Spring is just beginning. And what better place to be in the spring than surrounded by fantastically beautiful flowers? If a wide range of flora is what you crave, you should find your way to the New York Botanical Garden as fast as possible. It is, quite possibly, the best thing to do on a Sunday. Especially with a busy week ahead, it feels good to get off campus and enjoy the great outdoors (or, at least, a very manicured section of the great outdoors.)

I went to the botanical gardens today, on a school trip. We left at 12:00 and, after almost stopping at a fine establishment in the Bronx called “Butt Busting Jeans,” (I know you all wish you were reading an article about that instead) we made it to the botanical gardens by about 12:20. Upon arriving, we bought all the tickets we needed (…) and headed off into the garden, giggling, smiling, and, of course, immediately calling our chaperone Mr. Galgano dad (in typical Masters fashion.)

I suggested we check out the concert series that is going on throughout the summer, From Ragtime to Jazz: The Roots of Pop, which seemed perfectly suited to our prom theme (get psyched.) We ventured into the small theater at the botanical gardens and enjoyed a few lovely, ragtime songs, before sneaking out, tantalized by the sunlight that was leaking through the auditorium door. The series apparently will continue throughout the summer, Mondays, Saturdays, Sundays: 1 & 3:30 p.m. If you want to infuse your visit to the gardens with a little music and culture, I highly recommend it; the line up looks pretty fantastic.

Next, we hopped on the trolley (after waiting on the grass for a while and alienating everyone around us…) looking at maps, joking, and getting pretty pumped for the Rockefeller Rose Garden. Upon arriving at said Rose garden, we found that roses are not yet in bloom… and won’t be in bloom for another month… In some childish way, I had assumed that everything must be in bloom at this time of the year. Not so. Instead, we found huge, bright peonies and fragrant lilacs.

One of the best things about the botanical gardens is, no matter how lost or mixed up you get, you are bound to find something beautiful and, if you’re with a group like I was (they are pretty unique though…) you are going to have a hilarious time doing it. We wandered down to the waterfall, which is definitely no Niagara, but still lovely. We started mapping our way back and, by chance, stumbled upon a huge amount of blooming azaleas. As we approached them, the sun came out from behind a cloud, and the panorama was lit up like a display case. It just goes to show, in a place as fantastic as the New York Botanical Garden, there is always something breathtaking to see, even if you have to take a detour to get there. #Beautiful #flowers #NYBG #ragtime #centermic #gothere #butdad! #perfectday #glorious