Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Photography on December 23 2011, by Ann Rafalko
And now that we have turned the corner on the shortest day of the year and are in the midst of the Festival of Lights, all seems a little brighter, too.
Bronx River and the Forest (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Though I’m no longer holding my breath for a white Christmas, I’m not bummed, because that just means more lunchtime walks in the Forest!
Posted in Photography on December 22 2011, by Ann Rafalko
January 2011 was all about snow. It snowed and snowed, and snowed again, turning the Garden into a winter wonderland.
Posted in Around the Garden on December 22 2011, by Matt Newman
You probably run into them nearly every day. Hardware stores, supermarkets, pharmacies–almost anytime you step out the door to run an errand this time of year, you’ll see them lined up somewhere in the store. But the red velour leaves of the poinsettia weren’t always the face of December decoration they are today.
What’s the real story behind this ubiquitous holiday annual? I found myself mulling it over after someone told me about its deadly toxicity, a rumor that’s fed the newsmill with tales of poisoned pets and children for decades. The “fatal secret” belied by the innocent potted plant at the cash register, wrapped in cheery cellophane. Could such pleasant foliage be so dastardly?
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on December 22 2011, by Matt Newman
Two’s company, three’s a crowd.
Bougainvillea ‘James Walker’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Gardens and Collections, What's Beautiful Now on December 21 2011, by Joyce Newman
Joyce H. Newman is the editor of Consumer Reports’ GreenerChoices.org, and has been a Garden Tour Guide with The New York Botanical Garden for the past six years.
In front of our Visitor Center Café is an amazing specimen of Norway spruce (Picea abies), a species often known for its annual appearance as the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.
Our Norway spruce is part of the Arthur and Janet Ross Conifer Arboretum at the NYBG and was planted around 1940. Its medium to dark green needles are four-sided, resting on branches that gracefully droop down, designed to be flexible in a heavy snowfall.
Norway spruces can grow to as high as 90 or 100 feet, with a lifespan similar to that of a human being. They are native to the mountains and foothills of Northern Europe rather than the U.S., although they have become popular screening plants here. They grow just about one foot each year, which is considered fairly quick.
Posted in Around the Garden on December 20 2011, by Marc Hachadourian
Marc Hachadourian is the Manager of The New York Botanical Garden’s Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections, a staging area for plants for all of our gardens, yearly exhibitions, and events.
Walk through the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and you may come upon a peculiar chandelier of a plant, with a vine spiraling right up to the roof and clusters of flowers dangling from it like upturned flamingo bills. You can’t miss the rings of vibrant, coral-red blooms.
Posted in Photography on December 20 2011, by Ann Rafalko
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)
Posted in Around the Garden, Gardens and Collections on December 19 2011, by Joyce Newman
The oldest living tree currently known on the planet–a Bristlecone Pine named “Methuselah”–is located high in the White Mountains of eastern California. It is estimated to be about 4,700 years old, as old as the great pyramids in Egypt and older than Hammurabi, the Babylonian king. To protect the tree, its exact location has been kept a secret.
Scientists say that other, even older bristlecones (Pinus longaeva) exist, but simply haven’t been dated yet. As you have probably guessed, the species gets its common name from its scaled cones, which have spiny, claw-like bristles sticking out from each scale.
Posted in Photography on December 19 2011, by Ann Rafalko
In the Holiday Train Show
Posted in Holiday Train Show on December 17 2011, by Matt Newman
“I was so nervous to bring him because he was weak and worn out, but he was so thrilled by the show that I think he forgot about his health issues.”
For the past 20 days, our visitors have shared their fondest memories from 20 years of the Holiday Train Show–some of them touching, some comical, and every one of them cherished. Each day Plant Talk has featured a new story, which you can see the last of after the jump, along with a feature on one of the many replica New York City landmarks on display in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory–the Guggenheim Museum, Yankee Stadium, the Empire State Building and more.
As a bonus, read on to find out how you can win a Family Four-Pack of Holiday Train Show tickets for yourself! Today is your last chance!