Highland Park

Magnolia blossoms

The first Saturday in May turned out to be a picture perfect spring day so Amy and I decided to visit Highland Park, the city's oldest park.  The park was designed by Frederick Olmsted and opened in 1909.  The park is home to the annual Lilac Festival that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

Magnolia tree.

Although the park may be famous for its lilac bushes, it is also home to dozens of other flowering trees and shrubs.  Some of these were in full bloom on Saturday and others, including the lilacs, were just beginning to show buds.
The next few weeks should offer wonderful views and fragrant scents should one decide to visit the park.  As for the Lilac Festival, I'm not too sure.

Will the lilacs be ready in a week?

The festival begins this coming weekend and runs for 10 days.  The forecast calls for warm and sunny weather so it is possible that very young buds I saw will be in full bloom before the festival ends.

Some of the magnolia trees were in full bloom and the fragrance in the air was fantastic.  Finding a good angle to photograph a complete tree and give the same sense of beauty in the photograph as was seen live proved to be a challenge.

 I ended up liking the close-up shots of blossoms much better than I do the shots of entire trees.

In hindsight I think a wide panoramic of the area containing the magnolia trees, showing all the trees at once would make for a nice image.  I may have to return and give that a try.  In the meantime I hope you enjoy these pictures and if you are in the Rochester area do yourself a favor and stop by the park this week before the festival starts and the crowds become overwhelming.