Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education.

Heuchera villosa 'Tiramisu'

Last week we looked at coral bells and covered some of the dark leaved options that are grown in this garden and easy to find on the market. This week we are going to look at some spectacular options for sunny sites.

Coral bells were traditionally thought of as shade lovers. Heuchera villosa, however, is a species that is native to southeastern U.S. It is an adaptable species that thrives in full sun to part shade, grows happily in soils ranging from slightly wet to slightly dry and is unfazed by high humidity. Understandably, it is a popular plant for southern gardens.

Hybridizers have latched on to this species and it is now part of the parentage of many successful hybrids. The French hybridizer, Thierry Delabroye has taken the world of coral bells by storm by flooding the market with a number of mouthwatering cultivars that are designed to make you either hungry or thirsty. Delabroye’s offerings include cultivars such as ‘Carmel’, ‘Brownies’, ‘Mocha’, ‘Pistache’, ‘Tiramisu’, ‘Pinot Gris’, and ‘Beaujolais’. We have used a number of these cultivars in container displays. This year we are growing ‘Brownies’ in the Trial Bed Garden in the Home Gardening Center.

The reputation of Heuchera ‘Brownies’ as an attractive and adaptable coral bell is attested to by the fact that it is flourishing in the challenging environment of New York’s High Line park. Its foliage emerges brown and then transforms into a greenish brown with a rich purple-red underside. Like the majority of Heuchera villosa hybrids it features large foliage and has a fuzzy texture. It grows over a foot tall and forms a generous two foot clump.

Learn more about these sun-loving coral bells below.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Saturday and Sunday, August 27-28, 2011

This weekend-long event will offer the public a rare insider’s view of The New York Botanical Garden’s Science campus.

Garden scientists will lead tours of the Pfizer Plant Research Laboratory and William and Lynda Steere Herbarium.

Briefings from the Field, a short lecture series featuring updates from the fieldwork of various Garden scientists, is open to the public Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Arthur and Janet Ross Lecture Hall

Garden scientists are working all over the world on plant-related studies ranging from working to preserve the endangered flora of Puerto Rico, to searching for lichens and mosses at the ends of the earth, to hunting for hidden pathogens in North America’s cranberry bogs, and to empowering junior high school girls through flowers. Come visit these beautiful and fascinating facilities (get a preview of the Pfizer Lab here) and hear the stories of discovery from the Garden’s scientists themselves.

Head below the jump to see the schedule for this exciting weekend of science events!

A misty morning in the Forest, deep in the heart of the Bronx.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Previous This is New York! posts:

On the Prarie

Wilderness

Fields of Gold

The allium harvest in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden–where all things garlic, onion, and shallot–were celebrated during Sweet & Stinky month. Do you get a similarly massive bounty from your own garden? Consider some of these simple, family-friendly recipes from the Family Garden for using them up!

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

This Adnia rubella flower (commonly known as Chinese buttonbush) looks like it would make a very fine stand-in as a magic wand for your favorite fairy princess.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Mario Batali and Kids in the Mario Batali Edible Garden at NYBG

Please join Mario Batali, The New York Botanical Garden, and the International Garden Photographer of the Year contest in celebrating the joy of youth gardening! The prize for this special monthly photography contest includes a selection of products from Mario Batali!

The rules are simple:

- Enter up to five photographs of kids gardening, or photographs taken by kids in the garden

- The photos do not have to have been taken at The New York Botanical Garden. They can be from any garden anywhere in the world.

- The photos do have to be placed into the NYBG Flickr Group Pool

- Please tag your photographs with nybgigpoty3

Judging will take place at the beginning of September and one winner will be chosen by a panel of judges, and winners will be announced in September.

Please let us know if you have any questions in the comments below!

How did that sunflower get all the way up there?

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

We have a really great video for you today about the ongoing efforts to keep the Bronx River clean and healthy.

The Bronx River–which runs through a dramatic gorge in the Garden–is New York City’s only freshwater river (the Hudson is a tidal estuary as far north as Troy, and the East River is a tidal strait). The river’s transformation from a dangerously polluted waterway in the mid-20th century to the healthy, clean home of New York City’s first beaver in 300 years is an ecological success story, with new chapters written daily.

So sit back and enjoy this trip down the Bronx River in a flotilla of canoes manned by volunteers from the Bronx River Alliance and a team of Garden horticulture interns.

The beautiful genus Hibiscus.

Photos by Ivo M. Vermeulen