Conservatory Garden in Central Park, a renovation
I tried to visit the Conservatory Garden today, and I was really dismayed to see that the English Garden (the southern one, which is normally full of flowers by now) is completely fenced off, and currently the French Garden has nothing at all planted in its large beds, whereas normally they would already have planted the young Korean Chrysanthemums, plus all the decorative flowering items which usually line either side of the four entranceways.
In the English Garden they have ripped out everything underfoot -- all of the paths and steps -- and will completely re-do those. Personally I thought they had been fine, and did not need to be replaced.
I asked, and the optimistic guess is that they will be finished sometime during this fall. But I suspect the work may not be completed until the spring of 2023.
In the meantime I will have no access to see all the butterflies and flower flies and so many other great flying and non-flying insects that I am used to seeing in the English Garden in summer, and I will have nowhere to go to see all of the fabulous flying insects in search of nectar and pollen in October and November, when they all usually flock to the flowers of the late-blossoming Korean Chrysanthemums in the French Garden. I will also probably miss seeing the several uncommon and interesting weed species that seem to show up each year in the French Garden.
I know that @steven-cyclist and @zitserm will find this all to be bad news. @karenholmberg will also be disappointed that I can't soon show her what I can normally find there.
Currently you can still walk the path that loops around the outside of all three gardens, but I suppose they may close that too at some point.
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I guess I can go to the four small Butterfly Gardens of Central Park instead, but you can't get inside those gardens, and so you have to try to photograph critters as best as you can over the fences.
There is also The Dene Slope, planted with native flowers and grasses, and supposed to be rich in pollinators , but so far I have not been impressed by the insects there.
I will have to try to make do with what I call "Insect Hill" which is also near 106th Street, and also keep a eye on what lives in the vegetation on either edge of the Harlem Meer.
If anyone has other suggestions, please let me know.
@susanhewitt I am sorry to hear the bad news, Susan. That's very sad, indeed.
Well, I guess everything will hopefully be back to normal next year. I just have to adjust to not being able to go there this year, or at any rate not this summer.
I was happy to see a few days ago that the French Garden now has the young Korean Chrysanthemums in place, plus they have put in decorative flowering items lining either side of the four entranceways.
Apparently they will be doing the renovations bit by bit, closing different areas as they go along.
We will have to keep a close eye on it, @susanhewitt, and go back as soon as it fully reopens for certain!
Any new updates?
I live close by and I just went today again, to see if it was still possible to enjoy the gardens. Yes, you can still get in by walking around the Mears and going in along the fences they have constructed. Sadly, it looks like it will be a long time until the restorations are finished- apparently, an overhaul of the wisteria trellis is planned. Overall, it's a pity, to do so much fixing that it takes away the character the park has acquired over the decades. It's such a relatively new park, when you think about it. Some of the work on the flower beds is being done only because of the work on the slate paths, so not really necessary.
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