“All beauties, like all possible phenomena, have something of the eternal and something of the ephemeral—of the absolute and the particular.” – Charles Baudelaire

The France of Claude Monet was a landscape beholden to the muse, not only in paint, but in verse, food, and music. Paris was the city of imagination! The city of Erik Satie and Rimbaud, and of the Lost Generation that arrived late in Monet’s life–Stein and Hemingway among them. This weekend, the NYBG partners with the Poetry Society of America to bring the Impressionist’s peers back into the spotlight. Here at the Garden, New York’s finest contemporary poets offer readings of the French Symbolists that inspired them most.

On Saturday, the focus falls on the oeuvre of Charles Baudelaire, an early figure in Monet’s time whose urban prose and verse set the foundation for many of the Symbolists who followed after. And on Sunday we switch gears, taking art to the table for our Family Dinner Event! With Mario Batali’s talented chefs on hand, we’ll venture abroad, looking beyond the recipes of France to bring you Continental flavor with local ingredients (many grown here at the NYBG). While you enjoy garden-inspired teas and wines paired with elegant dishes expertly prepared, the kids can busy themselves with Family Garden adventures. It’s about as high on the win-win scale as you’re ever likely to find yourself.
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Here’s wishing a happy (if belated) Fourth of July to anyone who was too busy with cook-outs and pyrotechnics on Wednesday! It sort of feels like we had two Fridays this round, didn’t it? And I suppose that also means two Mondays, if you want to be a pessimist. In any case, the fireworks continue into this weekend with color of a less combustible sort. So jump into something summer-appropriate and be liberal with the sunscreen: these flowers like it hot!

Seeing as the scene along Daylily Walk is so ripe with painted color, we thought we’d do a little more to highlight the hands-on horticulture behind the daylily. Visit the Home Gardening Center at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday for a gardening demonstration with one of our staff experts, all set to fill you in on the growing techniques behind this hardy summer perennial. We’ll also share some pointers on many of the latest and greatest Hemerocallis cultivars–with over 45,000 of them to choose from, a daylily obsession can easily become a lifelong passion. (Trust us: our NYBG scientists all but created the craze.)
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Red-tailed Hawk (Photo by Pat Gonzalez)

This might be a bittersweet Saturday for birders. Why? Well, truth be told, we’re bidding adieu to the Bird Walk! But don’t sweat–it’s only for a couple of months. As if the heat hadn’t already driven the point home, the calendar tells us it’s summer, and that means it’s time for a hiatus. Saturday marks this season’s last opportunity to don your boots and binoculars for an expert-led bout of birdwatching. (I am on an alliterative roll today.)

Debbie Becker has been at the head of these outings for over 25 years, making her the absolute authority on the NYBG‘s hawks, owls, and Pileated Woodpeckers (now resettled in the Garden after over seven decades). We can’t wait to have her back on September 1! But there’s no reason to make yourself wait that long, right? Come out tomorrow for the last walk of what I’m still stubbornly calling spring.
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I read in the paper (I’ll give them up the minute subway tunnels offer 4G) that Wednesday’s thermometer topped out at 110 degrees Fahrenheit in Times Square, placing New York City’s temperatures almost on par with those of Dubai. We’re better off at the NYBG, of course; lush grass and acres of shady trees tamp down the heat some. But don’t get me wrong, Manhattanites–it’s not like I’m trying to rub it in or anything. Not really.

There’s an upside to summer in the city beyond fruity cocktails and flip-flops, and it’s none other than “Sweet and Stinky,” launched just this week to celebrate the passing of the solstice. As an amateur chef, albeit one paradoxically awful and ambitious, I feel like this is the kind of hot-weather activity every cook-out fan should get in on. This stuff smells heavenly with some heat behind it.

“If you’re walking around the Garden and you smell sauteed onions, you’ll know it’s us!” said Annie Novak, Assistant Manager of the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden.
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We’re bringing the City of Lights to the City that Never Sleeps, and it begins this Saturday night with the first of our Monet Evenings.

Once a month from now through September, the NYBG will host elegant cocktail nights flaunting all the romance of the city on the Seine–the pluck and jangle of Gypsy Jazz, the nostalgic swoon of “La Vie en Rose,” the swing of the Zazou movement, or the sanguine strains of Debussy. Because, the way we see it, there’s no need to stop at the rural charm of Monet’s Giverny when so many of his contemporaries found their muse on the Champs-Élysées. Impressionism goes beyond the context of the canvas, after all.
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A herd of us, myself included, skipped out on our desks yesterday to spend the morning in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, picking our way through the planted rows and soaking up the spring weather. We’re not truants so much as curious and hungry, really. After a few minutes chatting with the Family Garden’s Assistant Manager, Annie Novak, we can’t think of a better place to let loose with your kids over the weekend.

I’m not just saying that because Annie kindly let us pluck a couple of sugarsnap pea pods to munch on, either. (After much whining and pleading on our part, though totally worth the effort considering how crispy-delightful they were).

More than an oasis of everyday New York staples, this foodie bonanza is also the host of Global Gardens, where five international green thumbs are tending plots that represent the home-grown veggies of their countries’ cuisines: Italian, Irish, Korean, Chinese, and Caribbean. And (perfect timing, I know) this weekend marks their Summer Harvest Celebration!
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We’re looking at early summer days in the Garden this weekend! Already we’re seeing warmer temperatures, welcome afternoon showers, and the flushed, vivid shade of green that comes with the hotter months. But bring on the sunglasses and short sleeves; they’re all the better for a picnic.

There’s just about two weeks left in the season, officially, meaning you still have time to catch the early color of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden with an expert-led tour. Afterward, jump right into a session with our Gardener for Public Education, Sonia Uyterhoeven, whose top-notch rosarian wisdom will set you on the path to tending New Dawns and Mr. Lincolns of your own. (It’s okay to be the envy of the Home Owner’s Association, suburbanites.)
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The finer nuances of art make their way past the framed edges of the canvas and into the kitchen! Join us this weekend (one of many such adventures in the coming months) for a celebration of all things culinary as we step into the kitchen gardens of France, the salad days of spring, and Monet’s life as not only a painter, but a gourmand. The father of Impressionism took as much pleasure in the abundance of his dinner table as he did his painted garden at Giverny, and Monet’s Garden embraces both!

Showing throughout much of this summer’s exhibition, Monet’s Palate calls talented chefs to bat for the rich culinary traditions of Normandy, a region in the north of France home not only to Giverny, but to a cornucopia of the country’s most esteemed cuisine. Also on Saturday and Sunday, meet up with Gardener for Public Education Sonia Uyterhoeven for an introduction to jardin potagers, or kitchen gardens, a French staple that takes stocking your produce drawer to heights far beyond anything you can pluck from your window sill herb collection.
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Three-day weekend? We’ll take it! After a virtual roller coaster of activity here in the office, we’re as relieved as you are to see that calming stretch of calendar squares laid out before us. Entering the opening days of the year’s most anticipated exhibition was one thing, but biting our nails over the conclusion of the Partners in Preservation competition made for an atmosphere a few notches below peaceful! We’re immensely proud of what we have accomplished, and with smooth sailing from here on out, there’s plenty to celebrate at the NYBG this Memorial Day (yep, we’re open Monday, too!)

Monet’s Garden is dazzling thousands of visitors in its first week. Even with those few dreary days of drizzle, the grounds have been alive with guests taking the tram to see the Conservatory‘s own Giverny, viewing the masterworks of the great Impressionist in the Library, and everything in between. As if we weren’t already enjoying the outcome, the cherry on the sundae arrived Tuesday morning. Thanks to you, our many generous supporters, The New York Botanical Garden will receive a grant of $250,000 from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, being used to restore and preserve our long-treasured Rock Garden. A month of campaigning for votes (not to mention the patience of our fans) paid off with a spot in the winner’s circle!
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If you’re looking to experience Monet’s famed garden at Giverny this weekend, you’re weighing two options. You can either book a flight for Saturday morning–over a thousand dollars out of pocket on short notice, and an eight-hour flight to Charles De Gaulle airport–or you can throw a few bucks on your MetroCard and hop the subway to the Bronx.

I’m personally not much of a jet setter; lighting off for Europe on a whim doesn’t stir the pot of my daily routine that often, and the occasional craving for a fresh baguette seldom boils over. Maybe the local option is a better bet. The father of Impressionism is here in New York, after all!
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