The Frick Magnolias

With an unexpected free afternoon today and magnolias still on my brain, I decided to check out the famed magnolias at the Frick Collection.

Planted in the Fifth Avenue Garden in 1939, the two saucer magnolias and one star magnolia are magnificent and as much a part of the museum as the artwork inside. Some years I’ve missed the blooms and was afraid that this week’s cold snap would have done them in but there they were, a bit thinned out but still looking beautiful albeit against a grey sky.

A man on the sidewalk had his easel set up and was painting the lovely pink and white blooms. A doorman from one of the nearby buildings came around the corner and watched him for a while. I darted across the street to get a closer look (I really shouldn’t be playing chicken with MTA buses) at the painting and the magnolias, wishing once again that I could paint (no skill whatsoever).

Afterwards, I walked around the corner to see what was blooming in the 70th Street garden. There along the side of the museum were tiny snowdrops and grape hyacinth while a blanket of bluish purple pansies greeted you in the front of the garden. Both of the Frick gardens are off limits to visitors even if you’re a member of the museum (like I am). One of these days, I hope to get inside the gates and see everything up close. But for now, at least I got to see the magnolias.

All photos by Michele.

Of Daffodils and Magnolias

After what seemed like endless weekends filled with rain and cold, the sun finally came out and so with camera in tow, I headed up to the 79th Street entrance of Central Park and slowly made my way across to the East Side.

I spent some time wandering around the Shakespeare Garden, which was filled with yellow daffodils, snakeshead fritillary, tiny chionodoxa, and various small tulips. Two bright red Northern Cardinals darted back and forth overhead while the squirrels were busy digging away. Leaving the garden, I walked toward Belvedere Castle, spotting bunches of yellow and white daffodils along the way. They were all lovely but the real beauty queens were the flowering trees.

There was a pretty cherry blossom tree in bloom near the great lawn while the magnolias were out in full force behind the Met, creating canopies of colour. One white magnolia was particularly fragrant, conjuring up memories of the South (or at least the magnolia perfume I found once in an old perfumery in New Orleans), and the saucer magnolias, with their pink and white cupped petals, were absolutely stunning. How wonderful it would be to sit underneath one and read a book or lay down and a take a little nap (preferably without so many people walking by). A little sparrow landed on a branch of one of the trees that I was shooting and just hung out, totally cool with me standing right in front of him. Finally, spring has arrived.

All photos by Michele.