My Personal Giverny

Today’s Post by Mildred Alpern

There’s no need for me to travel to the gardens of Giverny fifty miles outside of Paris to view summer flowers in a splendidly untamed setting. Thanks to volunteers, the Riverside Park Community Gardens, on the mid level promenade at 91st St and Riverside Drive in NYC., exhibit the bright colors that inspired Monet and Pissarro, the French Impressionist painters.

The gardens are currently bursting with a bountiful display of cleomes, anemones, hydrangeas, and black-eyed susans, among others. There may not be the bridge and pond located in Giverny, but beyond the daisy patch, lies the sparkling Hudson River.

On the street level of the park, under leafy trees, are benches near mounted bronze Civil War cannons. The benches provide shady seating for those who still prefer reading print. Perhaps it is a generational thing.

All images were shot with the Olympus E-M5 Mark II. The daisy patch with the Lensbaby Pro Composer II Edge 50 in Manual mode, no EXIF data; the bountiful garden with the Olympus M Zuiko 30 mm f/3.5 macro lens with an exposure of 1/640 at f/3.5, ISO 800; the man the the Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 with an exposure of 1/500, ISO 800.