The flowers at all of the places (NYC, London, Ireland) we recently visited were just amazing. The baskets and boxes in England and Ireland…wow!!! I have to believe because the temps are a bit milder and the daylight a bit longer that this helps, but it also requires a lot of diligence and water! If you’re a “flower” person, enjoy! If not just scroll on!
A plant store in Brooklyn, NY, Red Hook district.
Flowers at Hometown BBQ, Brooklyn, NY, Red Hook district.
This was a small community garden, Brooklyn, NY, Red Hook district.
Someone’s personal garden across the street from Coffey Park, Brooklyn, NY, Red Hook district.
Our friend Joe recommended this place in NYC, Little Island. It’s a public park about a square block and it’s an island on the Hudson River. It’s located near Pier 55, opened in May, 2021. There is a 680 seat amphitheater, with more than 114 trees, 66,000 bulbs, beautiful walking paths, boardwalks and vendors selling food. What a gem in the middle of the NYC chaos!
This was also recommended by Joe, The High Line. It’s within walking distance of the Little Island. This is a 1.45 mile long elevated linear park created on a former New York Central Railroad. This is one way to “up” cycle an area no longer in use! The city owns and manages this beautiful park. There are lounge benches and recliners mixed into all the beautiful flowers and fountain features. Unfortunately, most of the park was closed for reconstruction.
Brooklyn Heights, NYC.
We walked by these colorful zinnias multiple times during our short stay in Brooklyn, NY. The flower box was location outside of an apartment.
These yellow Alstroemeria showed up on our dining table after having been on the Queen Mary 2 for 7 days!!! Unfortunately, our behind the scenes ship tour did not cover something as trivial as keeping flowers looking fresh for an extended period of time! There were no scheduled ports during our 9 day cruise!
This huge arrangement changed twice during our cruise. Here it’s all decorated for the Masquerade Gala! This is right near the Purser’s Office…I’m certain it is intentional to have this here as that line is always rather long! Something beautiful to stare at rather than dwell on how long the line is!
City of Westminster, just west of London! There are 3 stories of beautiful flower boxes and baskets!
City of Westminster, across the street from The Park Green. This was captured from the on / off bus, so it’s a bit crooked. Not flowers, but a large amount of beautiful greenery on the corner of that building!
Mayfair, London, near Piccadilly Circus.
Festival Gardens near St Paul’s Cathedral. The cosmos were in full bloom! There were many folks having lunch in this park!
These flowers aren’t all that grand in this picture, but we were extremely impressed with the number of public water fountains located in London and all over Ireland! Most pubs also had a water station set up for self serve cold water. Really a nice touch!
Tower Bridge, London (above). These locks aren’t flowers either, but we did find locks in many places we visited! There were also a number of places where there was signage banning locks.
The Traitor’s Gate. This pub is near the Tower of London. There was an on / off bus stop near here. We asked one of the ticket guys if he could recommend a place to eat…The Traitor’s Gate at Tower Hill was so good! They even had multiple electrical outlets strategically placed near the booths and tables so we were able to recharge our phones!
Another view of the beautiful flower boxes at The Traitor’s Gate, Tower Hill, London.
Kensington Gardens, Kensington, west of London. We walked through this huge park. There was a garden path that was so beautiful!
Kensington Gardens, Kensington, England.
Kensington Gardens, Kensington, England.
Adare Park, Adare, Co. Limerick, Ireland.
Adare, Co. Limerick. These flowers were at a little coffee shop. Something so simple and beautiful and someone has taken the time to care for them!
Somewhere in Killarney, Co. Kerry.
Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry, Ireland.
Hydrangea!!! Killarney Outlet Center, Co. Kerry. Oh my goodness, hydrangea grow really well in Ireland! Pink, blue, purple…just so very beautiful!
Fuchsia! Wow! Killarney Outlet Center, Co. Kerry. Where we are from in the north eastern part of Illinois, fuchsia might be found in a small hanging basket. They do not tolerate heat very well. In Ireland they grow as a bush!!! Our Bridget calls these “Twirling Ballerinas!”
Town Center, Killarney, Co. Kerry.
More Fuchsia! Twirling Ballerinas!
Bunratty Castle, Bunratty, Co. Clare.
The famous Durty Nelly’s, Bunratty, Co. Clare.
Bunratty, Co. Clare.
Quin Abbey, a ruined Franciscan Abbey in Quin, Co. Clare. We stopped here after attending mass next door at St Mary’s Catholic Church and then had a bowl of potato and leek soup across the street at The Abbey Tavern.
Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare. We had to drive through this town as there’s an Irish song 🎵 about this little place! We also visited the smallest library in the country here and found a geocache! Anyone else know of the song?
Louisburgh, Co. Mayo. Lobelia is used in many of the planter boxes and baskets. Just love the dainty flowers!
Somewhere near Claw Bay, on the Atlantic Ocean. We spent much of our drive from Limerick on up to Co. Donegal following the Wild Atlantic Way. The country has done an amazing job of increasing tourism into small towns and communities with signs to follow to keep a traveler near the Atlantic coast. Every turn in the road offered a different perspective of the simple beauty found in everyday nature!
Westport, Town Center, Co. Mayo.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Knock, Knock, Co. Mayo. These beautiful flowers had the most amazing smell to them!
Santa Barbara Daisy, Claremorris, Co. Mayo
Hydrangea, Louisburgh, Co. Mayo.
The Three Arches Bed and Breakfast, Louisburgh, Co. Mayo. Mary and Patrick owned this beautiful B & B overlooking Claw Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. We spent 2 nights here.
Westport, Town Center, Co. Mayo.
Westport, Co. Mayo. These beautiful flowers were in a parking lot!
Westport, Co. Mayo, more parking lot arrangements!
Blue Hydrangea, Palmerstown, Co. Mayo, on the Atlantic Ocean!
Hydrangea, Lahardene, near Lough Conn, Co. Mayo.
Lahardaun, Co. Mayo. There’s a Catholic church across the street that has a few stained glass windows (1 of only 2 churches in the world to have stained glass windows dedicated to the Titanic) in remembrance of the lives lost in the Titanic. This small area of Ireland had the most lives lost (11) on the Titanic than any other area of Ireland. There is a beautiful Titanic memorial park in this small town.
Montbretia. This beautiful orange flower lines many roads in Ireland!
Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, the grave of one of Ken’s aunts and uncles.
Donegal, Co. Donegal. No relation, but the McCafferty’s bar has been here for a very long time!
Rossnowlagh, Co. Donegal.
More hydrangea, Rossnowlah, Co. Donegal. The Franciscan Friary. Statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Goldenrod, Truman East, Laghey, Co. Donegal. Goldenrod is all over in Ireland. This lane is really special because Ken’s Mom, Eileen, lived here! Ken spent 18 summers traipsing up and down this lane in his wellington’s!
Between Ballyshannon (Republic of Ireland) and Belleek in Northern Ireland. We stopped by to see a family friend who had attended our wedding almost 32 years ago! We had a challenging time remembering where her house was. Drove past it 4 times and finally found a nice lady out tending her garden. Here are her directions: “You go up the road past Mary’s and then if you pass the Kelly’s you’ve gone too far you know!” We didn’t know “Mary” or “the Kelly’s” but we found the house we were after!
Donegal Town Center, Co. Donegal.
Ballinamore, Co. Leitrim.
Somerset Street, Dublin, Ireland.
Somerset Street, Dublin, Co. Dublin. The beautiful kitchen garden in the home of one of Ken’s first cousins in Dublin!
Dublin, Co. Dublin. We tried to take pictures of places with friend’s names on them ~ Jennifer!
Dublin, Co. Dublin. If these stones could talk!
The Temple Bar, Dublin, Co. Dublin.
Dublin, Co. Dublin. The little boxes you see here contain keys for the apartments in this building! This is where we stayed while in Dublin! The Air B&B, #1 The King Fisher, we were provided with a code to input and the box opened up with our keys for 2 nights! Ideal location near Parnell and O’Connell Street. We were near the on the hop on / off buses. Highly recommend!
