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I decided that we wanted to give a large planting of cherry trees to the United Nations Park in memory of Albert, as we thought it would be a permanent, living memorial that would give many people pleasure. We planted about 275 trees there and also gave money for the ivy that is planted under them, and later I gave 40 or 50 thousand white daffodils which bloom in the park, and some of them are under the trees. So that this is one of the first plantings that I made after he died.

Later, I was driving on Park Avenue and I felt that the center malls were unbearably dull and the City unnecessarily dreary, and I thought that I would like to give some plantings of tulips, as a sample of what could be done. I did give these plantings in 1949, while Albert was still alive. I gave about four blocks for lower Park Avenue, just below Grand Central. They came up beautifully and were a splendid display, but somehow or other lower Park Avenue doesn't get any great attention from people. So, after he died I thought I would like to plant on the 20 blacks above Grand Central to make a real display and to see if I couldn't get the city interested in doing it permanently.

I went to Bob Moses, who was then the Park Commissioner, and said I'd like to do this, and he really doesn't like flowers, as I've said, because I think he's really colorblind. I'm not sure, but I think he is. And I know that Gilmore Clark, when I suggested that we plant more chrysanthemums in Central Park, said