Two days before a heat wave hit the east coast and gave Baltimore the highest temperature in the country at 96 degrees, I was in New York. In a turtleneck, fleece and quilted jacket I visited the New York Botanical Garden as part of my sister’s birthday weekend. On a chilly tram ride we toured some of the garden’s 250 acres and enjoyed an overview of the varied terrain and many gardens within the garden founded in 1891.

Only scilla, daffodils, pansies and early cherry trees bloomed outdoors.