Maple Grove Park Cemetery in Hackensack, New Jersey, is a historic burial ground originally established around 1850 by the Dutch Reformed Churches of New York City. Formerly known as the New York Cemetery, it is a significant local repository for both 19th-century history and rescued historical remains.
Originally founded to serve members of the True Reformed Dutch Church, the cemetery was previously referred to as the New York Cemetery on Plank Road. As older churches and their surrounding burial grounds in northern New Jersey were decommissioned, their headstones and remains were frequently relocated to Maple Grove
The historic front section of the cemetery in the front of the cemetery
My International Marketing class at Bergen Community College recently did a complete study and marketing plan for the “Bergen250” on the Revolutionary War veterans buried at graveyards and cemeteries all over Bergen County, NJ:
For a Mapping of all the historic graveyards and cemeteries, I had the students visit all the sites that the Daughters of the American Revolution had researched and I had the students find all the locations, photo the tombstones and create a bio on each of the veterans. I enclosed a copy of their work above.
My blog on the historic graveyards and cemeteries of Bergen County:
I visited the Maple Grove Park Cemetery one afternoon in search of a Revolutionary War Veteran, Albert Voorhis. I did not find his particular tombstone but I did find his family plot and many of the ‘first families’ of Bergen County. These include families such as the Demarest’s, Haring’s, Voorhis, Ackerman’s, Christie’s, Hopper’s, Van Saun’s and Blauvelt’s.
The Demarest family plot
The front part of the cemetery is nicely landscaped with interesting family plots dotted all over the this part of the cemetery. These were the families that shaped this history of the County and other branches of their extended family are either buried in historic Reformed Church graveyards or are in small cemeteries that were part of the family farm that now sit in subdivisions of McMansions, neglected and forgotten.
The Demarest family plot
I found it interesting to note how big many of these families were and how all of these ‘first families’ married into one another, probably because of family stature or maybe to extend the length of the family farm. These interconnections shaped and developed how Bergen County developed over a three hundred year period.
The Demarest/Hopper family plot
The Westervelt Family plot
The extended Voorhis family plot
The Zabriskie family plot
The extended Terhune family plot
The DeBaun family
The Brinkerhoff family plot
The Van Winkle family plot
The Ackerman family plot
The Blawvelt (Blauvelt) family plot
The Van Saun family plot
Another Terhune family plot
The Vreeland family plot
The Quackenbush family plot
The Hopper family plot
The Hopper-DeWolfe family plot
The extended Christie family plot
The extended Lydecker family plot
The Van Valen family
Another branch of the extended Demarest family
This cemetery is an interesting look at the early history of not just Bergen County or New Jersey but of the United States. These extended families contributed so much not just in military activity but in business, religion and education that helped build this country.
This unique cemetery is more than just a place of rest but a place of history and of respect. These were the extended families who contributed so much to the progress of our country and how it was directed into the future.
I visited the Alpine Cemetery, which is a historical active cemetery just off Closter Dock Road. This is the resting place of Revolutionary War Veteran, William Wilson and many other veterans from the Civil, Spanish American, World War I and II as well as from Vietnam, Korea and Desert Storm. All the graves were marked with American flags as we just finished Memorial Day weekend.
The family plots that separate the site
My International Marketing class at Bergen Community College recently did a complete study and marketing plan for the “Bergen250” on the Revolutionary War veterans buried at graveyards and cemeteries all over Bergen County, NJ:
For a Mapping of all the historic graveyards and cemeteries, I had the students visit all the sites that the Daughters of the American Revolution had researched and I had the students find all the locations, photo the tombstones and create a bio on each of the veterans. I enclosed a copy of their work above.
My blog on the historic graveyards and cemeteries of Bergen County:
There are many family plots of “First Family’s” of Bergen County like the Westervelt’s, the Haring’s and the Campell’s. The family plots are separated by small fences and some are marked by the family names.
The cemetery on the hill in Alpine, NJ
The separate family burial plots
The Campbell Family burial plot
The Campbell family plots
The Van Sciver family plots
The Anthony Family plots
The Anthony family plot
The Haring Family plot
The Haring family obelisk
The Westervelt family plot
The Jordan/Wilson family plot
I looked at the Wilson family plot for the Revolutionary War veteran but the burial spot is probably has been lost to time. William Wilson may be lost to history but I know he was buried here.
The front part of the cemetery
The Veteran’s Memorial Rock with the names of World War I and II, Vietnam and Korea veterans
The Van Valen family plots
The Pearsall family plots
The Older family plots
The burial grounds from the front
There is a quiet elegance to these historic cemeteries. Who were these people? What did they do? Do people remember them? They are very interesting places to visit.
The history of the cemetery:
(From the historic sign)
The cemetery was founded in 1822 by resident William Gecox along Closter Dock Road when he bought 23 and a half acres as a burial ground for neighbors and for laborers who worked in the area. Mr. Gecox sold these plots on what had already been a burial ground.
The people buried in the cemetery were farmers, laborers, and tradesmen and their family. By 1870, the village “in the Closter Mountain” had take the name “Alpine” in the 1890’s. When William and his wife, Susan Helms pass in the 1890’s, their children sold the remaining plots. The cemetery has continued to be used into the twenty-first century.
The front of the English Neighborhood Reformed Church
The sign in front of this historic church
The front of the church
The front of the church from Church Road
The historic marker in front of the church
Since my project studying the historic graveyards and cemeteries of the Revolutionary War with my International Marketing students, I have taken my time to walk these sites and try to understand the history and importance of these sites as part of the memories of who these people were, the contributions that made to not just our county but the country and trying to keep their memories alive while many have been forgotten by their families.
The newer back part of the cemetery
My International Marketing class at Bergen Community College recently did a complete study and marketing plan for the “Bergen250” on the Revolutionary War veterans buried at graveyards and cemeteries all over Bergen County, NJ:
For a Mapping of all the historic graveyards and cemeteries, I had the students visit all the sites that the Daughters of the American Revolution had researched and I had the students find all the locations, photo the tombstones and create a bio on each of the veterans. I enclosed a copy of their work above.
My blog on the historic graveyards and cemeteries of Bergen County:
Visiting during a recent post Memorial Day visit, I got to see how many veterans of all the wars from the American Revolution to Desert Storm were buried here. Even though we studied just the veterans of the Revolutionary War, I was fascinated by the number of Civil War and World War I and II veterans here as well.
The older section of the graveyard
The history of our County and Country are shown among the rows of tombstones that represent the contribution of our County residents to the many causes. It was very humbling to see them being honored at this time.
What I found interesting was many of the branches of ‘Founding First Families’ of Bergen County were interned here, representing Bergen County’s contributions to the foundation of the United States.
The Engle family plot where Revolutionary War veteran John Engle was a member
The Vreeland family plot closest to the church is the resting place of Revolutionary War veteran Michael Vreeland (again this site was once their family’s farm)
A closer look at the Vreeland family plot
I believe this is the tombstone of Michael Vreeland, Revolutionary War veteran
Another branch of the Vreeland family
Another branch of the Vreeland family
The Herring (Haring) family crypt
The Outwater family crypt. General Outwater’s side of the family is buried in a family plot in Carlstadt, NJ
The Banta family plot
The DeGraw family plot
The grave of Benjamin Westervelt
The grave of a soldier I could not read
It was so interesting to walk amongst the rows of tombstones and trying to understand each person’s story and their personal contributions to the way our community was founded and developed. So many of these family names are woven into the history of Bergen County.
There is a quiet elegance to these graveyards and on a warm sunny afternoon they are less scary and more of a place of understanding and respecting our past. It was an interesting history lesson.
Looking at the oldest section of the graveyard where many Colonial family plots are located
History of the Church:
(From the Church website)
The English Neighborhood Reformed Church is the oldest building in Ridgefield, NJ, erected on its current site way back in 1793, long before Bergen County became the bustling metropolitan area it is today.
But even before this, way back in 1675, Ridgefield was known as “The English Neighborhood” and covered roughly 10 miles of land between the Hackensack and Hudson Rivers. This is where our church gets its historic name. The first construction of the church (in Leonia) dates back to 1768, but was moved to its present site in Ridgefield, in 1793.
This area played a role in the Revolutionary war, when General Washington retreated with the Continental Army in 1776 from NY City and passed through the English Neighborhood. Those who fled the area for their cause, included the English Neighborhood Church’s first minister, Garrit Leydekker, an Englishman and a Tory, who fled for the safety of New York City, taking the church’s first records with him.
The historic graveyard next to the church
The church’s steeple was the tallest structure to rise above the flat meadowlands and would become a surveyors landmark. It is approx. 80 ft. in height and made from hand-strewn timbers and wood dowels, rather than nails.
The historic church on a sunny afternoon
In 1804, Edgewater Avenue was a bustling artery for commerce and was part of the toll road known as the Bergen Turnpike. For 100 years, covered wagons transported their goods from the farms of NJ, to the ferries that would carry them to market in NY City, right past the church. The church was once located in the heart of the bustle of life as it was, before the industrial revolution.
The historic doors of the church
In 1854, the railroad was brought to Ridgefield, which introduced industry and growth to the town. Throughout the Civil War, members of the congregation were active in the “underground railroad.” Runaway slaves were hidden under the bridge by Overpeck Creek. They were given food, clothes and other necessities to help move them to the next safe haven, during the night.
In 1912, the Sunday school building was added, across the way from the church. Additions to the building were completed in 1954 and 1962.
A bridge was built over the Railroad tracks in 1932, which led to the closing of Edgewater Avenue and the “Old Highway” that once brought passersby with regularity, became a dead-end street. These gradual changes have meant that the historic legacy of the English Neighborhood and its church, goes largely unnoticed.
However, these changes also, today provide the quiet hamlet that the church finds itself surrounded by – a little piece of heaven on earth – right here in a busy, and often congested, Ridgefield. It is this history and this unique location that makes the English Neighborhood Church a one-of-a-kind place to worship.
We hope you will join us some Sunday to see for yourself. God has blessed this congregation for nearly 233 years (2026). Jesus is doing some amazing things with this church and its people. You are welcome to be one of them, as we move into the next thing God is calling us to do and be, as Jesus’s disciples.
The weather has been so strange over the last few months. We had one of the coldest winters since the 1990’s and one of the snowiest. It seemed like the cold air and frigid temperatures would never end. Then came a small break in the weather when it turned 52 degrees in the middle of March.
Branch Brook Park in Newark, NJ during the start of New Jersey’s Cherry Blossom festival
The 52 degree day got even better when the ‘Spring Thaw‘ came during our Spring Break from the college and I was able to resume my walk exploring Alphabet City. The tough part of visiting the neighborhood was that the countless community gardens were either closed or just starting their ‘budding process’, where the warm weather was bringing plants back to life from their Winter slumber. It had been such a cold and miserable Winter.
My search for the flowers and the Cherry Blossoms of the Tri-State area started at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden during the last week of March just after the heat spell. The crocuses came out about two weeks earlier then they normally did and I wanted to see ‘Crocus Hill’ at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, so I visited the Gardens in the last week of March to see the beginnings of Spring.
The Japanese Gardens in March 2026
The Japanese Gardens in the beginning of Spring
The Snowdrops in full bloom
The flowering plants peaking out in the early Spring
The Fragrance Garden in the early Spring
The early Daffodils in full bloom
The daffodils in full bloom
The Snowdrops in full bloom representing the beginning of Spring
Crocus Hill in the early Spring
Crocus Hill in bloom
The last of the Crocuses in bloom on the hill
I walked around the gardens and got to see so much of the plants and trees in bloom.
The first Cherry trees in bloom in the watershed lawn
Crossing the bridge in the with the first of the flowers
The snowdrops were beautiful at this time of year
The Willow Tree in full bloom in the watershed lawn
Walking around the Rock Garden
The colors were so vibrant in the Rock Garden
Walking along the paths towards the Cherry Blossom Lawn
Walking through the Cherry Blossom Lawn waiting for the magic to appear
Walking through the Cherry Blossom pathways waiting for more to come
I would take the next four weeks exploring the City and the outskirts in search of the perfect Cherry blossoms. I would be coming back to the Gardens four more times to see how the rest of the garden would progress. The changes in three weeks was Mother Nature work her magic!
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden in the first week of Spring. It would not stay this way long!
My own yard started to come back to life with the first crocuses of the season popping out of the ground early. All that planting in the Fall really paid off. After all that snow and a bitterly cold Winter, it was nice to see the first traces of Spring.
The first crocuses of the season popping up in the yard
My daffodils coming to life
All the hard work of the Fall paid off in the Spring as my gardens came back to life. Crocuses, Daffodils and Rose Bushes were all coming back to life.
In the first week of April, my best friend and I had been planning to go to the NY Botanical Garden for ages and on an unplanned afternoon, we just decided to go and see the Annual Orchid Show that everyone was talking about. I was blown away by the beautiful arrangements and displays.
I had never been to the NY Botanical Gardens before so it was a double treat for me. We got to walk up to the Conservatory when the daffodils were at peak bloom and these gorgeous white and yellow flowers just swayed in the wind as we passed.
Some of the Cherry Blossom trees were in full bloom early in the season so the view of the park was spectacular.
The Conservatory in the Spring
The turn of the Century Conservatory
The Orchid Show:
(From the Garden’s website)
New York City has never bloomed like this. At The Orchid Show: Mr. Flower Fantastic’s Concrete Jungle, orchids collide with concrete in a dazzling reimagining of the Big Apple, from stoops and slice shops to the subway itself. Step into a breathtaking fusion of nature and cityscape artistry in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, and experience the flair and style of New York transformed by thousands of flowers.
The entrance to the Orchid Show
The sign welcoming us to the show
The inside of the Conservatory
The magnificent orchids
The orchids in the beginning of the show
The inside of the Conservatory
The beauty of the potted plants
The beautiful potted plants
They were more beautiful up close
The inside display of the Conservatory
The flowers lined the paths
Then we walked through the fountain area and got to see the beautiful turn of the century fountains. We walked all through the Conservatory that afternoon and these were the breathtaking plants that we saw that day. I had not seen this many orchids out of Hawaii.
The fountain elegantly decorated for the event
The fountain area in full bloom
All sorts of beautiful orchids lined the pools
They came in all colors and sizes
The Tropical display
The orchids in full bloom
The colors were fantastic
Then we walked through the desert display at the end of the Conservatory which was really nice.
The Desert display
The Desert Display
The start of some interesting displays at the end of the show
The Pizza display where I did really think we could order lunch
Blogger Justin Watrel in front of the car washing display
My best friend, Maricel, who toured with me
Blogger Justin Watrel at the end of the Orchid display
The end of the Orchid Show display
The Orchid Show was amazing and I will have to come back next year. I loved the displays and the sheer colors of the flowers.
Then we walked the grounds. The New York Botanical Garden’s version of Daffodil Hill is not the same as the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens but still beautiful.
Leaving the Conservatory towards the other gardens.
The path outside the Consrvatory
The beautiful Cherry Blossoms in the gardens that day were in full bloom
We headed to the NY Botanical Garden’s Daffodil Hill display after the Orchid Show and walked down paths of flowering Cherry Trees. It was quite a site as everything was coming into bloom in the park.
The pathway to Daffodil Hill
The pathways to Daffodil Hill
The daffodils were just starting to come in and some were at peak bloom. Though not as impressive as the display at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden it is still impressive and had just come into bloom when we arrived that day. It is a nice place to walk around.
Daffodil Hill at the New York Botanical Garden’s version
Another section of Daffodil Hill
Walking back to the front of the gardens
The next Friday, I visited Newark, NJ’s Branch Brook Park which was in full bloom and at its peak of their famous Cherry Blossoms. Since it was going to rain on that Sunday and I knew the park was going to be packed on Saturday for that reason plus all the activities planned for the weekend I thought it would be easier to visit on Friday after work.
So I got there at 4:00pm and the park was packed people who must have thought the same thing. I know how to park here since I have been coming here for years. You never try to park in the parking lot up in the park and always try to park as close to Bellville as you can and then turn yourself around so that you can get out of the park.
The traffic in the park that afternoon was near impossible and I parked by the bridge and was able to get out and enjoy the park and the beautiful trees.
The Cherry Blossom Festival in Newark in April 2026
I visited the Cherry Blossoms in Branch Brook Park in Newark on a Friday afternoon, thinking the park would be quiet. With the Cherry Blossom trees at peak flowering, the park was packed. People were lining the paths and picnicking and taking pictures.
Walking along the busy paths during a Friday afternoon
The paths at the beginning of the park near Bellville
Walking along the pathways
Walking along the catch basin
The catch basin of the river is always so picturesque. The trees were just starting to release their petals and yellow flowers were in full bloom.
Walking along the catch basin
Walking along the catch basin
Walking along the catch basin
Walking along the catch basin on my way to the main part of the park was breathtaking.
The Cherry Blossoms were at full peak when I visited
The catch basin in full form
The catch basin in full bloom
These beautiful yellow flowers line the basin
The views are amazing
The basin near the bridge
The rock formations on the other side of the street
The Cherry Blossoms in full bloom
Walking towards the main part of the park
Walking up to the main part of the park
Walking through the pathways of the park
The main part of Branch Brook Park was a dazzling array of colors of the different types of flowering trees.
Walking through the main section of the park
The cherry trees in full bloom in Branch Brook Park
The pathways along park
The Cherry Blossoms in full bloom
As I walked back to the car, I passed the bridge again and the views were spectacular. A burst of colors dazzled the pathways.
The view from the bridge
The on the walk back to the car
The view under the bridge
The catch basin near my car
I was only in the park for about an hour and a half and the park was getting busier in the early evening. I guess people were like me and did not want to deal with the crowds that would besiege the park in the early evening. I was glad to have the time to take these amazing pictures before the petals would start to fall the next week. You have to time your visits to see Cherry Blossoms in bloom very carefully. I learned that from trips to Washington DC.
While everyone else was in Newark seeing the Cherry Blossoms with massive crowds (trust me, I have experienced Branch Brook Park on a Saturday during Cherry Blossom season and it is not a pleasant experience dealing with all those cars and people. You also you can’t get the pictures you want).
That Saturday, I took an extensive tour of both the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and Central Park to see more of trees and gardens coming to life with the warmer weather.
I started at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden when they announced that Daffodil Hill was at full peak. The Cherry Blossoms in the Japanese Gardens which were the first one to bloom were also at full peak and I wanted to see both. It is when the gardens show their true beauty.
Walking to the Japanese Gardens
The Japanese Gardens in full bloom
The view of the pond in full bloom
The crowds each trying to get pictures in of the Japanese Gardens
Both the Cherry and Magnolia trees were in bloom at the same time
The beauty of the Japanese Gardens which
The Magnolia Court was just at peak and the flowers were brilliant
The different species of Magnolias like the Cherry Blossoms bloom at different times with different colors
I have seen Daffodil Hill when it was at peak flowering but never this vibrant before. All the flowers were blooming to perfection and I had never seen it this colorful before. (It worked out perfectly as a few days later and we’re got hit by a 90 degree heat wave for three days, which affected these very sensitive plants. By the next weekend, they were gone).
The most beautiful view of the park and the reason why keep joining year after year. Just to see Daffodil Hill in full bloom.
Daffodil Hill
Daffodil Hill
This is something no one should miss
Daffodil Hill
The tour of Daffodil Hill
After I finished my tour and picture taking at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, I took the subway back to Manhattan and decided to head up to Central Park to see the Cherry Blossom trees there as well.
I had read that they were at peak as well and had never seen them in bloom before. This was a real treat!
Walking through Central Park in the Spring
Central Park in the afternoon
Walking through the Cherry trees in Central Park
The beautiful potted plants along the pathways
Central Park in all its beauty on a Spring day
I had never seen the Cherry trees in Central Park fully in bloom before and I was spellbound by the beauty of the park in the Spring. I had missed this for so many years due to time or weather.
The pond was packed with people who rented sailboats where the ‘Big Kids’ played with the ‘Small Kids’ and families were having a good time.
The Central Park pool in the Spring of 2026
The boats sailing in the ponds
Some of the statues that surround the Conservatory Pond are the famous ‘Alice in Wonderland’ located in the Margaret Delacourt Memorial that was built in 1959 by Spanish born American artist Jose de Creeft. The artist studied at the Academie Julian in Paris and studied under artist Mariano Benlliure at the Artistic Foundry of Masriera Campins.
It was commissioned by George Delacourt for his wife, Margarita, who loved to read the book to her children. It is one of the most popular statues in Central Park (Central Park Conservatory).
Alice in Wonderland Statue
The famous poem by the statue
‘Hans Christian Anderson’ statue that faces the other side of the pond. This statute was created in 1958 by artist Georg John Lober for the 150th Anniversary of the author’s birth. It had been commissioned by the Danish American Women’s Association in his honor. Georg John Lober was born in Chicago and was based later on out of New York City. He studied at the Beaux Arts Institute of Design and National Academy of Design working under artist Gutzon Borgium. In his later years, he worked for the New York Municipal Art Commission (Wiki).
You should take some time to walk around the pond and see both statues especially the detail work of the ‘Alice in Wonderland’. These are the favorite of many adults and children alike (Central Park Conservatory).
Hans Christian Anderson Statue
I walked a little further into the park and followed the path and the crowds of people enjoying their time in the park. I got to Bethesda Fountain in all its glory. The fountain was busy with street musicians playing and tourists dancing around. I never get tired of this part of the park.
The Bethesda Fountain is just as glorious as it is now as it was in the Gilded Age. The statue was dedicated in the park in 1873.
The fountain was so beautiful in the Summer of 2024
The area around the fountain was crowded with visitors taking pictures and enjoying the Cherry Blossoms
The fountain in the Spring of 2026
The statue was designed by artist Emma Stebbins, who was an American born and a native New Yorker. She studied at the National Academy of Design and spent most of her professional career in Rome. She was know for her neo-classical works and public sculptures both large and small (Wiki/NY Post/Artist Bio).
Central Park during the Spring of 2025
The band shell in the Spring of 2026
Central Park in the Spring of 2026
The park was packed with locals and tourists enjoying the warm weather and the blossoming Cherry Blossoms. It was fun to watch the City come to life around me. The skaters and dancers were enjoying a Michael Jackson tune from his “Off the Wall” album and with everything going on in the world, it was nice to see people just enjoying themselves.
Central Park in the Spring
Walking around Central Park in the Spring
Watching skaters and dancing
Watching skaters and dancers
Central Park in the Spring of 2026. The colors were amazing!
While touring Central Park, I walked all through the park by the lake area and Boro Bridge to see the park in full bloom with all sorts of Cherry Blossom trees at peak, and daffodils and tulips in showing their brilliant colors. The park was so amazing and everyone was enjoying the Spring weather. It is what everyone thinks of when they think of New York City.
The fountain by the lake
The Cherry trees by the lake
Boro Bridge in the distance
The view of the lake by Boro Bridge
The lake in all its beauty on a Spring day
Walking around the park admiring the Cherry trees
Capturing a couple singing the song ‘Suddenly’, a different version than what I had heard before.
What a delight to hear in Central Park! Talent is everywhere! This guy could really belt out a song!
I went back to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for my forth time of four weeks of visits there on a Friday night, to see the Cherry Blossoms, one of the most beautiful displays of the trees not just in New York City but the East Coast.
Entering the Brooklyn Botanic Garden the first weekend in April through the Eastern Parkway entrance.
Walking through the entrance to the gardens was so beautiful. Everything was in full bloom and the sheer vibrance of the colors of all the flowers and trees just stood out. I had never seen the garden at such a peak bloom.
The flowering bushes by the entrance
The tulips in full bloom by the entrance
These tulips were so colorful
The tulips lining the garden walls were so colorful
The flowering trees coming into bloom at the entrance
The flowering bushes at the entrance
The beauty of the trees in the early Spring
Walking down the pathways, the first Cherry Trees were just amazing.
The Lilac Garden was in bloom filling this part of the gardens with the most amazing fragrance
The Rose Garden was just coming into its own as the plants were starting to bud. In a few weeks this garden will have the most amazing colors and smells
All the Cherry Blooms were starting to open or were at full peak when I visited. I got there when the buds were open beautifully and had never seen them so vibrant.
By this fourth trip that I made on the Friday night before they started to charge people to enter the gardens for ‘Members Picnic Night’, I was able to finish all my work and travel to Brooklyn to see the Cherry Blossoms at their absolute peak.
Just like Daffodil Hill two weeks earlier, I had never seen the trees so full, fluffy and vibrant. There was supposed to be rain in the forecast for three days so I wanted to get there before that happened and wrecked the petals. The view of the trees was just spectacular.
The Cherry Blossom lawn on an early Friday night
I had never seen the blossoms this full before
The crowds on the Cherry Blossom lawn could not stop taking pictures and videos
It was a spectacular evening to walk through the lawn. I think people were just as spellbound by the beauty of the trees as I was that evening.
I walked down the pathway off to the side and under all these beautiful trees
You have to join me for these amazing walk under the Cherry trees
The pathways were so vibrant with color
Then I walked through the lawn and took pictures as well
I could not believe how beautiful the trees looked and how fluffy the flowers were that day. This is what a Cherry Blossom looks like when it is absolutely perfect!
I think people were spell bound
The fountain at the edge of the Cherry Blossom lawn
Walking back up the pathway to see other parts of the garden
Then I took the back path through the Japanese Garden and it is amazing what a week can do in these gardens in the Spring. Most of the Cherry trees had turned green and another series of flowers had bloomed. You can see this from the beginning of this blog until now.
The back path of the Japanese Garden from Cherry Blossom lawn
The Japanese Gardens
Entering the Japanese Gardens through the back path gives you a better perspective of the garden
Walking along the path of the Japanese Gardens
The waterfall in the Japanese Garden I never noticed before
The garden is so beautiful in the Spring
Looking at the platform from the other side of the gardens
The Cherry trees had turned green when I made this visit
After I finished the tour of the Japanese Gardens, I walked around the Watershed Lawn and the Fragrance and Shakespeare Gardens again to see the flowers blooming. What a site!
The Watershed Lawn
The Watershed lawn
The Fountain at the Shakespeare Garden
The tulips along the pathways
I had never seen this flowering plant before
The Fragrance Garden in bloom
The Fragrance Garden in bloom
It was a spectacular trip and shows how beautiful New York City is in the Spring. The dazzling display of color and delightful smells of the flowers and trees with the promise of more to come as ‘Rose Night’ in the gardens approaches in June.
To see how the parks and gardens work their magic in a one month period goes to show that all is not bad in the world. Maybe we just have to look for the good in it all.
The Cherry trees as I was passing the Brooklyn Museum that evening
Even my backyard was looking much better after the harsh Summer and Winter months
One night later on I found a deer nibbling in my garden. I do not know how he found his way into Hasbrouck Heights but this was different.
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 