The Ladies’ Border is a unique element here at The New York Botanical Garden, a ribbon of lavish growth snugged in alongside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory like a well-kept secret. Walking along its narrow pathway, you pick up on a quiet sense of privacy afforded by the tall plants and trees on either side, thriving camellias and low-slung mountain pines blotting out the world beyond to bring the space into focus.
Part of that has to do with the location itself; the Ladies’ Border exists as a chance for the NYBG’s gardeners to make use of their own daring creativity, owing to the spot’s placement between the Conservatory and a rising berm on the opposing side. Together these buffers cradle a sanctuary with its own subtle microclimate, protected from the elements and always slightly warmer than its surroundings–enough so that non-native plants can occasionally thrive here in New York. This is where we find Hesperantha coccinea, blooming and vivid in spite of the weather.
The Ladies’ Border, nestled on the southern end of the Conservatory, is a fascinating garden. Planted full of beautiful plants, trees, and flowers not normally hardy in this climate, it is a study in boundary-pushing. And beauty.
Mandy Disher - "The Beacon," First Place in Plant Portraits Year 3
Every day at The New York Botanical Garden offers countless opportunities to snap the perfect shot. A red-tailed hawk making pre-flight checks, a maple seed as it whirligigs from an overhead branch–each event happens almost casually, yet the challenge of capturing nature in just the right light, at the right time, is something our visiting photographers crave.
But there’s motivation beyond the thrill of capturing the perfect picture, thanks in large part to the nearly $8,000 in grand prize funds handed out through the International Garden Photographer of the Year competition. For the last five years, the contest has provided amateurs and professionals alike with an outlet for their photographs, and in turn earned the winners not only a check, but global recognition for their work. And with an entry fee of only £10 (around $16), there’s no reason to sit this year’s competition out.
We know you’ve been anxious for the Holiday Train Show to open its doors–we’re right there with you! And truth be told, ever since preparation began in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory two weeks ago, it’s been a struggle for those of us at Plant Talk to keep our excitement in check (and why would we even want to, at that?) Watching the bridges and tracks being put in place, seeing this year’s layout take shape under the careful attentions of Paul Busse and his Applied Imagination team–it’s left us daydreaming over how spectacular everything will look under the lights this weekend.
But there’s more to the Train Show than locomotives and landmarks. This weekend also marks the start of our holiday celebrations at large, with grand opening ceremonies, music, and all sorts of entertainment outside the glassy walls of the Conservatory.
The trains are on the track (complete with caboose). The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory (in miniature) is in-place under the dome of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory (full size), as are other significant New York-area landmarks.
The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory in the Holiday Train Show (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
The Arthur and Janet Ross Conifer Arboretum at The New York Botanical Garden covers nearly 40 acres of rolling landscape in the heart of the garden. It became the first collection of living plants at the Garden with plantings started in 1901, and now boasts more than 250 mature conifers, some of which are more than 100 years old.
Some of the earliest conifers to arrive at the garden–planted in 1908–are the Tanyosho pines, conifers that display a beautiful, orange-red bark with branches that can often be seen spreading in an umbrella shape. Our grove of five mature specimens is a very unique example of the species in the U.S., especially when considering that each tree is more than a century old.
Did you know that globally, boreal conifer forests cover more land mass than any other type of forest on the planet? In fact, they take up more space than all of the tropical rain forests combined. This makes conifers an extremely important family of trees, not to mention record-holders for the world’s oldest, tallest, and most massive trees.
