Mother’s Day is this Sunday! That might be a rude awakening for some of you. But don’t panic your way to the nearest florist just yet–I doubt forgetfulness is a capital crime. There’s plenty of time to give your mom the day she deserves, and you don’t even have to worry yourself over the schedule.

Rather than tying everything down for Sunday, the NYBG thinks the Mother’s Day Garden Party should be drawn out to at least a good, solid weekend. So head up here to the Bronx for a day or two of proper family time in the warmth and color of the New York sunshine. There are, of course, more flowers growing at the Garden than there are vases in the city, so forget the table setting. Hit some of the city’s best food trucks, and take in Nature’s Showplace with a picnic on Daffodil Hill.

We’ll have family photos, live music, food tastings and fun activities for the kids, meaning one thing for mom: no nagging responsibilities. It’s the least you can give her for all these years of putting up with you, right?
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Ed. Note: Our delectable cooking adventures, botanical art primers, and flower arranging courses make the NYBG‘s Adult Education program one of the most robust horticultural experiences in the nation. True to form, we will soon offer courses for the amateur perfumer, introductions to what can only be called “plant alchemy.”

Read on for an interview with Julianne Zaleta, who brings her perfumer’s knowledge to the table in Natural Perfume Blending and Aromatherapy 101. Each is an upcoming part of this summer’s Botanical Spa course series, bringing the sensuous and luxuriant side of gardening home.

How did you start and how long have you been making your own scents?

I’ve been making my own scents for about ten years, but my love affair with plants started a very long time ago, in my mother’s garden when I was a child. When I look back I can see that my whole life has been about taking the next logical step to understanding and appreciating the plants around me. I’ve been a gardener, floral designer, herbalist and aromatherapist and I feel it’s all led me to this.
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The concept of a rock garden sounds amazingly dull, like it would be a garden full of well … rocks. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Plants are imminently adaptable, and those that adapt to the arid, hardscrabble life of grappling for nutrients in a barren biome tend to be, well, really cool. Need proof? Just check out the fractal fabulousness of these Hens and Chicks in the Garden’s WPA-era Rock Garden.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

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