The New York Botanical Garden is stunningly beautiful right now. With verdant green vistas, intimate gardens, and primordial forests, there’s no better place to enjoy nature in the city over this three-day weekend than at the Garden. Take a hike in the Forest, stop to smell the roses in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, experience the sublime beauty of the waterlilies and lotuses in the Conservatory Courtyard pools, search for migrating birds, and get a few tips to take home and put into practice in your own garden. Soothe your storm-frazzled nerves by relaxing along the babbling Bronx River, bask in the sun on one of the Garden’s many benches around the grounds or in the beautiful Perennial Garden, join harvest activities in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, and take a tour of the historic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. The three-day weekend is full of beauty and fun for the whole family.

The Waterlily and Lotus Pools in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory Courtyard

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 12

Head below the jump for detailed information on this weekend’s activities at the Garden.

The summer session of the Children’s Gardening program–where kids aged 5-12 work in pairs to cultivate and tend their own garden plot–is in full swing, and the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden is a hive of activity, bursting at the seams with produce and happy kids.

If the kids in your family want to get in on the gardening action, you can join in during Dig! Plant! Grow! which takes place daily (except on Mondays when the Garden is usually closed), beginning at 1:30 p.m. Digging, weeding, and harvesting aren’t the only activities going on in the Family Garden (read one visitor’s appreciation); there’s also cooking, Mario Batali’s Edible Garden, and tons of exploring to be done as well! And there are bees and bunnies. Oh, and it’s also really pretty!

Be sure to stop by on your next trip to the Garden, and while you’re here, snap a few photos to enter into the August NYBG-IGPOTY photo contest, “Kids in the Garden” featuring special Mario Batali prizes!

See more scenes from the Family Garden after the jump

The Waterlily & Lotuses Pool in the courtyard of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory is a magical place. Summer breezes ripple the surface, playing with the glittering reflection of the Conservatory; koi stick their heads clear out of the water, as if begging for a scratch under the chin; and kaleidoscopic waterlilies and lotuses stir gently, like drowsy dancers at the end of an evening of waltzing. The colors and lingering aromas of these exotic flowers create a enchanted atmosphere, perfect for afternoon daydreaming.

Nymphaea 'Moon Dance'

Nymphaea 'Sioux'

Nymphaea 'Laydekeri Fulgens'

More beauty below.

Seasonal Walk is an exuberant celebration of the seasons. Never the same two weeks in a row, this beautiful garden was designed by the famous landscape designers Piet Oudolf and Jacqueline van der Kloet. Bordering the Garden Cafe and the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, Seasonal Walk in the early Summer is a dazzling display of sun-loving dahlias, garden phlox, and a range of lilies. At the eastern end of the walk an assortment of plants that thrive in the shade like ferns and astilbes can be found under a stand of trees. Keep your eyes open for the many different kinds of butterflies that flock to this colorful, beautiful garden.

Seasonal Walk, June 30

Astilbe

Fern

Dahlia 'Arabian Night'

Hymenocallis 'Sulphur Queen'

Trumpet Lily 'African Queen'

Easter Lily 'Snow Queen' - Lilum longiflorum

Asiatic Lily 'Pink Twinkle'

Photos 2, 4, and 5 by Ivo M. Vermeulen.

Today I sauntered down Daylily Walk at lunchtime. Daylily Walk runs from Perennial Way (the road that goes in front of the Conservatory), past the Garden Cafe, down a little hill, and then takes a jag to the left running parallel to Garden Way (the road in front of the Library Building where the Greenmarket is held) (map). Daylily Walk is currently a riot of color and a study in fabulous plant names. Come check out the amazing diversity of daylilies!

Daylily Walk behind the Garden Cafe

'Green Tarantula'

'Silken Touch'

See more amazing dayliles after the jump.