Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Not so #WordlessWednesday - What are the signs of Spring in New York City? The Ice Cream Truck and the @NYBG Orchid Show! Sponsored by @Citi and supported by @stb_sg #plantlove

I was beginning to think the Groundhog lied and that Spring would never visit New York City, I mean we recently had SNOW!

This year is my 10 year blogaversary and my birthday is coming up in April - I am so revved up for Spring and warmer weather!

Signs of Spring are finally beginning to show here in New York City. Two solid signs of Spring in my neck of the woods are the sounds of the ice cream truck and the annual Orchid Show at New York Botanical Garden.

It's a show I try hard not to miss and this year the theme is "Singapore". This is the 17th year of The New York Botanical Garden's popular orchid exhibition. It was developed in partnership with Gardens by the Bay and Singapore Botanic Gardens. Supported by the Singapore Tourism Board.

Since I am so lucky to have The New York Botanical Gardens so close to where I live, it was much like taking a trip to Singapore without the expensive airplane tickets!

Let me take you through the highlights of the Media/Press Preview Day:

Empanaology, Empanadas, Empanada, Food, Foodie
Above: Members of the Press were greeted with the most delicious Breakfast Empanadas from Empanology. I love Breakfast and I love Empanadas, this combo is definitely working for me! This nod to Puerto Rican Culture right here in the Boogie Down Bronx couldn't have made me more proud.

Empanaology, Enid Haupt Conservatory, The New York Botanical Gardens, Food, Foodie
Above: Couldn't resist nabbing this earthy logo shot - All meat and poultry used is sourced through local farmers raising hormone and antibiotic-free animals, serving locally-sourced product and pasture-raised dairy. The New York Botanical Garden has been inviting so many interesting food vendors to their events and I am so glad that they put Empanology on my radar, I definitely have to visit them at their 2407 Third Avenue Bronx, NY location soon! 

Empanaology, Enid Haupt Conservatory, The New York Botanical Gardens, Food, Foodie
Above: Yes, I took TWO! (In all fairness, it was one of each variety, I had to try them both out of course, it's my job as press!) They both taste as good as they look too! YUMMY! It definitely reminded me of the empanadas we would buy before hitting the beaches in Puerto Rico. This media day literally took me to two places - Puerto Rico with these empanadas and Singapore with the amazing exhibit. This is totally activating my wanderlust!

The Uptown Vegan, Enid Haupt Conservatory, The New York Botanical Gardens, Food, Foodie, Sweets,Treats
Above: The Uptown Vegan was also on deck with sweets and treats and I am a bit pleased with how this shot captures the signage against the snowy ground with the Enid Haupt Conservatory in the background! I am also experimenting with my watermark (can you see it?)

Supertree of Gardens by the Bay Singapore Replica, Enid Haupt Conservatory, The New York Botanical Gardens, Orchid, Orchids, Flowers
Above: The iconic Supertrees of Gardens by the Bay recreated at The New York Botanical Gardens, you know Ascending Butterfly is always looking up, instead of a boring shot from faraway just so you can see how tall it is, I wanted to shoot it from a lower perspective looking up.

Replication of The Famed Arches of Singapore Botanic Gardens, National Orchid Garden, Enid Haupt Conservatory, The New York Botanical Gardens, Orchid, Orchids, Flowers
Above: The Famed Arches of Singapore Botanic Gardens' National Orchid Garden are replicated to perfection in the Enid Haupt Conservatory of The New York Botanical Gardens

Vanda Awkwafina hybrid Orchid, Enid Haupt Conservatory, The New York Botanical Gardens, Orchid, Orchids, Flowers
Above: At the Media preview we got to meet 'Awkwafina' -Vanda Awkwafina that is! A Vanda hybrid of Susan Best x Crownfox Black Forest.

"We think Awkwafina is the perfect choice because of her accomplishments in music and film as well as her prominence as a native New Yorker." ~ Marc Hachadourian, NYBG's Director of Glasshouse Horticulture and Senior Curator of Orchids

I want a flower named after me too! Come on, wouldn't an Ascending Butterfly Flower be perfect for The New York Botanical Garden?

Enid Haupt Conservatory, The New York Botanical Gardens, Orchid, Orchids, Flowers
Above: I wish my template allowed this one to be bigger, please press this photo to see it full size, the details here and drops of dew falling off the flowers and frozen in time makes this one of my favorite flower photos captured by me! And this is a compressed version of it because my blog template doesn't allow me to post RAW photo files, in RAW format this is even more stunning.

Enid Haupt Conservatory, The New York Botanical Gardens, Orchid, Orchids, Flowers
Above: Look a rare butterfly sighting! LOL You guys know I am much more comfortable behind the camera and way less comfortable in front of it, but with a backdrop like this I literally couldn't resist. (Just sad the photographer didn't nab a full length and get my cute new boots!) Spot my logo watermark?

MY TAKE:

The show runs from February 23rd through April 28, 2019 and is part of NYBG's year-long theme #plantlove featuring exhibitions, programs, and projects exploring the essential connections between plants, people and the environment.

It had actually recently snowed so my plans to wear a cute spring dress were dashed by the need to keep warm - hopefully I can hit one of the Orchid Evenings when the weather gets better and get a more dressy shot of myself with the orchids as a backdrop to all my fabulosity! :)

And no, I haven't forgotten about you butterflies. I am working on a very epic project still in stealth mode which is why this post isn't accompanied by my usual Orchid Evenings tickets giveaway, stay tuned I hope to be able to offer a giveaway before the end of this amazing exhibition, I just need some time to come up for air on what I am working on right now. Which is why I wanted to get this post up so you would add the show to your list of fun spring things to do in the city!

I take inspired photos from this show every year, and it gives me the chance to practice my photography which got re-ignited after the devastating fire I suffered last year where I lost the majority of my photos! I have to start my Photo Memories all over again, now with a much greater perspective on exactly how valuable my visual memories really are.

I took 162 photos in total, editing all that and optimizing them for my template will take awhile, so you will definitely see more floral wordless wednesdays and I will try to get as many as possible on our Instagram Feed too! If you look on my Instagram, there is a very zen video of the Three Graces Fountain inside of the Enid Haupt Conservatory at The New York Botanical Garden HERE!

Now I need to follow this with a trip to both Puerto Rico and Singapore - Tourism Boards are you reading this? :)

READERS: What are the signs of spring where you are?

·٠•● Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•● Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•● Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ●•●•٠·˙


FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a compensated post, is an event recap, and all opinions are 100% my own!  The love however is genuine! I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR, Part 255 - Guides Concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising, you may check our Giveaway and Disclosure Page for additional information regarding Ascending Butterfly Disclosure.