Ladies’ tresses orchids aren’t the most flamboyant flowers in the redesigned Native Plant Garden. Neither are they the most exotic orchids you’ll ever come upon. But seeing them sprout up from the wetland area, I can’t help but find these local perennials engaging. Few people realize how widespread the world’s orchid population really is, and far from being the exclusive charge of southern climes and tropical islands, members of the Orchidaceae family range across much of the United States and into Canada. Naturally, that includes New York.

But make no mistake: these aren’t the neon-painted Phalaenopsis orchids you see lining the shelves at your local florist, though their occasional fragrance makes up for such docile color. They’re small and narrow in profile, rising into a tall, green “spike” around which spirals a staircase of drowsy white flowers. They look a bit like stressed snowdrops, wound into coils that grow in stiff stands. Thriving in a wide range of habitats–fields, damp meadows, moist thickets and grassy swamps among them–that clean simplicity might explain the allure of this New York City orchid.
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Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.

Wandflower (Galax urceolata)

I have been spending the past few weeks in the Native Plant Garden, preparing the 2.5-acre site for winter. Most of my time has been spent cutting back foliage, raking leaves for shredding and returning to the garden as mulch, and tying together loose ends by updating the inventory of the collection. While much of the garden is going to bed, there are a few horticultural stars that are still out for the winter, and they look sublime at this time of year.

Three winter woodland wonders that caught my eye the other day were the wandflower (Galax urceolata), it close relative the rare Oconee bells (Shortia galacifolia) and the luscious-looking wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens). All three are evergreen ground covers that do well in woodland shade but probably look their best in part-shade, where the canopy opens up to let in streams of light.

The wandflower (Galax urceolata) has glossy, rounded, heart-shaped leaves that look spectacular all year round. Once the cold weather sets in, the foliage starts to turn red. By the holiday season, the coloring is as intense as Rudolph’s red nose. Wandflower or Galax grow 12 to 16 inches tall with the flower spikes extending above the foliage like a narrow white bottle brush in late spring to early summer.
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Photo by Patricia Gonzalez

Breaking up the Halloween…ness? …with some refreshing fall finds from the Native Plant Garden. We’re still photographing these behind a closed gate for now, but you can trust in my promise that this complex collection of displays and environments will be bliss central when it opens in 2013.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Photo by Patricia Gonzalez

Would it be merry Saturday, or happy Saturday? Either way, the hibiscus are still blooming.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Sneak peek from the Native Plant Garden! And this is really only a peek–there’s so much to see in there (though not until 2013, of course).

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

There’s so much going on behind the curtain of the as-yet-unopened Native Plant Garden, and yet, here and there, the patchwork of developing biomes already lays down a wide-open, peaceful vibe.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Consider the fence around the Native Plant Garden our red curtain. It keeps quaint beauties like these cloistered until their big reveal in 2013.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Care to guess the plant? Hint: it has a fondness for bugs.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen