New Yorkers may wake up tomorrow in a warmer zone, according to the just-released, internet-friendly 2012 USDA Hardiness Zone Map.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has just released a new version of its Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) for the first time since 1990, updating individual zones with much greater accuracy and detail. This could mean a shake-up for seed distributors and gardeners alike, with a slightly different range of plants being recommended for certain regions across the country.

Also for the first time, the new map offers an interactive format using the Geographic Information System (GIS) and the map website incorporates a “find your zone by ZIP code” function.
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Try and name a few important crops, just off the top of your head. Were grapes or hops found anywhere on that list? They probably weren’t the first plants to come to mind, but there’s almost no doubt whatsoever: they’re two of the most constant influences on culture throughout our history. Beer and wine have been the indulgence of choice for entire civilizations, from Pharaohs to Caesars and up through our modern society.

As part of our Botany of Indulgence classroom series (see: chocolate), Donald McClelland brings his homebrewing know-how to our Midtown classrooms for an in-depth chat on the art and science of fermentation, pegging perfect flavors, and the equipment needed to start your own cask or keg at home. His experience is soundly based on personal necessity (and the life of a student, of course).
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This year’s Caribbean Garden promises to be even more photogenic than the last! The picturesque fronds and flowers of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory‘s permanent collection once again take the spotlight to promote not only the beauty you see, but the beauty you create.

Walk the pathways of the Conservatory on a tour of our verdant living collections. Award-winning photos from the International Garden Photographer of the Year contest–taken in gardens around the world–will be on display alongside plants from around the Caribbean. Enjoy the beautiful photographs and access additional information on the photographers, their inspiration, and the techniques they used to capture these stunning images by simply scanning a code on each sign with your smartphone. And on Sundays, join one of two accomplished photographers for a brief course on the basics of garden shooting.

Whether you’re green to the art or just looking to brush up on your technique, come for some winter weather relief and don’t forget your camera.
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Just in time for Valentine’s Day, sign up for “The Temptation of Chocolate” with NYBG expert Jessica Bohn, Saturday, February 11 at the Midtown Education Center.

Did you know the main ingredient in chocolate comes from the fruit of the cacao tree? Perhaps you read our earlier article on “cauliflory” in trees like this one. Lucky for us there are cacao trees (Theobroma cacao) thriving in The New York Botanical Garden’s tropical rainforest, a part of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. In fact, two of our cacao trees now have cocoa bean pods growing on them, each one about six inches long and dark brown.
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Meet Larry Weaner, a nationally recognized leader in the natural landscape field whose work combines ecological restoration with traditions of fine garden design. Thursday, January 19, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Larry Weaner takes you beyond popular buzzwords like “sustainable” and “low-maintenance” to examine some surprising and at times counter-intuitive strategies for eco-friendly garden design.

Weaner’s presentation takes a look at practical, concrete processes for creating easily-managed landscapes that seamlessly combine ecological diversity, cultural expression, and the traditions of garden design. See how his alternative approaches—on everything from selecting plants to arranging, spacing, and weeding gardens—can yield rich landscapes that are more easily maintained, achieving their greatest ecological and aesthetic potential.

Weaner, 58, has created hundreds of native landscapes throughout the eastern United States since 1977. Larry Weaner Landscape Associates has received the top three design awards in 2008 from the Association of Professional Landscape Designers. Their projects include private gardens, public and commercial spaces, meadows, and natural areas.
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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.

Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. — January 19, February 16, March 15

The New York Botanical Garden invites you to come in from the cold and warm up at the 2012 Winter Lecture Series, featuring three distinguished experts at the forefront of ecology and sustainable practices. Each will be sharing insights and practical advice on crucial challenges confronting today’s gardeners.

January 19 – BREAKING THE RULES: Ecological Design for the Real World

Larry Weaner has been creating native landscapes throughout the eastern U.S. since 1977. His firm, Larry Weaner Landscape Associates, has received several top design awards and has a national reputation for combining ecological and traditional garden design.

In this lecture Weaner shows us new and alternative gardening techniques that can yield richer, more easily maintained landscapes.
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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.

An arrangement of Andromeda, paper whites, orange ranunculus and other careful selections

Fresh off her exciting holiday decor project for the First Family, floral designer Emily Thompson will be making time in 2012 to stop by The New York Botanical Garden and share some of her creative talents.

Thompson’s work is best known for its sculptural and naturalistic elements as inspired by her native Vermont. Her clients are not only among the internationally famous, such as the Obamas, but include her local Brooklyn friends and restaurants as well. Having studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and earned an MFA in sculpture at UCLA, Thompson eventually moved to New York, where she set up her shop–Emily Thompson Flowers–on Jay Street in Brooklyn’s DUMBO district, one of the city’s premier art havens.
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Kathie Miranda is the coordinator of the Botanical Art and Illustration program here at The New York Botanical Garden. She is a natural science illustration educator and artist, teaching and exhibiting nationwide.

Prayer Plant, © Kathie Miranda

During the recent American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) Conference, our very own Kathie Miranda was honored as the first-ever recipient of the ASBA Anne Marie Carney Award. The honor was given in recognition of outstanding work in an exhibition for Kathie’s colored pencil on Mylar painting, entitled Prayer Plant.

The family of talented artist and ASBA member Anne Marie Carney has created an endowment fund to award one upcoming botanical artist annually, a proposed tradition which has garnered enough donation funding to support it for the next 36 years. For the inaugural ceremony in Boston on October 29, a team of three jurors selected the artwork for the award.
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There’s so much charm to classical architecture. We’re lucky enough to have our own in the Library Building–over a hundred years and counting!

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

For the first time in the Holiday Train Show’s 20-year history, you too can learn how to create architectural replicas from natural materials, just like the landmarks featured in our Conservatory displays.

Join Madeline Yanni, The New York Botanical Garden’s expert floral and crafts designer on December 17 for a special, hands-on class. Madeline will help you explore various architectural styles and crafting techniques, after which you can choose from an assortment of dried botanicals, like seed pods, bark, and branches, to make your own model. You’ll need to bring lunch, as well as a box large enough to put your models in.
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