Welcome to Brooklyn

Love Inspired Suspense has been running a series called True Blue K-9 Unit: Brooklyn. The covers feature many iconic Brooklyn views. 

That got me thinking - 

 What's the first thing you think of when you hear Brooklyn?

The Brooklyn Bridge?

Image used with permission from Pixabay/Foundry

Coney Island?

Image from stephy@ Pixabay

My personal favorite spot is The Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Like everything else in the world, the gardens have been closed since March, but they were recently reopened for limited visiting on a timed/ticketed basis. Since my daughter has a membership, she took a break from bread baking and visited on the first day they were open. The morning had been rainy (like Biblical proportions rain), so there were few visitors, but the skies cleared enough for her to have a lovely stroll and take over 200 photos!

I thought I'd share some of them with you today (rest assured NOT all 200+). I hope you enjoy.

Some places make it hard to remember you're still in the center of the city.

Then there's the Rose Garden - slightly more cultivated.

The Cherry Trees are no longer in bloom, but the esplanade is still peaceful.

The Japanese Garden

Everything looks a bit murky on this overcast day.

I love the design on this gate.

So that's my Brooklyn!

It's Cherry Blossom Time

I thought I was being so original sharing some local Brooklyn information, only to discover I had already shared about this before.

That's okay. The cherry blossom festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is amazing enough to share again.

Me, I go nowhere near the gardens on this weekend. They expect 35,000 people each day of the festival. The beauty of living in the neighborhood is that I can visit any time and avoid the crowds.

Sakura Matsuri

And when the wind blows, like it did this weekend, you get more of a cherry blossom blizzard!

The aftermath. So pretty, but sad to see those lush blossoms fade.

So back to the festival - You can check out the Botanic Gardens page here and see they have so many events scheduled for Cherry Blossom weekend. It's a beautiful blend of nature and culture - everything from Japanese techno-infused music to Samurai sword fighting to Manga authors.

If you go to the main page - you can see the Cherry Blossom esplanade in full bloom.

There is also a beautiful and peaceful Japanese Garden.

Last year everyone was frustrated because the cherry trees didn't bloom until the Monday AFTER the festival. This year the blossoms were at peak and the trees were amazing!



If you're ever in Brooklyn in April (or May), be sure to drop by this amazing garden and see the spectacle.


Of course all you have to do is walk down any of our streets to be treated to a splendid display.

Sakura Matsuri

This past weekend was Cherry Blossom time in Brooklyn, but most especially it was Sakura Matsuri, also known as the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.

This annual festival draws over 60,000 visitors to the gardens in a single weekend!


The cherry blossoms are really something to behold. I shared a photo last week of the blossoms in my neighborhood.

and yesterday I posted a photo on Facebook of the blossoms after a rain storm washed them off the tree. Literally a river of petals.

So pretty, but sad to see those lush blossoms fade.

So back to the festival - You can check out the Botanic Gardens page here and see they have 60 events scheduled for Cherry Blossom weekend. 

If you go to the main page - you can see the Cherry Blossom esplanade in full bloom.

There is also a beautiful and peaceful Japanese Garden.





So I figured I could give a recipe for something Japanese, right?

Um, no. I don't have any.

I'm excusing myself because I'm in the midst of another week of state testing.

But I can Google and I discovered Huffington Post had a list of five favorite Japanese recipes to celebrate the Cherry Blossom Festival.

So, if you're feeling adventurous, give it a try.

5 Tasty Japanese Recipes to Celebrate Cherry Blossom Season

My daughter loves to cook with Japanese sweet potatoes. She makes a delicious dish with sweet potatoes, wild Japanese black rice and roasted papaya and pineapple.

I wish I had a photo.

So, what's blooming in your neck of the woods?