Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Photography on February 19 2011, by Plant Talk
Apparently it’s not just visitors, flowers, and staff that were made happy by this week’s warm snap. This bee looks pretty happy (if such a thing may be said), too. See what else is beautiful at the Garden now.
Bee in Giant Snowdrops, Galanthus elwesii (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Posted in Around the Garden on February 18 2011, by Plant Talk
After weeks of snow and ice, we’ve gotten a break in the weather, and the Garden’s first flowers are taking advantage of the warmth.
First up? Snowdrops, hellebores, and the rare herbaceous perennial Adonis amurensis. See them all here.
Helleborus niger (photo by Mark Pfeffer)
Posted in Photography on February 18 2011, by Plant Talk
Catching the last rays of late-winter sun.
(photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Posted in Learning Experiences, Photography, Video on February 17 2011, by Plant Talk
We’ve been having a lot of fun with the Caribbean Garden Photo Contest. You guys have submitted hundreds of gorgeous photos (while you’re browsing the photos, be sure to cast a vote by leaving a comment on your favorites), and NYBG photography instructor Rich Pomerantz has been having a blast handing out photo tips on Saturday afternoons.
But, we know that not everyone can get here easily. So we got together with Rich in the Conservatory and filmed this short video tutorial, the first in what will be a five-part series. We hope you like it!
Do you have a burning question garden photography question that we can pose to Rich? Maybe your question will turn into the next tutorial! You can leave your suggestions in the comments.
Posted in Photography on February 17 2011, by Plant Talk
Palms are what most people think they’ll see in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, but there are others, equally as beautiful.
Ficus benjamina trees in the Conservatory (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Posted in Gardens and Collections, Gardens and Collections, Learning Experiences, Video on February 16 2011, by Plant Talk
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Rustin Dwyer is Visual Media Production Specialist at The New York Botanical Garden. |
An Ethno-what? It’s an all too common question for New York Botanical Garden Research Specialist Ina Vandebroek. Ethnobotany is a field many people take for granted and Ina finds that just saying “I work with plants” doesn’t quite explain it. Traveling the Caribbean, Ina has worked with local communities to document how plants have been and continue to be used medicinally. We took a quick visit to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory with Ina, where many Caribbean specimens are on display during The Caribbean Garden.
“Medicinal plants are a source for a lot of today’s pharmaceutical medicines,” said Vandebroek. “In a lot of places around the world people use plants as their only and first form of health care, so basically what ethnobotanists do is we go out to these remote places and we study how people use plants.”
Despite the fact humans have been using plants since the dawn of time, when thinking of ethnobotany many find it hard to get past the ideas of beat-influence Richard Schultes and Sean Connory’s rugged grey ponytail in the film Medicine Man. “It’s so much more than hallucinogenics and finding the next cure for cancer,” Ina said, laughing. “Its about helping communities that are really in need. We try to promote it as a science that can help local communities in conservation of their bio-cultural diversity.”
Ina’s current focus is on the flora of the Dominican Republic. She works not only in the Caribbean, but here in New York City with Dominican immigrants, frequenting many Botanicas.”We try to give those results back to them in the form of guides books as well as workshops within the community. We can also have programs together with universities to isolate bioactive compounds and those could lead to new medicines for humankind.”
Here’s a quick video about Ina’s thoughts on ethnobotany and a few of her favorite Caribbean plants on display now in the Conservatory.
Posted in Photography on February 16 2011, by Plant Talk
When the Garden photographer emails you to say that he really loves a photo he took, you just know it’s going to be good. And we agree. This is one pretty pine tree!
Pinus strobus, the eastern white pine in front of the Visitor Center (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Posted in Members, Wildlife on February 15 2011, by Patricia Gonzalez
| Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Member and avid amateur wildlife photographer. She is especially fond of taking photographs at the Garden. |
Nestled in a corner of the North Bronx is an oasis of trees, plants, and flowers. For many in the borough, The New York Botanical Garden is an escape from the daily grind of living in New York City. Although it is known primarily as a museum of plants, the garden is also teaming with wildlife: Squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, muskrats, and other creatures make their home there, and so do many species of birds. Two of those birds, Rose and Vince, have become celebrities amongst the wildlife photographers and bird-watchers that regularly frequent the Garden’s 250 acres.
Rose and Vince are red-tailed hawks. Rose was a celebrity long before she built a nest at the Botanical Garden in 2009. She and Hawkeye, her first mate, had made their home on the Fordham University campus back in 2005 where they built a nest in an old oak tree and had two chicks. In 2006 they moved on to a ledge of one of the campus buildings (Collins Hall) where they had three more offspring. Success followed in 2007 and 2008 where they would have three chicks each year.
Rose was named after the Rose Hill Campus of Fordham. Hawkeye was named after Hawkeye Pierce, the character played by Fordham alum Alan Alda on the M.A.S.H. television series. Both hawks were named by James McCabe, Director of the Fordham Library.
Rose and Vince head for the Garden! But for how long will they stay?
Posted in Gardening Tips on February 15 2011, by Plant Talk
Most of us love sweet peas. The problem is that they are outrageously expensive at the florist, quite expensive at the farmer’s markets and while they are not difficult to grow it is always a challenge to get the timing right so that they are blooming profusely before the heat of the summer knocks them back.
If we travel back in time and look at the history we may acquire a better understanding of the flower and be able to make informed decisions when we choose a cultivar to grow in our gardens.
There are species sweet peas that are fabulous but do not have the multitude of frilly flowers that modern cultivars possess. There are also ‘Old-fashioned Types’. These are the sweet peas that have been on record since 1800 but are generally dated back to the 1700’s.
You will recognize a few of these from seed catalogs – Lathyrus odoratus ‘Cupani’s Original’ and ‘Painted Lady’ are two. These sweet peas have a wonderful fragrance and while the flowers are a little smaller than subsequent introductions their persistence on the market is a testament to their success. They tend to flower on the early side for sweet peas and are reasonably heat tolerant.
In the 1880’s a British gardener named Henry Eckford transformed the sweet pea into one of the most sought after blooms in Britain. He produced what we know as the Grandifloras. These hybrids, as the name suggests, produced a much larger flower, came in a multitude of colors and had a wonderful fragrance. Many of these cultivars can still be found on the market such as ‘Jewel of Albion’, ‘Queen of the Night’, ‘Miss Willmott’ and ‘Perfume Delight’.
Posted in Photography on February 15 2011, by Plant Talk
Mist covers the walls of the Aquatic Plants house.
(photo by Ann Rafalko)