American Byways

Cincinnati always blooms out during the spring time, in ways that are rarely captured, studied or admired. To many, they are just blips in a sea of buildings as the car passes by, but by stepping out and admiring the hundreds of different species that are cultivated or blown in, one can appreciate just what plant diversity Cincinnati really has.

Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden

You can’t argue with the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. The following were taken during the annual Tunes and Blooms event that was held every Thursday in April.

Blue Jacket Hyacinth

Blue Jacket Hyacinth

Pink Pearl Hyacinth

Pink Pearl Hyacinth

Banja Luka Tulip

Tulip about to open

White narcissus

The crowd at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden was awaiting a musican to perform during the annual April Tunes and Blooms Event.

Tulips abound at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.

Purple Creeping Phlox in the foreground, and red Columbine's rise in the back.

Eden Park

Eden Park is one of Cincinnati’s most popular parks. It contains the free Krohn Conservatory, overlooks and plenty of open space.

Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum

Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum has just become more convenient to access, since I recently moved from Over-the-Rhine to Northside. The amount of plant diversity is astounding.

For even more Cincinnati, check out my partner web-site, UrbanUp, for even more photographs of downtown, Over-the-Rhine, North Avondale and more!

The Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is located in Cincinnati, Ohio within the Mill Creek valley, and was chartered by a special Act of the Ohio General Assembly in 1845. Spring Grove is one of the largest not-for-profit cemeteries in the United States, and it’s manicured 733 acres are host to thousands of visitors every year.

This was my first trip to Spring Grove in my two years of living in Cincinnati, so I spent much of my day here. There are 48 photographs in this gallery, along with a brief history and description.

A curious fish stopped to look at me for a few, brief minutes.

Flowering dogwoods reflect in a lake.

Wild Blue Phlox

Round Leaved Ragwort

Mahketewah Lake

Cornus florida dogwood frame Willow Water.

Soldiers Monument was crafted by Randolph Rogers in Rome, Italy in 1864. Section 23

I’ve also added a few photographs to the Alms Park gallery. Located in the historic Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood on the east end of Cincinnati, the 94-acre Frederick H. Alms Memorial Park on Mt. Tusculum offers a breathtaking view of the Ohio River and Lunken Airport. The point was originally nicknamed ‘Bald Hill’ for the clearing created by Native Americans, who cleared trees to have an sightless view of the early settlers of ‘Columbia.’ Later, the land was owned by Nicholas Longworth who used the property to produce Catawba wine prior to the Civil War. It was later sold to Federick H. Alms, who donated it to the Cincinnati Park Board in 1916.

A statue of Steven Foster, who was known as the 'Father of American music.' While living in Cincinnati, he wrote his first successful songs, 'Oh! Susanna' and 'Nelly Was a Lady.' He lived in Cincinnati from 1846 to 1849.

Be sure to click through to Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum and the Alms Park galleries for more photographs! Enjoy this springalicious update!

Cincinnati comes alive with color during the early months of April. Having visited the Washington D.C. area last year for their annual Cherry Blossom Festival, I decided to spend this spring season wandering about Eden Park to photograph various early blooms.

Starting out with a sunrise from Eden Park overlooking the Ohio River.

A view of the iconic 172-foot high water tower built in 1894.

Mount Hood Daffodil sweep across the landscape at Eden Park.

Tenby Daffodil

Click through to Eden Park to find dozens of photographs from one of Cincinnati’s finest parks. It appears that the weather is staying stable, warm and dry for at least this week. Get out there and enjoy it!

Didn’t mind the foot of snow Cincinnati had just weeks earlier. And the deep overcast skies that dominated the winter scene.

It was time for Bockfest!

Cincinnati is home to the world’s oldest Bock festival, and the city’s deep connection with its beer heritage is well evident in this event. For those who are not aware, the Queen City was once home to 38 breweries, one for every neighborhood and then some, producing so much that it was the fourth largest manufacturer of lager in America. Cincinnatian’s also drank every city in the United States under the table, consuming two-and-a-half times more beer more than any other: forty gallons of golden hues per resident in a given year were consumed, mostly concentrated in the deeply German-ethnic neighborhood Over-the-Rhine.

I photographed the parade and took part in the events over the weekend that spanned the weekend of the 5th of March. Click through for more information and history of Bockfest and to view the full 56 photographs in the gallery. Enjoy!

Jim Tarbell, also known as Mr. Cincinnati, makes his way down Main Street.

Arnold's Bar and Grill, the oldest bar in the city, represents at Bockfest.

The trojan goat of Cincinnati!

2009 Sausage Queen

Snowmageddon has made its appearance in Cincinnati, Ohio as we marked our record snowfall for the month at 23.1 inches, besting the previous record of 21.4 inches that was set in 1914. On February 16, the city received up to 8.3 inches of new accumulation, adding to the storm on February 9 and 10 that piled on 6.6 inches, and the storm on February 5 and 6 that dumped 8.1 inches of snow.

That brings the total accumulation this winter to 35.4 inches, or 20.5 inches more than last year at this point. For an even more dramatic comparison, for all of last winter, the city received 21.5 inches of snow.

Selected below are photographs of Cincinnati and Hamilton County during the last three snowfalls.

Alms Park in Cincinnati draped in snow.

An overlook from Eden Park provides a panoramic view of Kentucky.

Mirror Lake at Eden Park.

Sharon Creek at Sharon Woods.

Enjoy the Snowmageddon that has paralyzed Cincinnati! You know that I’m enjoying this winter weather very much.