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What's Blooming on the Upper West Side - Summer Solstice Edition

6/18/2022

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Reprinted with permission from the West Side Rag, June 18th, 2022. All copyrights reserved.
By Meg A. Parsont
Fireflies have made their debut in Central and Riverside Parks, the roses are a riot of color in the Joan of Arc Park and the gardens by the Riverside Park clay tennis courts, and tens of thousands of people gathered on the Great Lawn in Central Park to hear the Philharmonic earlier this week — all happy signs that summer is upon us. June 21 is the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, and the community gardens of the Upper West Side are getting into full summer mode.
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Astilbe in the 91st Street Garden, photo by Meg A. Parsont.
In the 91st Street Garden on the Promenade level of Riverside Park, orange, pink, and scarlet (Lilium Night Flyer) lilies are budding and blooming in many of the plots. There are also clusters of golden Stella D’Oro lilies around the perimeter of the Octagon and in several of the plots near the garden gate. Astilbe, a perennial with graceful feathery flowers, has made an appearance throughout the garden in hues of crimson, mauve, and white.
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Clematis in the 91st Street Garden, photo by Meg A. Parsont
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In the Octagon, look for the palest purple climbing clematis, and in the Rectangle, you can’t miss its spectacular amethyst-colored cousin.
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Julia Child rose in the 91st Street Garden, photo by Meg A. Parsont.
​While you’re there, be sure to take a moment to say hello to the Julia Child rose by the entrance. Julia Child loved butter and it’s only fitting that this rose is a perfect butter yellow!
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Lacecap hydrangea in 91st Street Garden, photo by Meg A. Parsont.
Another welcome sign of summer is hydrangeas. In the north end of the Octagon, look for the pale purple Lacecap (Hydrangea macropylla), with its flat caps and ornate, frilly edges. The center disk is made up of tiny, short flowers surrounded by showier, lacy flowers. The garden is home to several other types of hydrangea including the fluffy, long-lasting white blooms along the western edge of the rectangle. In the right conditions, these can grow remarkably quickly: a tiny cutting that I planted in my plot two summers ago is now over three feet high, and covered with oversized blooms!
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Lilium ‘Arabian Knight’ Martagon in the Lotus Garden, photo by Shanna Forlano.
In the Lotus Garden on 97th Street, everything tends to be behind by a week or so, as it is much shadier there than the 91st Street Garden or the West Side Community Garden. Most of their lilies are just getting started, with the exception of the miniature jewel-like lilies in the easternmost plot, the red with yellow “Lilium Arabian Knight” (Martagon Lily).
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Campanula Poscharskyana in the Lotus Garden, photo by Shanna Forlano. 
The pink bell-shaped campanula is still flourishing, including Campanula Posharskyana (Serbian Bellflower) which grows close to the ground, and Campanula rotundifolia ‘Olympica,’ aka the Bells of Scotland.
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Campanula rotundifolia ‘Olympica’ in the Lotus Garden, photo by Shanna Forlano
Bellflowers are a popular perennial, and this particular species is especially loved in Scotland, where many poems and songs affectionately refer to it.
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Graham Thomas rose in the Lotus Garden, photo by Shanna Forlana.
Keep an eye out for lovely pale purple clematis and white clematis, including one that was purchased at Trader Joe’s and has been successfully repurposed from a houseplant to an outdoor garden plant. And more roses continue to bloom daily, including the ivory-yellow Lark Ascending and yellow Graham Thomas.
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Lilies in the West Side Community Garden, photo by Meg A. Parsont. 
In the West Side Community Garden, perennials and recently-planted annuals have filled in the beds where tulips used to reign supreme. Lilies are making their first appearance, along with astilbe, hydrangeas, and bright red bee balm (Monarda), a native plant that is a big draw for pollinators.
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Caladium and impatiens in the West Side Community Garden, photo by Meg A. Parsont.
There are also two stunningly curated beds of impatiens and caladium (a gorgeously toned and patterned foliage plant) in shades of hot pink and green near the 89th Street entrance.

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Hydrangea in the West Side Community Garden, photo by Meg Parsont. 
The path leading to the 90th Street entrance is flanked by dramatic white oak leaf hydrangeas and fluffy white hydrangeas interspersed among the red roses. And tucked into a niche on the path is a bright red hibiscus which has just come into bloom. I was amazed to see that the understated, off-white hellebore is still blooming in several of the plots. This perennial is one of the first to appear in late February/early March, and wins the prize for longest-blooming flower in the garden.
With so many plants on the brink of bursting forth in full bloom, this is a great time to visit the community gardens on the Upper West Side. Happy summer, all!
The 91st Street Garden was just featured on New York Live, WNBC-TV.    Watch it here.
Plan a visit:
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The West Side Community Garden (89-90th Streets, between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues)
Open 7 days/week from dawn to dusk
Concerts in the Garden – Mark your calendar:
June 19 from 6-7 pm: Federico Diáz Argentenian duo, voice/guitar
June 26 from 6-7 pm: Scot Munson Jazz Quintet
The Lotus Garden (97th Street between West End Avenue and Broadway)
Open to the public on Sunday afternoons between 1-4 pm, from April 10-mid-November
The 91st Street Garden on the Promenade level of Riverside Park
Open 7 days/week from dawn to dusk
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What’s Blooming on the Upper West Side – Roses and Snow in June

6/4/2022

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Reprinted with Permission from the West Side Rag June 3rd, 2020. All Copyrights Reserved. 
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Jeanne Lejoie rose in the Lotus Garden, photo by Shanna Forlano.

By Meg A. Parsont
“This rose is an extra. Its smell and its color are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say again that we have much to hope from the flowers.” – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
I used to think I had to go to the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx or the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to see roses, but I realize now that roses are everywhere on the Upper West Side!
They’re in the islands dividing Broadway, in apartment building planters and brownstone gardens, and in front of restaurants, stores, churches, and synagogues. (The roses in front of Church of the Holy Name of Jesus on Amsterdam Avenue at 96th are particularly beautiful). And they have emerged in full profusion over the past week or so.

The Lotus Garden on West 97th Street is home to at least 12 different types of roses. Many of them can be found in the sunnier parts of the garden, but there are also some in the middle section where the light is less consistent. The Eden rose, a pale pinky-coral climbing rose on an espalier near the ivy-covered wall, has just bloomed for the first time after having been planted two years ago. The pink Carolina shrub rose towards the center of the garden is still going strong at 30 years old.
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Dublin rose in the Lotus Garden, photo by Shanna Forlano.
A tall, deep red climbing rose called Dublin rose can’t be missed In the herb garden section.
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Munstead Wood rose in the Lotus Garden, photo by Shanna Forlano.
And in the plot across from the herb garden the lyrically named Lark Ascending, a pale peach color, contrasts beautifully with the magenta Munstead Wood rose in the same plot.
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Columbine in the Lotus Garden, photo by Shanna Forlano.
Other flowers blooming now in the Lotus Garden include delicate yellow, purple, and white columbine, a dramatic pale purple clematis, and digitalis (foxglove) in both purple and cream. Also look for the feathery white flowers of the astilbe along some of the paths, and the pale mauve tubular bell-shaped flowers of the perennial Campanula punctata ‘Rubrifolia.’
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Oak leaf hydrangeas in the West Side Community Garden, photo by Meg A. Parsont.
As the West Side Community Garden has cleared out their 12,000 tulips, new plants are starting to fill in the plant beds, including the native perennial Baptisia, also known as “Wild Indigo” or “False Indigo.” These purple blooms are flourishing along the path leading to the 90th Street entrance and in several plots. Another native, the oak leaf hydrangea is also coming into bloom. Very different from the pink or blue globe-shaped hydrangeas many of us know, this tall shrub has oversized leaves and long spikes of small white flowers.
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Tea rose in the West Side Community Garden, photo by Meg A. Parsont.
Roses are plentiful in the West Side Community Garden along the paths and in the individual plots, with many beauties having been there for several decades. Some of these roses pre-date the gardeners, making their origins and their names a mystery! Be sure to stop by the stunning peach with yellow rose at the 90th Street entrance that’s most likely in the “Peace Rose” family of hybrid teas.
Visitors to the West Side Community Garden this week may have the unique experience of seeing “snow” flying through the air. The huge cottonwood tree in the vegetable garden releases its seeds at this time of year, each encased in a tiny tuft of cottony fuzz. When the breeze blows, these tufts fly through the air and blanket the ground with what looks like a thin layer of snow. Judy Robinson, president of the West Side Community Garden, notes, “It’s awe-inspiring to think that the tiny seed enclosed in each bit of ‘cotton’ can potentially grow into a 100-foot tall tree.”
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Peony in the 91st Street Garden, photo by Meg A. Parsont.
In the 91st Street Garden in Riverside Park, the last heavy pink and fuchsia blooms of this season’s peonies are now soaking up the sunshine after rainstorms earlier this week. Just as the peonies are heading out, the roses are coming in, and there’s a huge variety: the aptly-named deep reddish-pink Knock-Out rose in the octagon portion of the garden, the fragrant hot pink McCartney (Sir Paul) tea rose in the northern portion of the rectangle, eight-foot-tall red roses at the southernmost end of the rectangle, and many, many more.
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Clematis in the 91st Street Garden, photo by Meg A. Parsont.
Purple abounds in the 91st Street garden. Look for a deep amethyst clematis in the plot with the topiaries, a grove of two-foot-tall allium in the center of the octagon (which is also a memorial garden in progress), and purple salvia in several plots—often covered with happy bees and butterflies. The Onyx and Pearls Beardtongue growing in the octagon is another plant that’s a major draw for pollinators and even hummingbirds. With its dark foliage and pale lavender flowers with white interiors, it was named after two opposite colors of gemstones.
The weather forecast for the weekend is warm and sunny—perfect weather to visit a garden or two!
Plan a visit:
The West Side Community Garden (89-90th Streets, between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues)
Open 7 days/week from dawn to dusk
Mark your calendar: Sweet Plantain classical and Latin music concert in the garden, June 5 starting at 6:00 pm

The Lotus Garden (97th Street between West End Avenue and Broadway)
Open to the public on Sunday afternoons between 1-4 pm, from April 10-mid-November

The 91
st Street Garden
 on the Promenade level of Riverside Park

Open 7 days/week from dawn to dusk
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