An arctic spring means the city’s flowers were late to bloom, by “in some cases, a week,” says Maureen Hackett, director of horticulture for the Bryant Park Corporation and the 34th Street Partnership, and a former employee at the Central Park Conservancy and the New York Botanical Garden.
But with temperatures set to rise, the Bronxville-based gardening expert with 30 years’ experience promises “it will be worth the wait.”
Here are her recommendations for a floral New York.
1. Bryant Park, Fifth Avenue between 40th and 42nd streets
The 200-plus London plane trees, which are more than 70 years old, are probably the most important landscape element to Bryant Park. But we also aim for a glorious massing of color at ground level that changes with the seasons. There is a fabulous display of 100,000 daffodil bulbs as well as pansies throughout — blues, yellows, purples and pinks. The daffodils fade and [in their place will grow] 8,000 tulips which were planted in the fall. Depending on the weather, they’ll last from late March through the first week of May. It will be a joy to behold.
2. Macy’s Flower Show
This free, annual spring show inside the flagship store in Herald Square is really great for your classic amateur plants man. You get a huge variety of things — it consolidates so many seasons under one roof. This year’s theme is Asian flowers and there are a lot of tropicals like orchids and lilies. But you will also see everything from tulips to azaleas to hydrangeas and tons of plants in the daisy variety.
3. Herald and Greeley Square parks on Sixth Avenue at 34th Street
[In 1999], we turned what were basically two traffic circles into oases of calm. There are a lot of studies about the effect of greenery and reduction in crime, and these parks have helped transform the neighborhood. I remember planting on 34th Street at night 15 years ago, and people would drive up right behind you and start putting the azaleas in the back of their cars. It was particularly bad in the run-up to Mother’s Day! But they can’t get away with that any more. This spring we have thousands of daffodils, Barcelona tulips, blue hyacinths and narcissus geraniums. The 34th Street area of Manhattan is one of its most fragrant nowadays.
4. The Cloisters, 99 Margaret Corbin Drive, Washington Heights
The grounds of this museum — an outpost of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains medieval artifacts — are breathtaking. One of my favorite spots is the Cuxa cloister, which has beautiful crab-apple and hawthorn blooms in May. It’s modeled on a medieval European garden. They specialize in plants native to woodlands such as daffodils, irises and violets, so spring is the most wonderful time to visit. There are benches to sit on and pause awhile in the low-walled gardens.
5. The Conservatory Garden in Central Park, Fifth Avenue between 104th and 106th streets
One of the most beautiful features here is the spectacular double row of crab-apple trees which bloom in May. There are two bands of white and two bands of pink blossom [trees] arranged on the lawn, which is at least one acre in total. Meanwhile, the southern-most garden, closer to 104th Street, is English-style with a lot of naturalized daffodils on the hillsides. Inside you’ll see a lot of different varieties of daffodils and tulips. If, like me, you’re a fan of “Downton Abbey,” you will love it because it perfectly evokes the English countryside. I can almost picture myself riding an Arabian horse across the grounds!
6. Wave Hill, Riverdale, The Bronx
Wave Hill is a great place in the spring as there are activities like plant workshops and bee-keeping. And, if you’re a flower lover, you’ll be in heaven because so many seasonal flowers are experimented with in pots. It’s a fun place to get ideas for your own garden. There’s [also] a pergola covered in wisteria which has expansive views over the Hudson River to the Palisades. You see no evidence of civilization and would never know you are in The Bronx.
7. New YorkBotanical Garden, Southern Boulevard, The Bronx
This huge garden provides something to enjoy every week of spring. Witch hazels, snowdrops and the Korean rhododendrons are already opening up and looking great in the Azalea Garden. The Japanese apricot in the Ladies’ Border is beginning to flower. The earliest daffodils are opening in huge drifts and the precocious magnolias and earliest flowering cherries should begin opening by Easter. Then it’s off to the races through mid-and late April [with] cherry blossom, followed by crab apple and dogwoods.
8. Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn
I grew up in Brooklyn, but never [came here] until I was 20 and applied for an internship. I’ll never forget walking in and being amazed at that complete separation from what’s going on outside because, back in the day, that wasn’t such a great area. One of the highlights of the spring is the Cherry Walk, a meandering pathway behind the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. The cherry blossoms were originally purchased from a Long Island nursery in 1921 and two from the original planting still survive. [Nearby] is a tranquil pond filled with koi carp.