This Weekend: Verse and Vegetables!
Posted in Around the Garden on July 13 2012, by Matt Newman
“All beauties, like all possible phenomena, have something of the eternal and something of the ephemeral—of the absolute and the particular.” — Charles Baudelaire
The France of Claude Monet was a landscape beholden to the muse, not only in paint, but in verse, food, and music. Paris was the city of imagination! The city of Erik Satie and Rimbaud, and of the Lost Generation that arrived late in Monet’s life–Stein and Hemingway among them. This weekend, the NYBG partners with the Poetry Society of America to bring the Impressionist’s peers back into the spotlight. Here at the Garden, New York’s finest contemporary poets offer readings of the French Symbolists that inspired them most.
On Saturday, the focus falls on the oeuvre of Charles Baudelaire, an early figure in Monet’s time whose urban prose and verse set the foundation for many of the Symbolists who followed after. And on Sunday we switch gears, taking art to the table for our Family Dinner Event! With Mario Batali’s talented chefs on hand, we’ll venture abroad, looking beyond the recipes of France to bring you Continental flavor with local ingredients (many grown here at the NYBG). While you enjoy garden-inspired teas and wines paired with elegant dishes expertly prepared, the kids can busy themselves with Family Garden adventures. It’s about as high on the win-win scale as you’re ever likely to find yourself.
But if you’re in the city and can’t make it to the Bronx, all is not lost. We’ll be down to party in Manhattan for Bastille Day! You can join the NYBG on 60th street, from 12 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, for three bouncing blocks of French-inspired celebration–food, music, crafts, and a long, long list of other great activities. Garden staff will be on hand making Monet-inspired crepe paper flowers with visitors, and for those with a tooth for adventure, there’s even a trip to Paris up for grabs.
Head below for more on the weekend’s festivities. Summer’s given us a little wiggle room for outdoor adventures this week, and we’re looking for that to continue into Saturday and Sunday. Make the most of it!
Saturday, July 14
Cooking Class: Feasting for Free with Leda Meredith — 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Members: $42, Non-members: $47
The Northeast is rich in delicious, wild edible ingredients, including plants you may have been composting as “weeds.” Learn how to safely identify and sustainably harvest the abundance of free gourmet ingredients growing in this region. Plant identification will be conducted on Garden grounds, including the Thain Family Forest, so dress for the weather. Advance registration is required; you can sign up here.
Monet’s Garden Tour – 12:30 & 2:30 p.m.
Meet at the entrance to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory
Join one of the Garden’s docents 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.
Home Gardening Demonstration — The Artist’s Palette: Color in the Garden – 2 p.m.
Meet at the Conservatory Plaza
Join a Botanical Garden horticulturist for a journey through the color wheel. Discuss effective color combinations and have fun exploring the intricacies of floral forms—from leaves to flowers.
Salon Series: Monet to Mallarmé – 4 p.m.
In the Perennial Garden
Hear American poets reading the verse of their favorite French Symbolists, including Stephane Mallarmé, Arthur Rimbaud, and Paul Verlaine. They’ll then discuss the poet’s influence on their own work in this series, a part of Monet’s Garden. Co-presented by the Poetry Society of America. These programs are made possible by a gift from the Leon Lowenstein Foundation, Inc.
July 14: Baudelaire – Richard Howard, Rowan Ricardo Phillips, and Nancy Milford
Sunday, July 15
Conservatory Tour: 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 docents. 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 — The Artist’s Palette: Color in the Garden – 2 p.m.
Meet at the Conservatory Plaza
Join a Botanical Garden horticulturist for a journey through the color wheel. Discuss effective color combinations and have fun exploring the intricacies of floral forms—from leaves to flowers.
Monet’s Garden Tour – 2:30 p.m.
Meet at the entrance to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory
Join one of the Garden’s docents 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: Family Dinner with Mario Batali Chefs — 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Special Ticket Required — In the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden
At the Garden, join some of Mario Batali’s finest chefs during one of only four al fresco Family Dinners–dining experiences for families in the NYBG’s Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden. Each dinner features a three-course, family-style menu designed by one of these talented chefs. Explore “Mario Batali’s Kitchen Gardens,” a robust and interactive space filled with beds of vegetables and herbs used in Mario’s restaurant kitchens; participate in hands-on gardening and craft activities; then sit back to enjoy live cooking demonstrations by Mario’s top chefs in the outdoor Whole Foods Market Family Garden Kitchen. Featured will be recipes with fresh, seasonal ingredients like those grown in “Mario Batali’s Kitchen Gardens.” The entire family is sure to enjoy this special evening together. Family Garden programming is geared for kids ages four to 12, while dinner will be paired with wine and a garden tea.
Chef appearances:
Casa Mono – Chef Anthony Sasso
Tarry Lodge – Chef Andy Nusser
First Course:
Summer Gazpacho
Leafy Green Italian Salad
Bagna Cauda with Just-Picked Root Vegetables
Second Course:
Grilled Ribeye and Dozen Herb Salsa Verde
Patatas Bravas
Escalivada with Romesco
Third Course:
Strawberries with Zabaglione and Aged Balsamico
Event Schedule:
5:15 p.m. — Trams begin departing from the Mosholu Gate
5:30 p.m. — Garden tours and activities begin
6:00 p.m. — Dinner courses served family style, demonstrations begin
8:00 p.m. — Evening concludes
Ongoing Children’s Programs
Summer Camp: Art in Nature
Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, July 9 through 13
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Children will be artists in the Garden throughout this camp. Each day will include time for drawing, painting, and creating sculptures. Children will embark on outdoor “creativity walks,” as well as design their own dance performances. Each day will be filled with outdoor explorations, hands-on activities, and creating art. The campers will show off their nature-inspired works of art during an art show at the end of the week.
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 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
Daily, 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. (1:30 to 4:30 p.m. on July 15, July 26, August 2 and August 12)
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.
The Edible Garden
Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, July 1 through October 31
1:30 to 5:30 p.m. daily (1:30 to 5 p.m. on July 15, July 26, August 2 and August 12)
The Edible Garden returns to the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden this year, bringing plenty of events for both adults and kids alike with daily, family-friendly activities, cooking demonstrations in the Whole Foods Market Family Garden Kitchen, and hands-on gardening fun.
A Garden friend and chef extraordinaire, Mario Batali takes a featured role in this year’s Edible Garden. Visit the beds of herbs and vegetables in “Mario Batali’s Kitchen Gardens,” where you can pick up some of his favorite recipes. Later, join Mario and other top chefs for The Edible Garden Festival, featuring tastings, harvest activities, and a chance to sit down to dinner with the man himself. Your culinary delight begins in the garden! Visit summer through fall for the best of the harvest.
