brooklyn botanic gardens

our family adventure continued to the brooklyn botanic gardens on sunday. 

under the flight path.

clusters of trees have begun to blossom in parts of the gardens; the daffodils and tulips are already in full bloom. it wasn't crazy crowded, since it's not yet time for the cherry blossom festival. ("it's next week," said the security guard to a couple of disappointed women, kimono-clad, at the gates.)  

the gardens were lovely, and i'll be back in a couple of weeks after the madness of sakura matsuri. (there's going to be an amazing plant sale!) but man, the bonsai. i could have stayed in the c.v. starr bonsai museum all day. i love miniatures and i love plants, so obviously, bonsai drive me crazy (in a good way). sadly, i have never been able to keep one alive, so it's a good thing i now have a membership so i can visit it anytime i want. (all the time.)

prunis x subhirtella. a miniature version of the ones outside.

zelkova serrata 'makino'. the scale of this tree is perfect: tiny leaves to go with the tiny trunk and branches. some of the other bonsai have normal-sized leaves on miniature trunks, which is just not as impressive. 

have a great week!

any excuse for flowers

there was a party, so there are more flowers. 

more of my favorites.

polka dot plants. these are so easy and only $1.50 per pint! 

paperwhites

my next-door neighbor introduced me to paperwhites when he brought some over as part of a very thoughtful holiday gift. they came in a bulb vase a lot like this one, and hadn't yet bloomed. as a result, hhh was convinced for weeks that they were scallions. the stalks kept growing until the plant was about twice as tall as the vase, and then tiny muslin blossoms appeared. 

the bulb on the left was started about four weeks ago, and the one on the right just about a week ago.

the holiday paperwhites lasted quite a while, but eventually died off. i hadn't yet asked the internets what to do with the bulb after the flowers faded, so apparently did everything totally wrong and had to throw away the bulb. (what not to do: trim the stalks in hopes that more blossoms will come in. they will not.) 

i find it weirdly delightful to watch the roots grow.

willa enjoying new smells.

then, i saw a whole basket of paperwhite bulbs for sale while we were in hudson last month. i grabbed a couple and vowed that i'd do everything right this time. i started one in the bulb vase, and waited a couple weeks to start the next bulb so that there would be some vertical diversity. since a lot of people have trouble with them toppling over, this tip might come in handy: you can add some gin (or tequila, vodka, whiskey or rum, for that matter) to the water. this stunts the growth of the leaves without affecting the flowers. (also, who knew there was a flower bulb research program at cornell university? i need to reevaluate my life choices.) 

they are also reeeaally fragrant. some people love it, some people don't. 

this time, i know to let the flowers die off before trimming and drying off the bulbs. then i'll store them in a cool, dark place until the dead of next winter, when i'll get them out and force them (ha!) to cheer me up again. 

butterfly japanese maple

a while back, i decided that i needed a japanese maple in my life. there were some lovely ones at botanica, but they cost as much as a sofa. a friend told me she could bring me as many as i wanted from virginia, where they'd only set me back $14.99 each at her local home depot. (new york prices pretty much ensures that you think anything you want to buy anywhere else is dirt cheap.) but on her next trip, something got in the way of her driving a truck full of trees through four states, so my search continued. that's when i discovered mazzone hardware in carroll gardens. i love a good hardware store (which it definitely is), but mazzone also has a sizable nursery, which makes it the best hardware store ever in my book. and the people there are so nice! they carry a wide selection of plants, ranging from edibles like herbs and bok choy to shrubs and trees like azaleas, peonies, and of course, japanese maples. 

the unusual colors sold me on this particular tree.

i walked away with this butterfly japanese maple and have loved it ever since. it has reddish branches in the early spring and pink-tinged leaves that become a variegated white and green later in the summer. even though it's about 8 feet tall in its pot now, i'll probably insist on taking it when/if we move. 

a close-up of the branch and bud colors.

april 22 update: the leaves are coming in green and pink.

rhinos and ranunculus

yesterday, i swung by botanica on my way home from the new york historical society. spring is here...i think. well, it is as long as i have these ranunculus in my line of vision. 

these colors make me so happy.

the selection at botanica is always great, and although it's a bit pricier than the corner shop, their blooms are worth it. (right? see above.) i also brought home this little air plant and set it in the mini rhino planter that joy bought me when i was in asia.

it's like an adorable porcupine-rhino hybrid.

i'd been looking for the perfect thing to plant in the little guy. what do you think? here he is keeping company with the rest of the foliage in my bedroom. 

it's a jungle in there! rhino stands guard with the basil tree and some rosemary, i'd also love it if someone told me what that spiky thing is.