Hide And Seek

When it’s just Tuesday and the slow rumbling weekend seems a tad bit far away, I like to take a detour from the pulsating concrete and sink those well-heeled aching feet into tufts of soft greens.

Central Park is probably more approachable, but nothing beats the calm centennial trees of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, with their boughs dipping to the ground in every hue of green imaginable. Here, you are perfectly safe, ensconced in mighty arms that would not sway with every gust of wind coming your way. If the wind creeps in, it is only a murmur, a waft of intoxicating air from flowers in bloom.

Since its start in 1897, BBG has come a long way. Not just in the 52 acres it now sprawls, but also in the wide variety of plant kingdom it nurtures. The Cherry Esplanade has the largest number of Cherry blossoms growing in any single location outside of Japan. The Rose Garden has over 1400 varieties of roses, bursting in colors I have never known. The bluebells, the water lilies, the daffodils – they are all here – claiming their share of time over the year, growing unabashedly in sun and shade.

You could come here with a plan- have a picnic, read a book, compose a tune or photograph the scenic beauty. Or you could just walk in and let inspiration come to you. Better still, you could sink into the rolling green grass, and let it lull you to sleep tenderly. No matter how poetic this may sound in text, I say it from experience, when I say it is all true:)

I slunk away from the crowds one day, and peered into the oases deep within: under tents of green, amidst coves of flowering shrubs and those gardens within gardens.
Silhouettes formed behind petals and tendrils; slowly appearing among tall green blades that danced to the wind and kissed the sky. I just watched in awe as these veterans of solitude played hide and seek. In Nature, with Nature, as one.

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