Bronx Botanical Gardens

I took a trip up to what I suppose I should call the "New York Botanical Gardens" this Sunday, in the hopes of seeing some of the fall colors. It's a bit early yet for vibrant color there---although some of the maples are already flaming up in orange and red---but I'll bet that a couple more weeks will do it for the rest of 'em. One of the maples at the right, right along the Bronx River, is showing that wierd "flesh-colored," peachy-pale deviation.

Astonishing to me were the number of rose bushes still in bloom at this late date; it's clearly these plants' last huzzah before the winter, but still. I wanted to gather up some of the fallen rose petals to use for advieh, but the late blooming and the giant blossoms on some of the showier varietals made me think twice about how much pesticide I want to ingest.

It made me a little sad to realize that the fancy, award-winning roses had very little smell. If ever I were to breed roses, I'd be aiming for perfume and longevity; showy petal-bursts would be a very low priority. And if I wanted to maximize perfum, it seems that I would have to start with the much simpler, less tinkered-with, shrub rose varietals.

However, I have to admit that I also really liked the looks of the tomato-like rosehips on this here rosa rugosa. Fortunately, as a less refined varietal, the blossoms on this rose also smelled delicious.

One last note: the gardens have been infested by the glass sculptures of some workshop called "Chihuly." I would hope that the Chihuly workshop paid the garden a nice chunk of change to get them to alter their maps, signposts, and advertising to feature its products, but experience suggests that, instead, money might actually be moving towards the artistic concern. Ticket prices to the gardens for non-Bronx resident, non-student adults can be as little as $6, and they can be as high as $20---if you want to see silly glass sculptures under dramatic lighting. Alternatively, if you take a sharp right along the street in the valet parking lot across from Fordham, you can get into the grounds for free!