Merry Christmas from the NYBG! Whatever you’re up to today, we wish you health and happiness.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

The Perennial Garden has a certain majesty in any season. Those benches never fail to offer a view.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Cochliostema odoratissimum — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

After a long, meandering autumn, it’s finally winter. Any bets on whether we’ll see the long-overdue snowfall from last year?

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

This morning’s raincoat weather hasn’t had us whistling “White Christmas.” Not yet, anyway. But just in time for the winter solstice, it looks like the clouds should be clearing up ahead of a dipping thermometer through the weekend! While we’re not going to see any snowflakes floating on the breeze just yet, it’s safe to say you should be breaking out the knit hats and scarves for any and all pre-holiday adventures in the NYBG this weekend. It’s time to say goodbye to fall, and transition into something a little frostier by comparison.

Bar Car Nights have once again proven a massive success, and it’s just about time to say goodbye for another year. Saturday, December 22, marks the final party under the lights of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory–at least for the 2012 holiday season. And if you’re quick about it, you’ll still have the opportunity to snag a ticket or two for our last few hours of casual cocktails. Seeing as our guest list has filled to capacity for each of the past evening events, this is your cue to be hasty with registration–don’t dawdle! We expect to have a full house once again, especially with this being the last chance for an adults-only Holiday Train Show viewing before Christmas.
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Van Cortlandt Manor was the first Holiday Train Show miniature that I saw, not long after I started working at the Garden. It’s still at the top of my list, I suppose–I’m a sucker for wraparound porches.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Bring on the winter! Tropical Paradise is just around the corner, meaning the snow will only make the Conservatory’s jungle plants and island flowers that much more brilliant to look at.

Pavonia cauliflora– Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

This week, we’re back with Kevin Character to recap a few of the holiday events taking place at the NYBG through this weekend and beyond, including the very last of this year’s Bar Car Nights. The turnout this year has been massive, and while that makes for a top notch party, it also means that tickets to these special evening engagements are becoming scarce. If procrastination has been your status quo for the first two Bar Car Nights, now is the time to get jump on the opportunity! Register your tickets online to be sure you get a spot for December 22′s night of cocktails, elegance, and the glow of the Holiday Train Show–one of New York’s most beloved seasonal traditions.

In other major news, the Garden’s ongoing events are drawing such impressive crowds that we have decided to free up our schedule, opening the gates on Mondays through the end of the year to accommodate all of our visitors. That means you can join us a full seven days a week, at least up until the Holiday Train Show packs it in for the season.

Of course, Kevin’s rounds don’t limit him to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, much as our Plant Talk fans love to catch him there. Over in the Shop in the Garden, he joins Maria Colletti for an introduction to our terrarium selection, something home horticulturists and gift givers alike are welcome to take advantage of. If you’re interested in piecing together your own plant world under glass, but can’t make it to the Shop to consult our experts, Conservatory Manager Christian Primeau is more than glad to get you caught up in this video.
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Gobbling through life’s endless Garden buffet, oblivious to tour, horticulturist, or passing camera lens. It’s not a bad life, I think.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Coney Island may be a New York affair, but Michael Shannon saw no reason to let that stymie his homage in Colorado. The Coney Island hot dog stand, now a national landmark, was built in Denver in 1966. It currently stands in Bailey, Colorado. Of course, our miniature homage to the homage stands in the Holiday Train Show Artist’s Studio, alongside a number of famous landmarks from around the country–and the world.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen