I walked confidently down the paved path to see the cherry blossom at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, only to learn that I was there a bit too early. Spring this year has been quite cold and most plants and trees blossomed later. Somehow I also did not get the message. From afar, the cherries looked asleep, not ready for the spring that’s about to happen any day now.
However, only a few steps closer and the famous alley of cherry trees was beginning to show signs of budding flowers. The buds were exposing some pink and white colors, ready to bloom with full force. However, not all cherries were late this year. Few solitary cherry trees scattered around the park became the visitors’ attraction. Countless photographs were taken to document their beauty. They became the celebrities for the next few days.
Spring is the most fascinating time to see flowering plants of all colors, bright pinks, violets, whites, pinks, and yellows. The colors never disappoint, and always make me feel relaxed and at dpeace.
The shape of flowers is one of the most amazing visual experiences. A lesson in geometry and symmetry. From round petals to sharp angles, from spirals to domes, flowers aced mathematics and every ratio we can think of. Think of a shape, and I bet there will be a flower with that shape.
One of my all time favorite flowers of the Spring are magnolia flowers. While many flowering trees rush to generate leaves, magnolias fully ignore this race. They generate some of the most beautiful flowers, which look very sturdy, but will fall apart if you try to cut it. They are meant to be admired from afar. Magnolias will first lose its flowers and then grow leaves. On one way a backward mentality to most trees I know. A true rebel.
As I continued to walk the garden paths, I passed by unrolling ferns. Seeing ferns can be compared to looking at the early beginning of the Earth. Ferns evolved over 360 million years ago, and many species proceeded the dinosaurs. Today’s ferns are believed to evolve about 150 million years old, but as a geneticist I will always wonder, how did their genome differ from current ferns? Their shape from fossil records appears frozen in time. A true testament to the enormous adaptation to survive.
Further down the walk, apple trees emerged. Apple trees are very melancholic to me. I grew up surrounded by many apple trees. During blossom, apple trees have the most beautiful flowers. Apple flower petals are easily ripped from the tree by strong wind. If you stand near a group of apple trees and there is even a slightest breeze, it can feel like snowflakes surrounded you, as if one was inside a snow globe and somebody shook it. It is very inspiring.
Spring flowers surround you. Enjoy their beauty and scent as they can be ephemeral.
Marta Grońska-Pęski 