Some of the early tulips and camellias are busting away as well, with the magnolias already beginning to shed.

Last year the cherry blaze was already come and gone by this date; I was at the tail end of things when I shot on April 12, 2012, but then last year's mutant non-winter knocked the whole year out of balance.

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