Audrey Gruss preparing a lily-of-the-Valley bouquet at home
1) What do you love the most about Spring?
What I love most about Spring is the feelings of renewal and that something new is about to happen. From the first sign of warm weather, to the buds on the trees, to the first flowers of Spring – all of these signs indicate the passage of time and the expectations of beautiful things to come.
2) You love to grow things. What new plant or flower are you excited about this season? Are you growing any in your garden?
I have an all-white cutting garden, and love to grow beautiful white flowers, such as Lisianthus and Lily-of-the-Valley. I arrange them into lovely bouquets; it’s bringing nature inside in the most natural way! As far as the flowers I’m most excited about—there are several.
I always enter the Southampton Garden Club Flower Show in the Horticultural Division and have won numerous ribbons. I’m very excited about entering my prized white Hydrangea, Kouza Dogwood and Viburnum, in the competition.
3) For you, what makes the first day of Spring official?
The first day of Spring becomes official when the weather is sunny and pretty, and you want to take a walk, even if it’s around the block. One of the first signs of Spring is the brightly-colored tulips blooming and the trees blossoming on the Park Avenue malls. As far as your eye can see, there is a riot of color and beauty that lightens the shadows of all the tall buildings.
4) What are your favorite places to visit this season?
In the Spring time, at dusk, one can get such a feeling of joy just from walking in Central Park and watching the buds and blossoms on the trees come out. Another lovely place to visit is the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. They always do such an excellent job of maximizing the flowers of Spring in beautiful plantings all around the Garden. The Brooklyn Botanical Gardens is also very special and brings such a sense of exuberant life when all the plants, flowers and trees are blooming.
5) What are you most looking forward to?
It’s absolutely true that… ”April showers bring Spring flowers.” When the trees start blossoming in 
New York City all over town and especially in Central Park, it is the most beautiful time to walk around and appreciate everything else about the city – the architecture, the culture, the people, the museums and Broadway. One of the nicest things to do in the Spring time in New York is to have an early dinner and then go to a Broadway show. For me, Broadway is synonymous with New York City and makes it so special and cultural.
“I am most looking forward to the day that the Park Avenue mall is fully in bloom!“
6) What are you most proud of over the past couple of months?
Although our HDRF offices are in New York, we have been busy holding events in Palm Beach during the winter. Special events are an excellent way of raising awareness about the advanced research at HDRF. The Pa
lm Beach Race of Hope (5K Walk/Run) was held in late February 2022 in Palm Beach, had over 400 walkers and runners and raised over $500,000! The excitement of orchestrating that event kept our great team at HDRF very busy this winter.
7) What new news from HDRF are you looking forward to?
HDRF is in the process of doing a “proof of concept” clinical testing for a completely new category of antidepressant. The clinical trials are being held at Columbia University Medical Center and Mt. Sinai Medical Center, and the initial results are most positive. We look forward to finalizing the clinical trials by next Spring. If and when this new antidepressant is then approved by the FDA, it will help the millions of people who currently do not respond to the existing antidepressants that are in general use. What an exciting time this is, and what extraordinary research is going on at HDRF.
8) Anything new you are working on for Hope Fragrances?
Our 3 Hope Fragrances – the original Hope, Hope Sport and Hope Night – are so beautiful and stand on their own as delicious fragrances. Every day is an exciting day at Hope Fragrances! We are planning new distribution, both nationally and internationally, and this keeps all of us thinking of new ideas all the time.
“Hope Fragrances is charity-oriented, and 100% of our net profits go to depression research. It is unique and an opportunity for every fragrance buyer to give back to their community.”
9) What is your favorite way to relax and rejuvenate this season?
One of my favorite things to do to relax is to take a warm bath and then slip on some Hope Night Body Butter. It melts into the skin, has a soothing and moisturizing feeling and is the most lavish way to have your skin rejuvenated and ready for the Spring season.
