The week is almost over, meaning the Garden is humming with anticipation for another beautiful Holiday Train Show weekend! What’s more is that the weather is finally acting like it should this time of year. After seeing frost clinging to the grass along Tulip Tree Allée as I walked in this morning, I think this may just be December’s way of making up for that downright awkward November “heat wave.” How can you really make the most of a northern Thanksgiving with temperatures above 60 degrees, anyway?

But that’s old news. We’re moving into this brisk and sunny weekend with smiles for the events to come, and looking forward as the season picks up momentum. Whether you’re hoping to catch sight of a rare bird with Debbie Becker, see the Holiday Train Show for the first or dozenth time, or just enjoy the sights we offer year round, there’s more than enough going on this weekend to warrant some time spent at the NYBG.
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Joyce H. Newman is the editor of Consumer Reports’ GreenerChoices.org, and has been a Docent with The New York Botanical Garden for the past six years.

Across from the Garden’s main Café is a grove of Nikko firs (Abies homolepsis) that was planted in 1928, and has since become part of the Arthur and Janet Ross Conifer Arboretum at the NYBG. Much like a few of the unique conifers we have previously discussed, these trees are native to Japan, and commonly grow in mountainous areas where they need cool, moist, and often snowy environments to thrive. But despite the tree’s native habitat, the word nikko in Japanese actually means “sunlight” or “sunshine.”

You could travel to Mt. Fuji in Japan to see these fir trees growing in abundance. However, the grove right here in the Bronx is an amazing example in itself, due to the fact that firs are difficult to grow in urban environments. In fact, it would be even harder to establish a healthy grove of these trees today given ongoing climate change.
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“We were in for a real treat when we saw his reaction as the first train started chugging through.”

From now until December 17, our visitors will be sharing their fondest memories from 20 years of the Holiday Train Show–some of them touching, some comical, and every one of them cherished. Come back to Plant Talk each day for a new story, which you can see after the jump along with a feature on one of the many replica New York City landmarks on display in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory–the Guggenheim Museum, Yankee Stadium, the Empire State Building and more.

As a bonus, read on to find out how you can win a Family Four-Pack of Holiday Train Show tickets for yourself!
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Neither this Camellia ‘Winter’s Cupid’ nor its busy tender seems bothered by the chill.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen