Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on December 19 2012, by Matt Newman
Gobbling through life’s endless Garden buffet, oblivious to tour, horticulturist, or passing camera lens. It’s not a bad life, I think.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Gardening Tips on December 18 2012, by Sonia Uyterhoeven
Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.
I have been spending the past few weeks in the Native Plant Garden, preparing the 2.5-acre site for winter. Most of my time has been spent cutting back foliage, raking leaves for shredding and returning to the garden as mulch, and tying together loose ends by updating the inventory of the collection. While much of the garden is going to bed, there are a few horticultural stars that are still out for the winter, and they look sublime at this time of year.
Three winter woodland wonders that caught my eye the other day were the wandflower (Galax urceolata), it close relative the rare Oconee bells (Shortia galacifolia) and the luscious-looking wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens). All three are evergreen ground covers that do well in woodland shade but probably look their best in part-shade, where the canopy opens up to let in streams of light.
The wandflower (Galax urceolata) has glossy, rounded, heart-shaped leaves that look spectacular all year round. Once the cold weather sets in, the foliage starts to turn red. By the holiday season, the coloring is as intense as Rudolph’s red nose. Wandflower or Galax grow 12 to 16 inches tall with the flower spikes extending above the foliage like a narrow white bottle brush in late spring to early summer.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on December 18 2012, by Matt Newman
Coney Island may be a New York affair, but Michael Shannon saw no reason to let that stymie his homage in Colorado. The Coney Island hot dog stand, now a national landmark, was built in Denver in 1966. It currently stands in Bailey, Colorado. Of course, our miniature homage to the homage stands in the Holiday Train Show Artist’s Studio, alongside a number of famous landmarks from around the country–and the world.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Gardening Tips, How-to, Video on December 17 2012, by Matt Newman
Let’s just say it’s not your everyday cubicle. The grids of Victorian glass and arching metal framework make for a view you’ll never find behind drawstring blinds. Come to think of it, desktop computers have a rough time with the falling mist in the rain forest houses, too. But as Manager of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, Christian Primeau’s workspace is as much an office as yours or mine. Just bigger, brighter, and more…flush with growing life. For our part, we make do in the Library Building with a potted basil plant, and one or two ferns to hold down the window sill. But that’s not to say a novelty cactus is your last hope for office decor!
Instead, take a hint from the Tumblr crowd’s fascination with these living bubbles and get involved with terrariums; it’s like having a mini conservatory sitting on your desk, and you don’t even have to get a permit to run hose attachments into the building.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on December 17 2012, by Matt Newman
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on December 16 2012, by Matt Newman
Hello to our Bostonian friends! Our baseball teams don’t get along, but I see no reason why that should keep majestic landmarks out of our Holiday Train Show Artist’s Studio.
Boston Harbor Light House — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on December 15 2012, by Matt Newman
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on December 14 2012, by Matt Newman
It’s the proverbial belle of the ball, the jewel on the crown, that once-in-a-blue-moon event that our visitors (and employees, honestly) can’t help but get excited for. Well, technically it’s thrice in a blue moon–Bar Car Nights are back this year, and this Saturday evening marks the second of three events for the closing of 2012. Of course, tickets have been selling out faster than we can advertise them, and this week is no exception–tickets are sold out for Saturday, December 15. But there are still a few left for next Saturday, December 22! So join us as we pause the family fun for a few hours of relaxation in the Conservatory turned cocktail lounge, aperitifs in hand and seasonal tunes in the air.
Afterward, head over to Arthur Avenue for some of the finest Italian dining in New York City, made that much better by a discount for Bar Car Nights ticket holders.
If themed drinks under the glow of the Conservatory lights aren’t your style, everything else that makes the season great at the Garden will be running throughout the weekend, including a few special one-off events for those who love the outdoors as much as we do. After Debbie Becker’s weekly Saturday morning Bird Walk, you’re welcome to join one of our experts for a tour of my favorite NYBG collection: the Ross Conifer Arboretum. Seeing as Christmas trees are popping up everywhere you look, now seems as good a time as any to learn about these evergreens while they’re still planted and thriving.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on December 14 2012, by Matt Newman
Higan cherry blossoms, courtesy of that most inspiring time in fall when nature reminds you that it’s only dozing.
Prunus x subhirtella ‘Autumnalis Rosea’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Science on December 13 2012, by Jessi Allen
As a student studying lichens at the NYBG, Jessi Allen offers a unique perspective on these fascinating organisms–symbiotic combinations of fungus and algae. She first joined the NYBG as an Herbarium intern in the summer of 2011, and began her graduate studies this fall.
During Hurricane Sandy, many trees fell throughout the Garden. At least a few of those caused damage to buildings or left gaps in the landscape. However, the silver lining of this cloud came in the form of giving NYBG botanists a chance to collect data that we usually don’t have access to.
Of the trees that fell, one of them was a big oak near the Pfizer Lab that, luckily, landed in the parking lot. The day immediately following the storm, I was working in the lab and saw Mike Nee, one of our curators, climbing through the tangled branches taking cores from this tree, and I thought, “That looks like fun!” According to Mike, the tree was about 90 feet tall and close to 100 years old. Rarely are we able to collect lichens from the tops of such large trees, so I went and grabbed a hammer and chisel, common tools for collecting specimens.