Every year during the winter months, growers start parading their new introductions through gardening magazines and catalogs. It’s the annual horticultural fashion show. And the horticultural models that hit the catwalk usually tell us a great deal about current trends and market demand.
As I peruse the pages of magazines this year I am struck by the balance of practicality and aesthetic. We all love beautiful plants–there is no denying it. This year, however, beauty is amalgamated with functionality.
We don’t call it the Orchid Show without reason. Join us on March 3 in celebration of these alluring blossoms–demure, flamboyant, mysterious and otherwise!
Last weekend’s predictions for snowfall missed the mark by a mile, so we’re spending today confident that the last white of winter is well behind us. Or that’s what we’re telling ourselves. Because without the snow, it makes spending a day at the NYBG a piece of cake, and the trains (usually) tend to run on time. With the Caribbean Garden winding down in preparation for the opening of this year’s Orchid Show, there’s also more motivation to come pay us a visit!
If you’re one of the lucky New Yorkers to have a full three-day weekend to enjoy, we’re even going to open the gates on Monday to make the most of it. We don’t exactly do that every week. And with the kids out of school, you might consider this an example of opportunity knocking–how often do you get to spend a day with them while out and about, anyway?
Exploring the Conservatory during Caribbean Garden weekends becomes a study in the music of the islands. While you walk along the paths beneath the palm fronds, see if you can spot the “living instruments” that create the rhythms of salsa, a Caribbean tradition that springs from the very plants growing around you!
Drums, or congas, are traditionally made from the wood of the versatile mahogany tree (Swietenia macrophylla). Be on the look-out for a perfect specimen of this warm climate hardwood as you enter our Tropical Rainforest Gallery on a tour of the exhibition.
While you’re there, perhaps you can also find the gourd-bearing trees known as calabash (Crescentia cujete), the fruit of which was once dried and used to create food and water vessels. But cultivators also use it for other purposes, many of them far more creative.
Waiting for the first hues of spring is like knowing your friends are throwing you a surprise party for your birthday. The only problem is that you don’t know exactly when it starts, or where.
NYBG member and resident bird photographer Laura Meyers was walking the grounds recently when she caught the hint of a welcome sight. It happened to be sitting on a sweet gum branch, munching a beakful of seeds. But as common as the Red-winged Blackbird is to most northerners, many don’t realize what the songbird signifies around this time of year.
As she sent along her photograph, Laura also shared this bit of information:
“I was happy and surprised to see a Red-winged Blackbird at The New York Botanical Garden this past Friday. Male Red-winged Blackbirds return north in the spring ahead of the females and migrate south after the females in the fall.”
Sometimes it seems like no amount of scheduling can prepare you for a school vacation week. It so often ends up an unpredictable whirlwind of video games, laziness, messy rooms and puzzling out dinner plans. But you can save the remains of your patience! With the kids freed from class next week, The New York Botanical Garden has rearranged the calendar to make it easy for you to keep the little ones occupied–anything to get them off the couch and out of the house. We’ll be offering longer hours, ongoing children’s events every day of the week, and of course our Winter Science Camp to keep young minds sharp.
