Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Here’s to a gratifying Monday, straight from Plant Talk HQ. Seriously, I’m waving from one of those windows.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Happy Flag Day, everyone! Today marks the 235th anniversary of our star-spangled banner’s adoption, recognized each year on the 14th of June with a quiet “hurrah!” before the Fourth of July fireworks. And nearly a century ago, this was a momentous day at the Garden.

Our own flags were first raised on a sunny Saturday in 1917, and while it was during the height of World War I, Bronx residents still took the time to gather in celebration. In the midst of so much grim news from Europe, NYBG staff had pulled together to keep spirits high; the raising of three flag poles gifted to us on June 16 of that year (it’s easier on the weekend) gave the Garden an excuse to party–with parades, poetry, and at least a few swords.

It’s not often that something so simple as a flag raising gets its own marching band treatment these days, but hey, John Philip Sousa was a much bigger deal back then. The gifts–from one Edward D. Adams, NYBG board member–were met with a crowd of several hundred local school children, three separate Boy Scout troops (and their band), then Bronx Borough President Douglas Mathewson, and many more.
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A late MEC today, but not forgotten. I blame the interminable train delays. Seeing the tulip trees in their spring garb makes for a good balm on commuter frustration, though.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

The dome of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory is iconic. But the dome on the Library Building has its own charms, especially in spring.

Our historical archives are something of a treasure chest for history buffs, stuffed with 100-year-old photographs of a Garden in transition. I sometimes find myself digging through them just for contrast and comparison (and the fashion sense of our forebears; I really want to bring back flat-brimmed straw hats). My latest dig yielded some interesting results, not to mention a new series we hope to keep up with in the future.

More specifically, it produced a Library Building (better known then as the Museum Building) and its surroundings at the turn of the century:

The Museum Building -- November 15, 1901

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

From the roof of the Library Building.

(photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)