79 
The largest attendance ever recorded for any month in the his- 
tory of the Garden was that for May, 1935, 1.e. 277,335, which is 
not very far from the fofal attendance for the entire year of 1916, 
(314,990) when attendance records began to be kept. The fact 
that the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the founding of 
the Garden occurred during this month may be responsible for 
some of the increase, but this does not explain the sustained 
record attendance extending even into the month of October. It 
seems reasonable to assume, however, that the publicity resulting 
from the commemoration exercises carried over beyond the month 
of May. We must not, however, overlook other important fac- 
tors, namely the increased attractiveness of the Garden from both 
aesthetic and scientific standpoints. Rare species of exotic trees 
and shrubs, of inestimable value to those who are pursuing studies 
along these lines, are increasing in size and number year by year ; 
the special gardens, such as the Japanese Garden, the Rose Garden, 
Iris Garden, Rock Garden, Children’s Garden, Wild Flower Gar- 
den, etc., are gaining in popularity with each successive year; 
scenic and architectural features such as the Overlook, the Labora- 
tory Plaza, the Boulder Bridges, the new Horticultural Section, 
the Wall Garden, etc., are attracting wide attention and interest. 
An important element in the increased attendance is the great 
popularity of the floral displavs which are ornamental features of 
the plantations. The more important of these, with the cs 
mate dates when the flowers are at their best, are as follows 
Crocuses—March 20-April 7 
Daffodils and Magnolias—Apvril 7—April 21 
Rock Garden flowers—mick f 
May 
Japanese Cherries—first week in May 
Japanese Azaleas—about Mav 10 
Wild Flower Garden--months of May, June, and September 
— 
le of April and during month of 

Ghent Azaleas and Tulips—May 15—June 1 
Bearded Iris—about May 24 
Rhododendrons—June 1-15 

Rose Garden—months of June and October 
Mountain Laurel—about June 10 
Water Lilies in Conservatory Plaza 


July 1-October 15 
