Summer flowers
This summer escape to the hidden oasis within the City and enjoy landscapes full of vibrant, delightful flowers. In Central Park meandering trails, and naturalistic landscapes are dressed in thousands and thousands of breathtakingly picturesque flowers. Lilies, hydrangeas, asters, roses, trumpet creepers, black-eyed susan, chaste tree and common yarrow are a handful names among dozens of flowers that await your presence.
According to behavioral research conducted at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, nature provides us with a simple way to improve emotional health – flowers. The presence of flowers triggers happy emotions, heightens feelings of life satisfaction and affects social behavior in a positive manner far beyond what is normally believed.
As reported at Aboutflowers.com, a team of researchers explored the link between flowers and life satisfaction in a 10-month study observing participants’ behavioral and emotional responses to receiving flowers. The results show flowers are a natural and healthful moderator of moods.
- Flowers have an immediate impact on happiness. In the study each participant expressed “true” or “excited” smiles upon receiving flowers, demonstrating extraordinary delight and gratitude. This reaction was universal, occurring in all age groups.
- Flowers have a long-term positive effect on moods. Specifically, study participants reported feeling less depressed, anxious and agitated after receiving flowers, and demonstrated a higher sense of enjoyment and life satisfaction.
- Flowers make intimate connections. The presence of flowers led to increased contact with family and friends.
“Common sense tells us that flowers make us happy,” says Dr. Haviland-Jones. “Now, science shows that not only do flowers make us happier than we know, they have strong positive effects on our emotional well being.”
It’s the simple acts that bring the purest, deepest, and long lasting joys in life. To help you explore the park better HOL lists below 5 best summer trails in Central Park.
The Dene Slope
Foxglove beardtongue blooming at The Dene Slope. (Picture credit: Central Park Conservancy)
The foxglove beardtongue contains white flowers that bloom in the spring and summer. It got its name from its stamen (the pollen-bearing organ of a flower) that contains small hairs, resembling a hairy beard. (Source: Central Park Conservancy)
A stroll at the Dene Slope is just what you want on a summer afternoon. Located on East Side Between 65th and 67th street, the Slope is part of the Dene, a quintessential Central Park landscape. It runs along a steep hill and has dramatic rock outcrops that are exciting to climb and explore.
As you explore the trail you’ll find 50 species of native wildflowers and grasses. The landscape serves as a habitat for birds, bees, butterflies, and other wildlife. Take a moment, pause and enjoy the wildlife as well as the surrounding views, and ofcourse, the stunning blossoms.
Tour time- This tour is roughly a mile and should take about 60 minutes to complete.
Blooms- Anise Hyssop, Butterfly Weed, Common Yarrow, Foxglove Beardtongue, Lanceleaf Coreopsis.
- The Foxglove Beardtongue contains white flowers that bloom in the spring and summer. It got its name from its stamen (the pollen-bearing organ of a flower) that contains small hairs, resembling a hairy beard.
Location- East Side between 65th and 67th
Hallett Nature Sanctuary
Wild geranium blooming at Hallett Nature Sanctuary (Picture credit: Central Park Conservancy)
Wild geranium contains beautiful flowers in varying shades of purple. It can be widely found in woodlands such as the Hallett Nature Sanctuary and the Ramble. (Source: Central Park Conservancy)
The smallest of the Park’s three woodland landscapes, the Hallett Nature Sanctuary offers visitors an intimate experience of nature just steps from the busy streets of midtown. It’s rustic trails wind up and down the hill, leading to various overlooks and sitting areas near the shore of the Pond.
This four-acre woodland is located on a rocky hill overlooking the Pond in the southeast corner of Central Park.
Tour time- at one’s leisure
Bloom- Wild geranium
- Wild geranium contains beautiful flowers in varying shades of purple. It can be widely found in woodlands such as the Hallett Nature Sanctuary and the Ramble.
Location- East Side between 60th and 62nd
Conservatory Garden
Vase-shaped Rose Of Sharon in bloom at Central Park Conservatory (Picture credit: Central Park Conservancy)
One of the hidden wonders of Central Park is the Conservatory Garden at Fifth Avenue and 105th St. A secluded oasis, just a few steps down from one of the City’s busiest thoroughfares; the garden offers a fragrant respite from the gasp and clatter of the urban afternoon.
To enter the six-acre Garden from Fifth Avenue and 105th Street, you must pass through the Vanderbilt Gate.
The Conservatory Garden is filled with a myriad of plant life, from carefully cultivated heirloom roses to the most common of indigenous flowers. It’s beautiful landscape is delineated by hedges of English yew, barberry, Korean holly and the serendipitously named “Manhattan.”
The Garden itself is divided into three distinct sections, each representing its own specific style. These are the north (or French Garden), the Central (or Italian Garden) and the south (or English Garden).
Blooms:
- The daylilies in the Conservatory Garden are one of the most visually stunning indicators that summer has arrived. With their brilliant orange hue the flowers all seem to be jostling for attention, yelling “Over here, look at me!” In the Central Park Garden they are one of the most prominent of the mid-summer blooms and are featured in several of the South Garden perennial beds.
- At the heart of the South Garden is Burnett Fountain, with a pool featuring a variety of summer-blooming waterlilies in pink, blue, and green. Relax on one of the nearby benches and admire the bright pink crape myrtle surrounding the Fountain. In mid summer this is one of the most lovely tableaus to be found anywhere in Central Park, the perfect place to while away a few moments and get away from the clattering city scene a few dozen yards away. You’ll find colorful hydrangeas and roses throughout the South Garden as well.
- The rose of sharon are carefully cultivated heirlooms in Conservatory Garden. It is vase-shaped flower, reaching three feet in height. It blooms from June all the way through to October and is one of the only plants in the garden that can be still be found by Halloween. In fact the plant grows so well in Central Park that it has to be cut back every year to produce flowers, which will only appear on new wood.
- The oakleaf hydrangea in the Conservatory Garden anchors the middle of the annual bed number five in the South Garden. This native shrub of the southeastern United States is truly an all-season plant. Its flower heads are brilliant white in the summer and fade to a pleasing cream and the months wind down towards fall. Large, bold leaves then turn crimson while the papery bark stands out in the eventual wintry landscape.
- The common purple coneflower is a charming ornamental plant. By day it is a lovely, sturdy, perennial plant, one of the signature flowers of any mid-summer garden. It’s one of the most actively blooming plants during the weeks of July and August. It’s purple-petalled flowers gently swaying in the warm air, bees conveying their pollen laden valentines from plant to plant.
Purple Cornflower is reputed to have therapeutic value as well. For generations Echinacea has been taken as an immune system booster that has actually been proven to have significant results in combating everything from the common cold to Athlete’s Foot.
Tour time- at one’s leisure
Location- East Side between 104th and 106th
Shakespeare Garden
Trumpet creeper in Shakespeare Garden, Central Park (Picture credit: Central Park Conservancy)
Look for the trumpet creeper, a vine with bright red or orange tube-like flowers that attract hummingbirds.
Another gem in the Park is the Shakespeare Garden. A four-acre landscape named for the famed English poet and playwright William Shakespeare is enchanting and a must visit in the summer. It features more than 100 plants mentioned in the Bard’s works. The Garden is just steps away from the Delacorte Theater, home to Shakespeare in the Park, a New York City summer tradition.
Blooms:
- Throughout August and September, you’ll see lilies, phlox, hibiscus, asters, roses, cyclamens, and dozens of other flowers in a variety of colors.
- Look for the trumpet creeper, a vine with bright red or orange tube-like flowers that attract hummingbirds.
- Visit the middle of the Garden to find the white blooms of the sweet autumn clematis on the bamboo fence. Its fragrance perfumes the entire Garden.
Tour time- at one’s leisure
Location- West Side at 79th
Azalea Pond
Azalea Pond located at the center of the Ramble, the Park’s most well-known woodland landscape. (Picture credit: Central Park Conservancy)
Azalea Pond is a small water body located at the center of the Ramble, the Park’s most well-known woodland landscape.
It’s fed by the watercourse known as the Gill and is named for the woodland plantings of azaleas and rhododendrons that bloom in spring along its shore. It’s one of the most popular spots for birdwatching in the Ramble. Beat the summer heat and take this naturalist walk to experience the stunning woodland landscape in the middle of the city. Immerse yourself in the wild greenery around the azalea pond, enjoy the priceless stillness and calm in the company of nature.
Tour time- at one’s leisure
Location- West Side at 79th
“We should enjoy this summer, flower by flower, as if it were to be the last one we’ll see.” Andre Gide
Source:
https://www.centralparknyc.org/articles/summer-blooms
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