It’s a bittersweet end of season for most home gardeners. There’s that brief interim of cool pre-autumn nights to look forward to, but the vegetable garden will probably start looking a little less like a bountiful Eden, and more like a bedraggled salad. Not that it has to be that way!

Join us this weekend for En Fin de Saison, Sonia Uyterhoeven‘s in-depth demonstration of how you can draw out your harvest just a little bit longer. As the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education, Sonia will offer insights into keeping your kitchen table stacked with hardy, late-season fare you might not have considered before. Even better, there’s no registration necessary, and the demonstration will run at 2 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday also highlights our latest lyric exploration in the Salon Series, delving into the oeuvre of Paul Verlaine through the interpretive recitations of three of New York’s most respected poets. Consider it a prelude to the next transition in Monet’s Garden, as we look toward moving from summer palettes to the colors of fall.
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A few of the well-kept secrets growing in the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections, just next door to the Benenson Ornamental Conifers. If you’re lucky enough to be granted access during a Member’s tour, you’ll find about as much behind-the-scenes color and magic as you can handle, and then some.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Epicenter of autumn change? Soon enough! Our apologies to leaf lovers in other states. You might want to make the trip, though.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

And, just like that, the long weekend up and leaves without so much as a goodbye note, dumping us back into the work week with rain clouds as a consolation prize. In any case, hope everyone had a good one! Here’s some sunny summer eye candy to distract you from the puddles.

 Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

If you’re wondering, yes, the Garden is open for Labor Day. Check Friday’s schedule for more on what’s happening during the afternoon, and happy Labor Day to everyone!

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

A Sunday spent in the Rock Garden is, in its way, a miniature vacation. No beach umbrellas, but the trees fill the gap admirably.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

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

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Seeing pine cones in the trees never fails to set me off thinking about winter preparations. New boots, mending buttons on an old jacket, the mortifying possibility that I’ll have to be out on the sidewalk, smacking at ice with a shovel in the near future. But there are good things swept along with the cold, like our most beloved holiday exhibition. Stay tuned for more on that as we edge closer to the season.

In the meantime, let’s savor these last days of summer, shall we?

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Seeing an Echinops globe by its lonesome might trick you into thinking you’re looking at a smallish allium (onions, garlic) flower, but don’t be fooled. They’re actually a type of thistle (and a good way to break up the riot of orange we’ve had dominating the blog feed for the last few days).

Echinops bannaticus ‘Blue Globe’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen