It’s almost never the ‘wrong’ season to go for a walk in a botanic garden, especially if you live, as I do, around the corner from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
A walk a month ago, just at the border between summer and fall, reminded me that no matter how hopeful and gay the new green of Spring is, no matter how intense and lush the Summer is, Autumn, and especially its beginning, have a beauty all their own.
The garden’s great willow gives a good example of that; the pictures above were taken about six months apart—at the beginning of April and the end of September. The rest of that April walk is HERE
The greens are changing, the color palette is narrower, and most of the flowers are smaller now…
There are plants that come into their prime now, dropping berries and seeds to flourish in the spring—even their names give hints, such as winterberry and snowberry.
On a warm day, it’s still a good place for a stroll, a stop, a break, a family sketching lesson…
There are still flashes of bright color about, some of them survivors, and some late-bloomers like these roses in the otherwise sparse Cranford Rose Garden.
Not all the bright color is blossoms, of course…
For me, part of the wonder of the garden at this season is how many different shades appear. Of course, there are many at all seasons, but Autumn not only brings the mixture of colors caught mid-change, but in a way, the narrowing of range makes the differences all the more fascinating.
A few last images…
