Sundays are for Exploring - New York Botanical Gardens

I picked the perfect day for a visit. The weather was sunny, 70 degrees and lightly windy. All the peonies have fully bloomed and their fragrance was unreal. We made it down the peony path stopping at every flower to get a smell of their amazing fragrances.

After the peony pathway we stopped at the small gardens mirroring the pathways, beautiful perennials all around, azaleas, alliums, poppy’s, and Hofstras to name a few.

We saw and bride and groom taking advantage of these perfect blooms and getting their photographs taken after having their wedding ceremony in the gardens.

We then made our way around the paths to the Rockefeller rose garden.. The roses have not bloomed yet, however some have started to bud and just by walking by, you could smell in the air all the wonderful fragrances about to pop.

Very few blooms yet, but they have mixed in alliums throughout the rose bushes that have bloomed, to balance the timing of visitors to see something if they did come before the roses blooming. They did make it aware on their website the “estimated” time of the rose blooms which should be around June 8th.

Passed the rose garden, a small patch of lilacs line the exit pathway, beautiful full blossoms with magical colors of lilac and different shades of purple, larger than life size trees. Another fragrance lining the air as you walk through.

Coming out of the lilacs we made it to the edible garden! A place I’ve been wanting to check out for awhile. A huge life size caterpillar lines the left side with plants, lettuce and flowers plants growing throughout! So many adorable kids watering the vegetables and planting some yummy fruit and veggies! But of course my favorite part were the bees! Hidden behind the wall is a tiny Apiary, with two deep langstroth hives elevated on a plank. I looked around and could not find the entrance to where the beekeepers can go and do a hive inspection. There is no gate or door, or even an entrance to get over to the hives, I’m not sure how they get to the bees! I was surprised that there were only two hives and not a whole bunch with all the flowers and plants they have, they could use a few more hives!

An adorable sign saying apiary letting people know of the secret spot behind the gardens border wall.

If I could have a dream garden of vegetables, this would be it!

So many happy excited kids looking and touching the plants, learning what plants are called what and how to take care of them by caring and watering them. Mixing education and gardening is always an exciting time!

Making our way out of the edible gardens we made our way through the magnolias trees, which have already blooms back a month ago, however we did find a couple late bloomers hidden in the trees.

Making our way around the circle we came to the rock garden, filled with pops of color and sweet smaller plants. A waterfall and a soothing calming river goes through with all sorts of color throughout. Iris, allium, foxglove, lavender, and many more perennials throughout. A honey bee heaven! Such a tranquil and peaceful environment throughout all the gardens, a perfect place to getaway from the busy city.

On our way out we stopped into the Haupt conservatory, unfortunately most of it was under construction so many sections were closed so it was a very short trip inside. It looked like they were fixing the dome and working on an upcoming exhibit outside the front of the Haupt conservatory which is set to open in June. Peaking through the construction you can see large tropical trees being planted and some artwork being placed around the area.

Overall it was a great and adventurous day! A lot of fun and beautiful weather! Will defiantly go back to see these roses bloom!