"Medicinal Herbs," by Carol Sharp -- IGPOTY Finalist, Bountiful Earth

Whether it’s the latest telephoto lens, a top-of-the-line camera body, a spacious new gear bag, or to see your photographs on display in a public exhibition, there’s a wishlist in every photographer’s back pocket. But, really, how long has it been since you crossed something off of yours?

Start planning your International Garden Photographer of the Year photo compositions now, and you might find that your wishful thinking is that much closer to reality.

Beginning May 2013, selected photographs from the prestigious International Garden Photographer of the Year competition will go on display at The New York Botanical Garden as a part of our summer exhibition, Wellness: The Power of Plants. The NYBG is the exclusive U.S. partner of this worldwide photographic competition that showcases the very best professional and amateur garden photographers from around the globe, and this year we are upping the ante by offering a cash prize to the winners in a category sponsored by us: Wellness.

In addition to the more than $18,000 in prize money offered to the  winners in the annual International Garden Photographer of the Year competition, the winning photographs in the Wellness category will hang in the Ross Gallery at the Garden and we will award an additional total purse of $1000. With $500 for the first-place photograph in the Wellness category, $250 for second, $100 for third, and $50 going to each of three runners up, there’s ample opportunity to earn the recognition and reward your art deserves.

"Conversations from a Balcony at dusk along the High Line," by Claire Takacs - First Place, Competition 5 - Greening the City

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Claude Monet’s careful brush strokes have intrigued art critics, collectors, and museum-goers for well over a century, yet the masterworks seen on canvas exceed simple impressions of nature’s vistas. From his admiration for Japanese landscape painters to his tours through the tulip fields of Holland, Monet’s experiences directly influenced his creations–both in paint and within the trellised borders of Giverny. And few so thoroughly understand the nuances of the man behind the palette like Professor Paul Hayes Tucker.

The world’s foremost Monet scholar, Professor Tucker joins The New York Botanical Garden as the esteemed curator of Monet’s Garden, celebrating the life of the master painter and gardener while bringing to light a career spent in pursuit of art’s highest achievements. Here he presents a brief journey, walking us through a story hidden within the subtleties of Monet’s artwork–that of an Impressionist with an ever evolving sense of what art could (or should) be.
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There’s Ladies’ Border beauty on deck this morning. While “Ithuriel’s Spear” (wonderfully pretentious Milton reference, pleasantly humble flower) is a triple lily native to California and parts of Oregon, it’s just as content to settle down in our little plot alongside the Conservatory. There’s so much expat elegance growing along the Border right about now.

Triteleia laxa ‘Koningin Fabiola’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen