“Sweet April showers do bring May flowers,” or so wrote Thomas Tusser in verse. While there is some botanical merit to the adage, I must note have seen many flowers in April in Brooklyn, New York City, especially on trees. There were also more grounded flowers. Take, for example, a brave solitary tulip I happened across on April 19, 2025.

A solitary yellow garden tulip with red accents growing from a dry patch of soil in front of a wooden post, surrounded by small patches of grass.

I found this garden tulip on Ferris Street, close to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Red Hook. There were no other flowers in the area, much less tulips. This solitary tulip went where no other flower dared and took up residence in the dry soil, surrounded by the roots of a large tree and sporadic patches of grass.

Looking out to the water near Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Red Hook. In the foreground we have a fance. Through the fence we see a large asphalt track between us and the water and a docked red tugboat in the center of the scene in the distance,
The scene near the tulip but looking toward the water.

I opined in a short 2021 post about a small plant growing from a tiny crevice on the pedestrian walkway of the Manhattan Bridge that some plants are very resourceful. This tulip did not face quite as much hardship as that Manhattan Bridge plant or a certain Manhattan Bridge-related tree I covered, but I dare say seeing a solitary vibrant flower standing alone is striking in its own way.