Countless acres of lush flora, over 230 bird species, a virtual menagerie of fish, insects, reptiles, and mammals–and that’s just Central Park. New York City may have a reputation for being the urban jungle, but tucked in and around the buildings are the greenscapes–including the NYBG–that land us in the upper echelons of woodland sustainability. Places where flora and fauna have thrived in spite of the metropolis built up around them. But it’s not as if it was an easy task to get to where we are now, as The Cultural Landscape Foundation‘s (TCLF) president, Charles Birnbaum, recently explained; it was a long and trying process, with green spaces across the city sometimes suffering under a lack of proper management. And that’s a part of the reason that we’re adding our voice to TCLF’s fall conference, Bridging the Nature-Culture Divide II: Stewardship of Central Park’s Woodlands.

On Friday, October 5, the NYBG joins with the Central Park Conservancy and institutions from across the country to examine today’s woodland sustainability, along with natural diversity, the role of people in the care of these landscapes, and public education. Speakers such as the Garden’s Arthur Ross Vice President for Horticulture and Living Collections, Todd Forrest, will offer their expertise on the lessons learned by our park stewards over the years, while accomplished landscape architects and other national experts detail the challenges now faced in caring for these cultural icons.
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For Arbor Day, Staff Name Some Favorites; Tell Us Yours

Carol Capobianco is Editorial Content Manager at The New York Botanical Garden.

In honor of Arbor Day tomorrow, I asked some of the Horticulture staff to divulge their favorite tree at the Garden. With over 30,000 trees to select from, this could be daunting. For some, it was a cinch and they rattled off a tale about a special specimen. For others, it was like picking a favorite child, so they gave several choices.

Todd Forrest, Vice President for Horticulture and Living Collections, judiciously noted: “My favorite tree is always the one we just planted, because it helps ensure that our historic landscape will have trees for people to enjoy for decades to come.” (But he later did offer up a name, see below.)

Here, then, are some exceptional trees at the Garden and the reasons why they made the grade. Let us know which of the thousands of trees at the Garden—and we keep planting additional ones—is your favorite. We’d love to hear from you. read more »

Some 100-Year-Old Specimens Destroyed; 150 Others Damaged

Todd Forrest is Vice President for Horticulture and Living Collections.

While gardeners are accustomed to coping with the slings and arrows of outrageous weather, this winter has tested the patience of even the most experienced horticulturists among the Garden’s staff. Two wet, heavy snowstorms in February caused significant damage to the Garden’s historic trees, but nothing prepared us for the damage of the nor’easter that hit New York the weekend of March 13 and 14.

The deep snow that fell only two weeks before had not even completely melted when the torrential rains started late in the week of March 8. The combination of snowmelt and rain completely saturated the ground, creating the perfect conditions for what foresters call “wind throw”—trees, roots and all, torn out of the ground by fierce winds. With winds holding steady at between 30 and 40 mph and gusting to over 70 mph, many of the Garden’s historic trees had no chance.

By Sunday, March 14, 50 of our trees, including many historic conifers planted in the early 1900s and oaks older than the Garden itself, were lying across the ground. More than 150 other trees lost limbs or were otherwise damaged. Nearly every small tree planted in fall 2009 was uprooted. While our arborists will be assessing the full extent of the devastation for weeks to come, we are already mourning the loss of some of our favorite trees, including a Ponderosa pine planted in the Ross Conifer Arboretum in 1904 and a blue Atlas cedar planted in the Benenson Ornamental Conifers in 1966. read more »