We don’t keep chickens at The New York Botanical Garden. Not yet, anyway. But elsewhere, well, that’s another story. The Bronx is becoming a hub for urban agriculture, and many community gardens around the borough have cleaved not only to edible gardens, but to rooftop beehives, goats, and even chicken coops. You’ll get a taste of the movement when you join us for an Urban Farm Tour, the most recent of which took place on August 18; keep it here for updates on future events.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

The New York Botanical Garden is, first and foremost, a world-renowned collection of flora. But you’d be hard-pressed to spend more than a few minutes walking under the boughs without recognizing the sing-song notes of our most gregarious residents. The birds of the Garden represent some of the most varied fauna in New York City, and not only are we a haven for passersby making the trip to cozier climates, but we’re further home to a menagerie of year-round species in all shapes and sizes.

It so happens that we get the best of both worlds in the fall. Migrating species gather up for the flight south while the locals buckle down for the coming winter, and Debbie Becker, binoculars in hand, is always there to see it; join her for our in-depth NYBG birdwatching course beginning in October and you’re sure to walk away with a new skill.

While the herons and egrets are soon to take flight for the season, and the hummingbirds already have their eyes on the clock, few realize how abundant the wildlife is here in the autumn. Thankfully, Becker has the roll call down pat. She’s been leading Saturday Bird Walks at the NYBG for over 25 years, making her one of the area’s foremost experts on NYC’s winged things. And while newcomers are always welcome to glean what they can from her weekend walks, motivated beginners won’t want to pass up Becker’s primer on birdwatching fundamentals.
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Pavonia cauliflora — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

And with that, summer is nothing but a fond memory. It’s not yet October and already the air is brisk and the leaves changing fashions. Thanks goes out to Amy Weiss of the NYBG‘s Steere Herbarium for capturing the change in action.

“First Tinge of Fall” — Photo by Amy Weiss

As of today, September 22, each and every sculpture has found its home in the Garden. Manolo Valdés: Monumental Sculpture will run through May 26, 2013, affording our visitors the opportunity to view the artist’s work as it was meant to be seen: through the lens of every seasonal landscape.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

As much as hearing the phrase rattled off might tap dance on your last nerve, good things really do come to those who wait. And that’s especially true for gardeners. During the first balmy weeks of summer the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden buzzed with activity as Mario Batali‘s top chefs planted nostalgia left and right, each seedling and young tomato plant a piece of their culinary history–a vegetable that  inspired a recipe, or a memorable fruit from childhood. Their potential was nurtured and encouraged through months of careful tending, and now, with fall upon us, the Edible Garden‘s harvest is ready to take the spotlight.

The fanfare begins this Sunday in Mario Batali’s Kitchen Gardens, where gourmands–young and old alike–can pick up a few new recipes while exploring the bounty planted by each of Mario’s chefs. Decorate a harvest bag, make your own chef’s hat, or sample your way through organic goodies. Whatever makes you and your kids happy! The Edible Garden Festival is set to continue into the afternoon with cooking demonstrations by NYBG staff, capped off by a master lesson from none other than Mario Batali himself. Afterwards, he’ll set to stunning tastebuds with his four-course, garden-to-table dinner event in the famed Garden Stone Mill.
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To see the Summer Sky
Is Poetry, though never in a Book it lie –
True Poems flee –

                                    Emily Dickinson

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Photo by Patricia Gonzalez

On Saturday, September 22, the autumnal equinox comes along to peg the exact moment when the northern hemisphere tilts its way into the colder months, leaving many northeastern green thumbs with a bittersweet goodbye on their hands; it’s ciao to cucumbers and adios to eggplants until 2013. But just because summer’s warmth is tipping its hat, that doesn’t mean you need to stow your trowels and pack up your gardening gloves! As explained by Toby Adams, manager of the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, fall can be just as bountiful with a little savvy under your belt.

For the cooler seasons, we’re giving a farewell salute to tomatoes, summer squash, and fresh beans, but welcoming an entirely new class of crops to our one-acre vegetable garden; all sorts of hardy vegetables will be taking root, including mustard greens, broccoli, and prolific plots of radishes to be harvested later in fall. And if the fresh start wasn’t reason enough for fanfare, we’re marking the first day of fall with the long-awaited Edible Garden Festival on Sunday, September 23. It’s as proper a send-off to summer as I can imagine, with all-day gardening activities, cooking demonstrations, and a gourmand’s getaway in Mario Batali‘s garden-to-table dinner event.
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One or two more months and the ginkgoes will be brightening city streets with their firefly autumn yellows. Also stinking them up, for that matter. But, hey, sometimes there’s give and take in nature’s beauty.

Ginkgo biloba — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen