Pavonia cauliflora — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

One or two more months and the ginkgoes will be brightening city streets with their firefly autumn yellows. Also stinking them up, for that matter. But, hey, sometimes there’s give and take in nature’s beauty.

Ginkgo biloba — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

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

Spend any time outside in the Garden this weekend and you’ll be hard-pressed to miss the work of Manolo Valdés. Trust me. The show officially begins September 22.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Wednesdays are foodie days at The New York Botanical Garden, and the twelfth is no different! If your palate’s been hunting for something a touch more scintillating than what you can sniff out at your average midtown hot dog stand, it’s not a crime to look outside your borough–the Bronx, perhaps? As always, our Greenmarket is a cornucopia of home-grown goodies!

Peppers in many a color were last week’s highlights–orange, yellow, and red, all crisp and piquant–while apples flaunted sweetness among the pre-fall fruits. Even the fresh bitterness of dandelion greens was on call. Not to be outdone by the “two to four servings a day” crowd, The Little Bake Shop and Millport Dairy made a delectable point with fresh-baked breads, raisin oatmeal cookies, and berry pies to put any dessert tray to shame. Wash it down with a fruity juice from Red Jacket Orchards and you’re sending off summer with all the right flavors.
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It makes me want to dig up earthworms, skip rocks on the misting river, and any number of other campy childhood stereotypes. But spend 20 minutes on the Forest paths and tell me with a straight face that you don’t get the same feeling.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Hemerocallis ‘Challenger’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen