Bronx Botanical Garden

Wednesday is free day in the Bronx -- I'd recommend hitting up both the Bronx Zoo and the Botanical Garden if you want to make the most of your day. The Zoo I've done multiple times (and could probably do lots more times, too), but the Garden I've never seen. A few snapshots from my tranquil afternoon:

the conservatory (which was closed)

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from the Rose Garden, which was fully in bloom

the entrance to the Children's Adventure Garden

To my mild surprise, the Botanical Garden was not as carefully manicured as I had expected. The Rose Garden, greenhouses, and Edible Garden were, naturally, quite well taken care of, though the majority of the park was simply wild, native forest. The Bronx Botanical Garden contains the largest swath of the original forest that once covered all of Manhattan, a historical piece of nature that the workers there try hard to preserve. They routinely remove all invasive and exotic species (of plants) from the acres of forest that make up the Garden, and replace them with native species, as if continually retouching an old masterpiece. There are miles of trails in the forest, too; I came across about half a dozen runners while I was there.

The Garden also features a marsh area; a Magnolia Orchard; an upcoming Azaela Garden; a Children's Adventure Garden; and a swanky cafe. The fact that the place was empty made the experience much better for me; I was left alone with my thoughts, the plants, and the Bronx River (the only fresh water river in New York City!).

The tranquillity, however, came only after an hour and a half of public transportation, in full all-of-the-Bronx-high-schools-just-got-out mode. I took the M60 from Astoria Boulevard to 125th Street, then got on the 4 train to nearly the end of the line. I then took the B32 (or something) to the gates of the Garden. A transportation success! It really does take time to master this system.