NYBG Orchid Show: Chandeliers

Last Sunday I went to the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx for its annual Orchid Show, which is usually held every March to third week of April. I've been going for several years now, my way of celebrating my Mom's beautiful spirit. We lost her one beautiful March day.

It was already starting to snow when I arrived at the garden. The orchid show is housed in the Enid Haupt Conservatory, it looked so pretty in the snow.

The Conservatory also houses tropical plants and desert plants, and plants from the rainforests, among others. You have to go through all these displays before the main attraction.

This year's Orchid Show has the theme "Chandeliers". The centerpiece of the show is a spectacular three-tiered flower chandelier that overflowed with the blooms. It was a hit with all visitors and I enjoyed seeing everyone's reactions.

Standing under the center of the giant flower chandelier, I had this incredible view. I could stand here forever!

It was a joy to see most of my favorite orchids. There's cymbidium in many different colors. I like this one, looks like an unusual color for an orchid.

I love the moth orchids, some of them come in solid colors, some with stripes, others with spots, all beautiful.

Mom's favorite has always been the anthurium. It is red and shaped like a heart, and seeing one always reminds me of her great love for us.

The weather outside was frightful but it was so delightful inside the Conservatory. The pretty dancing ladies made me forget the non-stop snow blowing outside.

I hope seeing these pretty flowers have somehow chased your winter blues away. Thank you New York Botanical Garden, I had a wonderful time and enjoyed the Orchid Show.

Now, we just need these flowers to call out to Mother Nature to let Spring come early this year. Everyone agree?

For the rest of my photos on the Orchid Show, click on the link to my Flickr album: NYBG 2015 Orchid Show

Early Morning at The High Line

Last month I was invited by the Friends of the High Line for an early morning photo shoot of the park. Our meet time was 5:30 am, an hour before sunrise. Manhattan in the early morning twilight looked beautiful.

The park was still closed to the public, it opens at 7 am so I and my fellow volunteer photographers had free rein of the place for over an hour.

At 18th Street near where the park curves at 10th Avenue is a billboard which is often used by the park to showcase works of different artists. For the month of September, the artwork on display was Waking by Gilbert & George.

For the High Line, Gilbert & George will present Waking (1984), an image populated by the young that represent the primal life forces at their most formative and explosive stages. Originally 36 feet long, the image shows the artists occupying the center of a symmetrical and intensely colored multi-figure composition. Around them is an assembled cast of youngsters. The artists – their faces transformed into masks by overlaid color – evoke a kind of inner awakening, perhaps the passage from boyhood to manhood, which the hierarchy of the three figures seems to suggest.

The billboard looked more colorful that morning framed by the early morning twilight and an empty parking lot, a rare sight in the city during the normal waking hours of the day.

The 10th Avenue Square is a great place to watch the morning light change. The figure on my pic below is one of my fellow volunteer photographers, trying to capture an empty 10th Avenue.

The Northern Spur Preserve looked awesome as the early morning light started to illuminate the area.

And the lights of the Chelsea Market Passage gave the nearby areas a soft purple glow.

It was nearly sunrise time when I passed by the Sundeck area, the reclining seats looked so inviting.

But I hurried back to the 10th Avenue Square and took this pic. At sunrise time, the city was glowing and some cars and cabs were already on the road.

Looking south past the overpass, I could see Lady Liberty bathed in the morning sunrise.

Walking further south at the park, the construction of the Whitney Museum of Art was going full swing in time for its 2015 opening.

Designed by architect Renzo Piano, the new building will include more than 50,000 square feet of indoor galleries and 13,000 square feet of outdoor exhibition space on a series of rooftops facing the High Line. An expansive gallery for temporary exhibitions will be approximately 18,000 square feet in area, making it the largest column-free museum gallery in New York City. Additional exhibition space includes a lobby gallery (accessible free of charge), two floors for the permanent collection, and a contemporary artists’ project space on the top floor. 

I then walked back north so I could cover the length of the park. The surrounding buildings may have blocked the view of the sunrise but its light was reflected everywhere, even on the Water Feature of the park.

It was still at least half an hour before opening time. Isn't it great to have a beautiful park all to yourself? Despite waking very early, it was great to be at the park to welcome the day.

And the High Line was looking gorgeous that September morning. It would only be just a matter of an hour or two before this stretch of the elevated park will be filled with people enjoying the day.

Pretty soon the joggers and early park goers arrived. Some make good use of the park benches for their exercises.

The trees in the Chelsea thicket had their branches forming an arch to pass through. It looked like an entrance to a magic place.

After getting past the tree arch, I saw El Anatsui's Broken Bridge II. The art work is on view only until November 4.

Made of recycled pressed tin and mirrors woven together, Broken Bridge II creates a stunning visual of wave-like patterns and folds, evoking traditional practices of tapestry weaving, while reflecting the surrounding landscape of the High Line. 

El Anatsui
Broken Bridge II

Walking further along past the Street Lawn and Seating Steps is this part of the park where the morning sun is reflected on the buildings with the grasses swaying in the wind.

The new buildings under construction can be seen from the Falcone Flyover. These buildings are part of the development at the Hudson Railyards.

Although not part of the High Line curated program, there are a lot of murals and art work around the park. One of the newer ones is Lady Luck by Jordan Betten.

This was my view looking at the park from the Wildflower Field, it was really a gorgeous morning.

I then walked back south to look for the Friends of the High Line staff so I could take my leave. By that time I have walked along the park for three hours, and the sun was already a little bit high up.

Before I left I stopped and sat on the bench near the 10th Avenue Square. This was my view, shielded by the trees and beautiful plant foliage. Guess this would be a great place to take a nap.

I have taken lots of pictures that day, of the park as well as its flowers. I like this pic most of all. It looked like this little flower was stretching its petals to welcome the beautiful day. 

Thank you to Friends of the High Line for giving us the opportunity to document the day from the morning twilight up to midmorning. The early wake-up call was worth it, I would gladly do it again .. but hopefully, not in winter time.

For the rest of my pics, here's the album on Flickr - Early Morning at the High Line

For a map of the High Line, here's the link.

For the High Line, Gilbert & George will present Waking (1984), an image populated by the young that represent the primal life forces at their most formative and explosive stages. Originally 36 feet long, the image shows the artists occupying the center of a symmetrical and intensely colored multi-figure composition. Around them is an assembled cast of youngsters. The artists – their faces transformed into masks by overlaid color – evoke a kind of inner awakening, perhaps the passage from boyhood to manhood, which the hierarchy of the three figures seems to suggest. - See more at: http://art.thehighline.org/project/gilbertandgeorge/#sthash.BlzU8uS1.dpuf

For the High Line, Gilbert & George will present Waking (1984), an image populated by the young that represent the primal life forces at their most formative and explosive stages. Originally 36 feet long, the image shows the artists occupying the center of a symmetrical and intensely colored multi-figure composition. Around them is an assembled cast of youngsters. The artists – their faces transformed into masks by overlaid color – evoke a kind of inner awakening, perhaps the passage from boyhood to manhood, which the hierarchy of the three figures seems to suggest. - See more at: http://art.thehighline.org/project/gilbertandgeorge/#sthash.BlzU8uS1.dpuf

For the High Line, Gilbert & George will present Waking (1984), an image populated by the young that represent the primal life forces at their most formative and explosive stages. Originally 36 feet long, the image shows the artists occupying the center of a symmetrical and intensely colored multi-figure composition. Around them is an assembled cast of youngsters. The artists – their faces transformed into masks by overlaid color – evoke a kind of inner awakening, perhaps the passage from boyhood to manhood, which the hierarchy of the three figures seems to suggest. - See more at: http://art.thehighline.org/project/gilbertandgeorge/#sthash.BlzU8uS1.dpuf

April Walks in Central Park

After arriving back in the US from my vacation, I had three weekends left in April to go walking and most of those walks were in Central Park. April in Central Park is a magical time, trees bursting with pink and white blossoms, all the colors of flowers you can imagine, and temps just right for a great walk.

The first weekend, I walked from The Pond up to The Reservoir. This was The Pond around the middle of April. You can see the leaves sprouting from the trees and some were already showing off their spring colors.

At the base of Cat Rock, the forsythia were blooming and brightening the area with its brilliant color.

I came upon this drawing class in an area where there were lots of magnolia and cherry trees. I would have loved to paint, too, if I only have the talent, but I could take pics and I hope you enjoy seeing the park through my eyes.

Most of the cherry trees were blooming at the time of my walk, and as I neared the statue of The Pilgrim, I could see he has the best views of the cherry blossoms in the park.

It was also a great day to hang out at the Conservatory Water. The model boats were already out and sailing across the pond.

At the Great Lawn, lots of cherry trees were in bloom, I like the look of this big and pink cherry tree.

I stayed at The Reservoir until evening. The lights on the buildings of midtown Manhattan and the Upper West Side were reflected on the Reservoir water as the moon shines down on the city.

The next weekend, I started my walk at the northern side of the park, the Harlem Meer. The geese were already there enjoying the park.

Adjacent to the Harlem Meer is the Conservatory Garden. The English Garden was bursting with pink and white blossoms.

If I had a book and the time to sit down and rest, I would have also done this, and enjoyed the day amidst the colors and scents of spring.

But I had to keep on walking, from the Conservatory Garden, past the North Meadow and on to The Reservoir and the all colorful trees around it.

From the Reservoir, I took the bridle path to walk further south and I'm glad I did as I had this great view. A really beautiful spring day!

From the bridle path, I passed the Great Lawn to visit the Obelisk or Cleopatra's Needle. The magnolia trees were already in full bloom by that time. The Obelisk framed by the magnolia flowers is such a pretty sight, don't you think so?

Then it's on to the Bethesda Terrace. In the late afternoon sun, the flowering trees provided a great back drop to the Bethesda Fountain,

By the time I reached Bow Bridge it was already sundown, and The Lake looked peaceful and calm.

A goose was busy preening at The Lake, oblivious to the reflections all around.

I stayed at the area until early evening and saw that the cherry trees on Cherry Hill were the perfect roosting spot for the robins. All in all, another great walk on a beautiful spring day.

For the last weekend of April, I started my walk at the south end of the park. I've always felt at peace looking at The Pond and Gapstow Bridge, I just love this view.

Up at Cat Rock I saw these young ladies trying to make a big ♥ with their hands. Yes Central Park, we ♥ you!

 
I then proceeded to the Carousel and saw these pretty tulips blooming all around.

I then walked towards The Mall but along the way heard chirping and saw this pretty blue jay. After I took this pic, it flew down but remained in the area occassionally looking up. It was then that I saw another blue jay answering its call.

Just a little bit further, I looked up and saw a very cute sight .. a little squirrel asleep up a tree. It was my first time to see a squirrel sleep and I'm glad I was able to witness and document the moment as a short time later it stirred and scampered away.

The leaves of the American elm trees were starting to appear and provide a great shade while walking in The Mall.

Near the Ladies' Pavilion at The Lake, a lot of people were entertained by these turtles. They were just sitting there and sunning themselves and gained a lot of audience. Or maybe the audience thought the turtles were about to break into some dance?

The Swedish Cottage became more charming with the pink dogwood tree blooming in front.

And it looked like summer at the Great Lawn with all the people lying around enjoying the day.

Look at all the pink and white cherry trees, doesn't the Reservoir look pretty?

I then proceeded to the Conservatory Garden and found a riot of more pink and white. The crabapple trees lining the Center Garden were in full bloom.

It was already late afternoon and I wanted to go to the North Woods so I didn't stay long at the garden. At the North Woods, I chanced upon this chipmunk skipping among the rocks.

By the time I reached The Loch I've been walking the whole afternoon and was getting a little tired, but seeing the pretty waterfall made me forget all the tiredness. A forest in the middle of the city, I love it here!

Are you in pink and white overload yet? I hope not as these flowering trees surely brighten and add color to the park in April. There wasn't much rain during the month but i do hope April, with or without the showers will still bring the May flowers. And i'm looking forward to enjoying these flowers in my walks in the park in May.

For the rest of my pics, here's the album on Flickr - Central Park, April 2013