Morning Eye Candy: Diptych in Mist
Posted in Photography on May 16 2012, by Ann Rafalko
Two different shrubs, two different gardens, two very similar photos; like color negatives of each other.
Photos by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Archive: May 2012
Behind the Scenes in Monet’s Garden
Posted in Exhibitions, Exhibitions, Monet's Garden, Video on May 15 2012, by Matt Newman
As NYBG horticulturists preen the nasturtiums and primp the poppies, we draw closer to the opening of the year’s most spectacular exhibition. Monet’s Garden goes live this weekend! And just in time for our grand opening, we’re putting the finishing accents on the scenery that makes Monet’s Giverny a destination for gardeners and art aficionados the world over.
Karen Daubmann, Director of Exhibitions and Seasonal Displays, gives us a rare peek at the behind-the-scenes efforts taking place under the glass of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. But by the time you visit the NYBG on Saturday, what you see below will have come a long way. Claude Monet’s garden has always bridged the gap between untamed art and flawless design; we think you’ll see that our homage is taking things in the right direction.
Monet’s Garden begins Saturday, May 19. Reserve your tickets now!
Mist in the Air
Posted in Around the Garden on May 15 2012, by Matt Newman
With the finish line of the Partners in Preservation competition in sight, we humbly ask that fans, Members, visitors and horticulturists alike rally around the Garden in support! We’re holding steady at third place for the moment, but with your help, first place is only a stone’s throw away. Voting for the NYBG each day from now until May 21 will push us that much closer to winning the privilege of restoring the Rock Garden to its original beauty.
As we enter the final week of the contest, those who grew up with The New York Botanical Garden seem better suited to explain the allure of the Rock Garden than we do, both from the perspective of long-time visitors and that of nature lovers. Naomi Shriber is one such person. Her years-long history of exploring Nature’s Showplace gives her a keen understanding of the Rock Garden and its importance as an iconic landscape at the NYBG. In turn, her art–swept with color and light–captures the essence of this garden’s central feature.
Lessons from Monet’s Garden
Posted in Exhibitions, Gardening Tips, Monet's Garden on May 15 2012, by Sonia Uyterhoeven
Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.
Monet’s garden was a living canvas. In this space he experimented with his love of color and form. His knowledge of color theory and his artist’s eye informed the choices he made in his garden design. In turn, they offer good suggestions for the homeowner who is about to embark on their own planting project.
Last week we mentioned how one of Monet’s prominent concerns was capturing light and atmosphere. His garden was no different from the scenes he painted on his canvas. The color sequences that he created in his garden echoed changes in light and weather that he observed in the space. He used his artist’s eye to accentuate these changes and enhance the atmospheric quality of the place.
Morning Eye Candy: Triple Samara
Posted in Photography on May 15 2012, by Ann Rafalko
The fruit of the Japanese maple, Acer palmatum, usually has two wings. What to make of this tri-winged one then?
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Concert Series: Monet’s Friends
Posted in Exhibitions, Monet's Garden on May 14 2012, by Matt Newman
Taking place on Sunday, May 20, The New York Botanical Garden welcomes the Hartford Symphony Orchestra in hosting “Monet’s Friends,” an accompaniment to our exhibition that magnifies the art of the era through the strains of musical Impressionism. Your ticket to the chamber music series will also include access to Monet’s Garden, allowing a full-circle experience of the sights and sounds that France embodied in the late 1800s.
Beyond the masterful paintings that emerged from Claude Monet’s time at Giverny, the threshold of the 20th century brought with it a wealth of musical experimentation in Europe. From this innovative turn came revered French composers: Debussy, Roussel, Fauré. As contemporaries to the great visual Impressionist, their music–like Monet’s art–redefined genre boundaries, dipping into an atmospheric exploration of composition and technique that defied the conventions of the day.
Morning Eye Candy: The Bridge
Posted in Photography on May 14 2012, by Ann Rafalko
You didn’t think we would forget Monet’s famous bridge, did you? Come see it in person when Monet’s Garden opens to the public on May 19!
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Morning Eye Candy: Adage
Posted in Photography on May 13 2012, by Ann Rafalko
How does that adage go? Would you rather be a big duck in a little pond, or a little duck in a big pond? Clearly, this lady mallard–who looks right at home in the Home Gardening Center‘s rather small pond–has made up her mind.
Big Duck, Small Pond (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Morning Eye Candy: The Naming of Plants
Posted in Photography on May 12 2012, by Ann Rafalko
With apologies to T.S. Eliot:
The naming of plants is a curious matter;
It isn’t just one of those science-y things.
You may find me as mad as a rosy pink madder
When I tell you a plant must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First is the name of the plant’s closest family
Such as Viburnum or Lilium, Paeonia or Oxalis–
All of them sensible, Latinate names.
There are names that are fancier, if you think they sound geekier,
Some are for flowers, others for trees:
Such as or Eschscholzia or Hesperantha, Metasequoia or Crassulaceae–
But all of them sensible, Latinate names.
But I tell you a plant needs a name that’s unique,
A name that’s precise, and more descriptive,
Else how can a scientist keep her croci in a row,
Or catalog her samples, or publish her findings?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a few
Such as odoratum, elegans, or subedentata,
Such as lactiflora, stellata, or else cotyledon–
Names that along with the first never belong to more than one plant.
But above and beyond there’s still one name to go,
And that is a name that you may know best;
It is a name that only a human can bestow–
The reason behind it ONLY THE HUMAN CAN KNOW, and will never confess.
When you notice a plant in profound meditation,
The reason I tell you is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought of why did this human give me this
Ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.
This Weekend: The Mother’s Day Garden Party
Posted in Around the Garden on May 11 2012, by Matt Newman
Mother’s Day is this Sunday! That might be a rude awakening for some of you. But don’t panic your way to the nearest florist just yet–I doubt forgetfulness is a capital crime. There’s plenty of time to give your mom the day she deserves, and you don’t even have to worry yourself over the schedule.
Rather than tying everything down for Sunday, the NYBG thinks the Mother’s Day Garden Party should be drawn out to at least a good, solid weekend. So head up here to the Bronx for a day or two of proper family time in the warmth and color of the New York sunshine. There are, of course, more flowers growing at the Garden than there are vases in the city, so forget the table setting. Hit some of the city’s best food trucks, and take in Nature’s Showplace with a picnic on Daffodil Hill.
We’ll have family photos, live music, food tastings and fun activities for the kids, meaning one thing for mom: no nagging responsibilities. It’s the least you can give her for all these years of putting up with you, right?