PJ's Studio: 2025

Sunday, June 15, 2025

Conservatory Gardens crabapple trees

The Conservatory Gardens are formal gardens in Central Park located at 5^th Avenue and 105^th Street. There are three different themes – English, French and Italian.

They were part of the original park design, planted in 1937. In the middle of this photograph, you can see the rows of crabapple trees flanking the Italian garden. They were replaced in the mid-50’s by the ones in these photos.

By the time I got around to photographing them in 2010, 55 years later, they were truly magnificent.

Each path had a row of pink trees and a row of white trees. When they combined it was magic.

After I saw a photo of them, I stalked them for several years until I got the shot I was looking for. (This one.)

It was a challenge given their limited flowering season and the propensity for rain in NYC during the spring.

But I persisted. And in a second shoot in 2021 I added some overhead shots to my collection. As you can see, the trees were massive, gracefully spilling into each other creating a dappled shaded area perfect for hanging on a hot day.

I was devasted in 2023 when I read that they had reached the end of their lifespan and would be removed and replaced. They were only supposed to last 40-60 years, so it was time. But I had hoped to photograph them again.

The variety selected for the new trees was Redbud Crabapple, because of their resilience. But much to my disappointment they are all white. ☹

And while the 44 new trees are actually 10 years old, it’s going to take decades before they are tall enough to shade the paths again.

I will miss them.

Here’s a complete description of the restoration…

https://www.centralparknyc.org/articles/preserving-a-masterpiece-the-next-generation-of-the-conservatory-gardens-crabapple-all%C3%A9es

And here are some other posts of springtime in Central Park…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2018/04/a-perfect-spring-day-in-central-park.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2019/04/central-park-42719.html

Enjoy!

Sunday, June 8, 2025

Lego Flowers

The stoop at East 78^th Street between 2^nd and 3^rd Avenues on the Upper East Side

is a neighborhood favorite.

According to the owner of the brownstone – Kristi Hemric, Instagram: @khemric

it all started with a little flower arch to cover some scaffolding.

But now it has turned into a full-blown passion project.

Kristi and her family have been treating us to lovely displays which change with the holidays.

So of course, they are always on my list when I venture out.

This year they really outdid themselves with a LEGO flower display for Easter.

How cool is that?

I can’t wait to see what they do next. 😉

Here’s a post about yarn bombing in the Village…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2017/12/crocheted-trees-in-greenwich-village.html

Cheers!

Sunday, June 1, 2025

Irises 2

I am such a big fan of bearded irises I am surprised that I haven’t posted more pics of them.

It’s probably because on my previous visits to Brooklyn Botanic Garden

they only had a bunch of blue ones blooming. (Actually, not this variety, but this color.)

But at some point,

maybe this year,

they decided to mix it up a bit and added a bunch of different varieties to the garden.

And, as luck would have it, I managed to time my visit perfectly.

The bees were enjoying them just as much as I was.

Check out this really exotic one.

Hopefully he likes to pollinate almonds too.

Here’s a previous blog of bearded irises, and one of Japanese irises…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2012/05/bearded-irises.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2014/08/japanese-irises.html

Cheers!

Sunday, May 25, 2025

Spain collage

This month’s collage features a photo of the Plaza de Espana from Seville Spain.

You may recognize it from a Star Wars movie. 😉

Then I added three drawings of magnolias.

Here are links to previous collages…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2025/02/tulum.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2025/03/venice.html

Cheers!

Sunday, May 18, 2025

Jeff went to Japan!

My globetrotting nephew and his family braved the 13-hour time change and headed to Japan to check out the cherry blossoms. (I’m fascinated by this multi-color maple tree.)

Their timing was perfect so Jeff got the classic Mt. Fuji photo. Doesn’t this look like a postcard?

But I think the azaleas were so magnificent they actually topped the cherry trees.

As you might expect they saw some massive Buddhas.

And had a robot waiter. I forgot to ask if they tipped it. 😊

But Jessica and Jeff also made their own sushi.

The bamboo garden was so huge I found myself thinking about how invasive bamboo is. Of course, that’s why it is so sustainable. It grows like a weed!

I was also surprised to see that red is the standard for Torii Gates. I guess that explains why the one at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is also red. I have to admit I have always wished that it was pink so it wouldn’t clash with the pink cherry blossoms. But tradition is tradition. And red is a lucky color in Japan.

This museum featured some magnificent Matsuri floats, also known as Dashi or Sansha. They are used for festivals and this one is so large and heavy that it takes a village to carry. While they didn’t get to see this one in action, they did get to see a few smaller ones that required fewer volunteers to carry.

Jessica looked so fetching in her kimono that I am wondering if she kept it for next Halloween.

Clearly a good time was had by all. And a special shout out to Jeff for becoming an ace photographer. I had a hard time picking out my favorite ten shots for the blog.

Enjoy!

Sunday, May 11, 2025

Easter Parade 2

I had so many great photos from the Easter Parade that I thought I’d post a second set.

The Easter parade began in the 1880’s, and by 1900, Easter was as important in retailing as Xmas season is today.

In 1933, Irving Berlin wrote “Easter Parade.” In 1948, the movie was released.

The parade peaked in 1947 with over one million participants.

It is still an informal and unorganized event. How NYC!

Anyone can join – they just need to show up – preferably in awesome costumes and hats.

The parade had historic roots in Easter processions which have been part of Christian culture since its earliest beginnings.

But it lost its religious significance somewhere along the way.

In fact, there is an old Irish adage – “For Christmas, food and drink; for Easter, new clothes.”

And there was a Tudor superstition (1485) that unless a person had a new homespun cloth available at easter, moths and crickets would eat the old goods. (No mention of dogs though.)

More here…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_parade