In a Brookyn (part of New York City) neighborhood called Boerum Hill, adjoining downtown Brooklyn, we found this small oasis on Schermerhorn St. between Nevins St. and 3 Ave while walking to the subway on Christmas Eve.
It was called "Sixteen Sycamores"
Sycamores, also known as plane trees, are a tree native to the New York City area, identifiable by the white and brown patchy bark.
Don't ever let anyone tell you that New York City is only a city of skyscrapers. Yes, there are plenty of those, but you can find the most delightful things if you keep your eyes on where you walk.
This is the final Tree Love post of the year and I am so happy to end this with pictures taken in New York City, the city of my birth.
Join Parul and other bloggers on the second and fourth Thursday of the year for #ThursdayTreeLove.
The street name you mentioned brought back a fond memory of Mrs. Schermerhorn, who taught English to us Meadville High School juniors 62 years ago. She loved to tell stories, often the same ones. "Did I ever tell you about ---", she began one day. "Yes!" interrupted Rudy. He wasn't a mean kid. The word just got blurted out.
ReplyDelete"What will I do with that boy?" she asked the class. Someone suggested that Rudy wait in the hall while she told her story. He did, and when she called him back in, he returned, grinning good naturedly.
That's a good one, Forsythia!
DeleteIndeed wonderful trees! Lovely leaf shape as well! A great post to end the year with!! :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Archana!
DeleteI do not know much about Brooklyn or even NY. But I do remember reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn as a kid. I haven't thought of that for years.
ReplyDeleteI loved the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn as a teen, growing up in the Bronx (another borough of NYC). That tree is the Ailanthus, also known as the Tree of Heaven or the Chinese Sumac. Totally indestructible - and stinky. We have some where I live in upstate New York, too. I may just get that book out of the library and reread it - it's been, perhaps, 50 years since I read it.
DeleteYes, it’s true. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn.
ReplyDeleteMany trees grow in Brooklyn. Believe it or not, finding that playground was one of the highlights of my visit. Who knew?
DeleteBrooklyn and NYC have wonderful trees not only in the parks but along the streets as well. I love how the city also plants blooming flowers at the base of the trees and often has little iron fences around them to protect them. So much to see and appreciate when you're not "looking up."
ReplyDeleteSo totally agree with you. It's those little treasures that make travel so exciting.
DeleteAh, I never knew that sycamores were plane trees!
ReplyDeleteBTW a lot of people think the NYC parks logo is a maple leaf, but it's actually a London plane tree leaf (a hybrid variety of plane tree).
And I always thought it was a maple tree leaf, so now I've learned even more. When I left NYC in 1974, I didn't know that much about trees. I read up on London planes vs. sycamores and there has been so much back and forth hybridization. I'm not a native of Brooklyn, by the way - rather, I was born in Queens but grew up in the Bronx. My late childhood best friend, another high school friend, and a beloved cousin all settled in Brooklyn as adults, and I've grown to love that borough.
DeleteThanks for sharing an aspect of nature within an urban landscape. Hooray for people who work to ensure that concrete doesn't completely dominate cities.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of nature in New York City. I grew up close to Bronx Park, one of the urban oasis of forested beauty.
DeleteSycamore was the name of the rival jr. high school. We had names for them. (We were Ball. The jr. highs were named after the street they were on.)
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing these trees in the NJ area especially in Duke Farm which had a collection of 'native' trees.
ReplyDeleteLet us not confuse Manhattan with the other boroughs. Although it is rapidly being denuded, Staten Island (Richmond) was a barely developed island for years. The other boroughs also have some open spaces- but they seem to be devoured each successive year.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I am sure Central Park would have a lot of trees too. Isn't it? I think greenery even in most modern cities add to the charm. Thanks for linking up, Alana.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that you try to find beautiful things around where you live. I guess we tend to find beauty when we start looking for it and every place has something to it that's not always visible at first sight. Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures from your part of the world, Alana.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, I did not know about these trees in New York...as you mentioned I only thought of skyscrapers.
ReplyDelete