Border Patrol May 6, 2009
Or The Seasonal Walk Saga
By Tovah Martin
Shimmy & Dive
Some shimmied along the boards on their bellies. Others balanced on their knees and dived down headfirst. No, this wasn’t a yoga class being held at the New York Botanical Garden – it was the landscape crew revamping the Seasonal Walk after the tulips bowed out.
After several days in late April when temperatures precociously soared above 90° F in the Big Apple, the spring bulbs were on their fast track, especially on the sunny side of the twin borders. The lucky brides who walked the “aisle” between the borders while the tulip/narcissus/muscari/etc crescendo was thundering down the length of the beds were thrilled by the complete cast on stage. The tulips lived up to their full promise.
Their palette was a delirious and melodious soft pink heightened by the magenta of Tulipa ‘Attila’ and the sparks of ‘Flaming Spring Green’ standing slightly taller than its bedfellows. Just when the tulips were prime, that’s when Phlox ‘Clouds of Perfume’ kicked in to hide the ankles of the bulbs in a sea of soft sailor blue. Spring bulbs and perennials wove together totally harmoniously and continued the performance until tulip petals began to drop. At that juncture, the scaffolding (wooden boards set on a couple of cinderblocks) was set up so the perennials wouldn’t be disturbed while maintenance was being done on the border. And that’s when the NYBG crew began doing acrobatics. 