We've arrived at Staten Island Botanical Gardens at Snug Harbor, Staten Island.......

As you know, Botanical Gardens are a great place to see big leaves..........

And fluffy specimens--flora not fauna..............

In the greenhouse we enjoy some tropical displays............

Like this gorgeous hibiscus.................

And some lovely variegated leaves..............

Tropic man.................

Another delicate blossom.................

And more crazy leaves................

And some fancy leaves........................

The greenhouse courtyard features container grown plants and a Lilly pond...........

Lots to admire..............

On the charming grounds of the botanical garden..................

Floating gardens..................

Floating blossoms...............

There is variety even among the floaters...........

We have the garden practically to ourselves.................

This is a white nighttime garden.................

We love the Victorian garden houses................

I believe this is a sensory garden for the visually impaired..............

Gotta love the lilies......................

A lot of repair and maintenance work was going on................

To keep this place looking lovely.....................

Even nature needs a helping hand sometimes..........

Chiara explores an herb garden................

Quite a lovely spot..............

This delightful series of arbors has made a deep dark summertime tunnel.............

This would be a cool haven on a really hot day..............

And fun too........................

A cheery bouquet.....................

Being painstakingly maintained. About this time we finally realized that the Botanical Garden was not really open to the public today, but that none of the workers keeping it up could speak enough English to tell us to "get out".................

One of the darling groundskeeper's bungalows. I love the little flowers in the siding tiles............

A welcoming bench................

Miss Chiara before a garden house..............

A very nice perennial border...............

The castellated turrets of the Children's Garden that was locked up...............

Frannie on one of the many paths through the garden's open dells...............

There are a few others on the path--neighbors of the garden, I think..................

A pretty girl, a pretty scene...................

This is as close as we could get to the Chinese Scholar's Garden--a truly gorgeous building and environment that I have visited on previous visits--Today it is all locked up................ Some bronze deer stand guard over a new stand of trees................

Another winding path.................

Chiara enjoys the bucolic feeling....................

A truly romantic scene for a morning's respite..............................

There's lots of open spaces that beckon visitors to picnics or afternoon naps....................

A wall fountain without water.................

Another specimen tree....................

So you see, even on a day it's closed, a botanical garden has many many charms to extend for free...................