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.

In the midst of winter’s blustery winds and wicked temperatures, it’s a great relief to see the warm yellow flowers of witch-hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia) brightening up the Garden path behind the Home Gardening Center.

This fragrant hybrid shrub is a relative of the North American native H. virginiana, or common witch-hazel, a plant that is certainly a little magical to some. Lore suggests the common name refers to the forked twigs that were sometimes used in earlier times for “water-witching,” or dowsing to locate underground water. These native plants bloom in the fall rather than the winter, but are just as impressive.
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It’s a rare day at the NYBG when I can take a few steps through the halls without seeing a splash of green foliage brightening a workspace. Working alongside some of the world’s most talented and knowledgeable botanists tends to relate directly to the number of office plants that find homes on desks and window sills. Window Garden Wednesday exists to acquaint our readers with some of the folks who are often too busy in the field, lab, or conference room to spend time lurking on social media sites. (That’s our job.)
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The competition is really heating up! We had a record number of entrants last week, and expect even more this week. Do you have what it takes to win a $100 Adult Education gift certificate? Prove it! It’s easy to enter, and fun to boot.

Macro Winner, Week Three

Passion Flower by Barbara Reiner

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Grays and browns are old hat (almost, anyway). If you’re looking for a refresher on what the color of warmth actually looks like, look no further than the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory come March 3. The 10th annual Orchid Show is nearly here.

Epc. Rene Marques x Epi pseudoepidendrum — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen