The Conservatory Gardens are formal gardens in Central Park located at 5th Avenue and 105th 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…
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!
PJ
© 2025 PJ Lehrer
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