I’ll admit I have a softness for roses, a fondness for orchids, and a weakness for flame-orange poppies. Still, it’s seldom I find an eyeful of flowers so inspirational as an hour spent under the leaves of the trees.

You’ll best understand what I mean while walking the trails of the NYBG‘s Forest around this time of year, arched over in each direction with lacing branches of every shape and angle. The effect is something like slipping a green gel over a stage light. Sun filters down through the canopy and dapples the forest floor with piebald images both cloudy and sharp. It cools you, or seems to, on the most scorching afternoons. And there’s a freshness to the scene that chimes in to remind you–with something resembling pride–of winter’s distance.
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The dome of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory is iconic. But the dome on the Library Building has its own charms, especially in spring.

Nope, not an early April Fool’s Day joke, just a trick of the water.

Twin Lakes Reflection (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)

For the past few weeks we have reflected on the strange weather that we experienced last year, discussing the physical damage to the Garden during the October storm and the identifying characteristics that signal future issues. The erratic behavior of the weather from September onwards reminded me of a time several years ago when an Indian summer lasted well into December. The temperatures crashed in the following January and we experienced winter almost overnight.

Some of you may remember that year. For the broad-leaved evergreens at the Garden, this was the year for winter injury, and there are several reasons why a plant experiences this.
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Who needs tinsel when you’ve got panicles? Happy holidays from all of us at the Garden!

Idesia polycarpa (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)

Before you can learn the trees, you have to learn
The language of the trees. That’s done indoors,
Out of a book, which now you think of it
Is one of the transformations of a tree.

Learning the Trees ~ Howard Nemerov

The Language of the Trees (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)

Approximately 15% of the 15,000 trees in the Garden’s Thain Family Forest have sustained at least some damage.

Many of the historic trees in the Garden’s beautiful magnolia collection have been damaged, even destroyed.

In the new Azalea Garden huge branches fell on new plantings and an ancient tree was lost.

The entire 250-acres of the Garden is littered with branches and tree limbs.

Our initial assessment shows that thousands of trees have been damaged and many destroyed. A complete appraisal will take weeks as much of the damage is high in the canopies of trees 100 feet tall or more.

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This weekend’s historic storm caused a large amount of severe damage to the Garden’s vast collection of trees and celebrated woodlands.

Our crews are hard at work cleaning up the damage and working to save every tree they can. Simultaneously, we are busy getting ready for the beloved seasonal tradition of the Holiday Train Show. We hope that we will see you soon under the glittering dome of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.

A tree may be tall and straight, but the land can make its shadow meander where the tree cannot.

Crooked Shadow (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)

Can you pick a favorite out of these photographs? We couldn’t. Fall light is so magical!

Head below to see the rest of the photos, and let us know which is your favorite in the comments.