So you don’t have a back yard, a rooftop apartment in Brooklyn, or even a couple of bee suits and a smoking can. Not a problem! For kids (or parents!) who are bursting with questions over the city’s biggest agricultural excitement since fire escapes first met tomato plants, you won’t need any of the above to pick up the basics.

While the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden is home to two active beehives, Assistant Manager Annie Novak and her team have put together the full beekeeping kit–sans bugs–for those who’d rather go to the open house without the tenants in attendance, so to speak. Apiculture at its easiest! And we won’t be sparing with the sweets, either; if you’ve ever wondered how flower choice affects what goes into the jar, we’ll be offering tastes of the many different types of honey that a healthy hive can produce.
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You’d have a hard time finding a lack of inspiration in Elena Rosenberg’s creations. You might see form and function wrapped up in a neat bow of elegance, but beyond it all, there’s that creative knack that makes her efforts with wearable fiber art so attractive. So when we talked to Elena via Twitter and found that she was creating a line of wearable art inspired by the botanical world, up to and including plants seen in The New York Botanical Garden, our interest was piqued.

That was back in early spring. Elena’s since completed her first series of designs based on botanical aesthetics, and was kind enough to talk with me about what it is that pushed her to take up this skill, as well as how the natural world found its way into her work. She even has a few pointers for hopeful creatives looking to pick up a craft for themselves, if not carry their own to the next level.

Because the blending of fashion and nature has become such a choice topic around Plant Talk, you’ll want to keep an eye out for future spotlights on local talent and styles. In the meantime, Elena gives us a glimpse into her modern take on classic techniques.
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Epicenter of autumn change? Soon enough! Our apologies to leaf lovers in other states. You might want to make the trip, though.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen