Greyfriars

Next we walked down Church Ln to Stour St. Christopher (Kit) Marlowe was born in Canterbury (for an excellent historical novel, read Anthony Burgess’s A Dead Man in Deptford), passing through Beer Cart Ln by the Marlowe Kit to Greyfriars Gardens. Passing through the gardens we came out into St Peter’s Grove, a street that looks like all those English ’60s movies. Click any of the pictures to enlarge them all.

Tulips

W 92nd Street, New York

Every year I’m struck by the beauty of the Spring tulips but swear they’re not really my thing and I’m not going to post lots of pretty pictures of them. This year I’ve managed to limit myself to this one.

St Luke in the Fields Garden

Seeking to whisk my wife away from our ongoing pandemic solitude for an afternoon I consulted Atlas Obscura for something new to see. As a 60-year denizen of the city it’s getting harder to find new things and many venues are, of course closed for the pandemic (and many may, sadly, never re-open). The Atlas recommended the Gardens of St Luke in the Fields, “a quiet and contemplative oasis in the middle of New York’s bustle and riot.” We have, of course passed by on the street many times without realizing there was more to go in and see. From the description there was much to see and many gardens to explore. And while, as I hope these pictures will attest, the Garden is lovely, much of it is not open to see. The area we walked on a raw and chilly Spring afternoon was too small to provide much escape from the bustle and noise of the surrounding streets or the Garden’s many visitors, all there no doubt with the same fond hope as us. I’d still recommend it if you find yourself in the area.

Click any image to see them all enlarged.

White House Planter

87th St and Central Park West, New York

There’s an apartment building on the corner here which styles itself “the White House,” I’m not sure why. Every year I promise myself I’m not going to post pretty pictures of flowers – not my thing – and every year, as we emerge from the slough of Winter I demur, especially following this plague year. These were in the planter in front of the White House.

Arc de Tulip

I’ve already posted a picture of this flowerbed on 97th street but, passing it again last weekend, I still wanted to try and capture the scope and profusion. While I’ve captured more of the flowers here, it’s actually diminished the impact of the earlier close-up, an object lesson in composition.

West 97th Street, New York