Some Like it Hot
Posted in Around the Garden on July 6 2012, by Matt Newman
Here’s wishing a happy (if belated) Fourth of July to anyone who was too busy with cook-outs and pyrotechnics on Wednesday! It sort of feels like we had two Fridays this round, didn’t it? And I suppose that also means two Mondays, if you want to be a pessimist. In any case, the fireworks continue into this weekend with color of a less combustible sort. So jump into something summer-appropriate and be liberal with the sunscreen: these flowers like it hot!
Seeing as the scene along Daylily Walk is so ripe with painted color, we thought we’d do a little more to highlight the hands-on horticulture behind the daylily. Visit the Home Gardening Center at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday for a gardening demonstration with one of our staff experts, all set to fill you in on the growing techniques behind this hardy summer perennial. We’ll also share some pointers on many of the latest and greatest Hemerocallis cultivars–with over 45,000 of them to choose from, a daylily obsession can easily become a lifelong passion. (Trust us: our NYBG scientists all but created the craze.)
Find your way over to the Conservatory‘s outdoor pools and you’ll discover a scene set with “lilies” of another sort. These might even be more familiar! Nymphaea, or water lilies, are regulars at the Garden, but Monet’s Garden gives us the perfect excuse to take our summer display and plug in all sorts of diverse varieties. Of these, many are immortalized in the paintings of the master Impressionist himself. With their pinks, purples, whites and reds, it’s easy to see how their elegance could inspire some of the most priceless murals ever created.
Beyond the flowers, we’ll have tours through the Rock Garden and Conservatory, and plenty of hands-on gardening activities for the kids to get into. Shy of taking a red-eye to the Yukon, you’re looking at a warm weekend no matter what you do. So why not spend it in a place with some tree shade?
Saturday, July 7
Conservatory Tour: Garden Tour Guides Divulge the Secrets of This Victorian Glasshouse — 12:30 p.m.
Meet at the entrance to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory
Explore the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, an acre of plants under glass, with one of the Garden’s Tour Guides. Take an ecotour around the world through 11 distinct habitats, including two types of rain forest, deserts of the Americas and of Africa, and aquatic and carnivorous plant displays.
Admission included with an All-Garden Pass.
Home Gardening Demonstration: A Deluge of Daylilies – 2 p.m.
In the Home Gardening Center
Discover the diversity of daylilies. Join a Botanical Garden horticulturist to learn about exciting new cultivars and how to grow these beauties, which are tough plants tolerant of all sorts of garden conditions.
Monet’s Garden Tour – 2:30 p.m.
Meet at the entrance to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory
Join one of the Garden’s Tour Guides for a tour inside the galleries of the historic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, where horticulturists of The New York Botanical Garden bring to life stunning re-creations of Monet’s most iconic gardens at Giverny. In the Conservatory Courtyard, the focus on the artistry of the great Impressionist continues with a display of water lilies.
Sunday, July 8
Rock Garden Tour: Garden Tour Guides Unlock the Secrets of this Very Special Garden – 12:30 p.m.
Meet at the Reflecting Pool in the Leon Levy Visitor Center
The Rock Garden is a 2.5-acre oasis complete with a pond and waterfall, featuring alpine plants from six continents. Join an expertly trained Garden Tour Guide for a walking tour to see and learn more about these jewel-like plants. Admission included with an All-Garden Pass.
Home Gardening Demonstration: A Deluge of Daylilies – 2 p.m.
In the Home Gardening Center
Discover the diversity of daylilies. Join a Botanical Garden horticulturist to learn about exciting new cultivars and how to grow these beauties, which are tough plants tolerant of all sorts of garden conditions.
Monet’s Garden Tour – 2:30 p.m.
Meet at the entrance to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory
Join one of the Garden’s Tour Guides for a tour inside the galleries of the historic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, where horticulturists from The New York Botanical Garden bring to life stunning re-creations of Monet’s most iconic gardens at Giverny. In the Conservatory Courtyard, the focus on the artistry of the great Impressionist continues with a display of water lilies.
Ongoing Children’s Programs
Children’s Outdoor Nature Explorations: Observe and Create
Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, May 19 through September 30
Weekdays 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. / Weekends 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Let your inner Monet run wild and be inspired by nature to create art in all its different forms. Movement, music, drawing and painting abound in this outdoor studio for children. Stop by Inspiration Station to play our outdoor marimba. Paint with water and experiment with colors in our Color Clash Studio. Step inside to experiment with the engineering behind aquatic plants. Nature is art–discover it at the Adventure Garden. Also on view: an exhibition by students from Studio in a School.
Hands-On Gardening Activities for Families: Sweet and Stinky
Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, June 19 through July 27
1:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Aromatic alliums and spicy herbs thrive in the summer heat. Follow the sweet and stinky smells to the Family Garden and discover these culinary champions. Savor the scents and tickle your taste buds with cooking demonstrations and samples, and become a green thumb by planting your very own herb to tend at home.
Cooking demonstrations at 2 and 4 p.m. on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
