Each month in Battery Park has it’s own, unique beauty. But the month of May holds a special glory. It’s still full of springtime flowers, but you can see the promise of the lush blooms Summer will bring.
Spring Allium
Out of the 113 or so varieties of flowers and grasses in Battery Park, the Alliums in the Spring have got to be one of my favorites. An explosion of color and life!
An explosion of color and power!
Battery Park has the largest perennial gardens in North America and were designed by Piet Oudolf. They contain 34,000 perennial plants, 70,000 bulbs, and 140 mature London plane trees
Bearded Iris
The Iris may be my new favorite flower this year. There’s something about the sharp spears of the buds opening to the most delicate bloom. And yes, Auntie…they do smell a bit like grapes!
The message of sending an Iris is: Your friendship means so much to me.
My Oasis
The Battery gardens are a paradise for me. It’s where I start my wandering each trip, and the oasis of privacy and beauty in the middle of busy NYC never fails to calm and center me.
The wonderful Battery Bikeway was designed to feature woody plants and shrubs.
The Bosque
Bosque is Spanish for “forest”. This area is a grove of Plane trees, with the most delightful, curved benches.
Lilac
Lilac takes me back to childhood. I see my grandmother gathering them in her yard for us to take home, stems wrapped in wet paper towels and aluminum foil…praying the delicate flowers make it home safely.
The heavenly scent travels so far, you always know when you’re near blooming lilac.
Check out Summer in Battery Park and Early Spring at the Battery for more real NYC photos.
Peony
Paeonia is another old fashioned flower. In Victorian times they symbolized bashfulness. To me they symbolize spring rain, the way their flowers drip petals when it rains.
These white ones have a more delicate scent than the bold pink peonies.
May Flowers at the SeaGlass Carousel
The area around the SeaGlass Carousel is known as the Woodland Gardens. It was designed and planted in 2015 with soft shades of blues and purples. The area bursts into color in the Spring!
More Battery Blooms in May
Piet Oudolf’s choices of perennials and native plants ensures that the moment the earth starts to soften from winter, the plants are able to show their beauty.
The Battery was the first New York City public park to introduce a horticultural landscape without fences or an admission fee.
Thank you for visiting. I hope I’ve motivated you to spend some time in my favorite spot in NYC – The Battery.
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Sources:
The Battery.org
One response to “May Flowers at Battery Park”
This may be my favorite post to-date. I’ve loved flowers since childhood. Our elderly neighbor had a small patch of just about everything and I learned so much from her at a very young age. This is an explosion of so many favorites. No wonder Battery is your oasis.
The purple allium remind me of Nature’s fireworks. I’ve never seen a white one. I think of a dandelion puff!
Loving all the shades of lavender and lilac. Irises were never a fav of mine in my youth. Now I think they’re stunning. The bronze are so elegant!
I agree about the peonies. The white are so delicate and yes, I think even more fragrant.
Thank you for snapping such great photos and for the new flowers I learned!