Morning Eye Candy: Evergreen Binary
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 22 2013, by Matt Newman
Photos by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Archive: January 2013
Morning Eye Candy: Dream
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 21 2013, by Matt Newman
Prunus ‘Dream Catcher’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Morning Eye Candy: Berry, Berry Good
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 20 2013, by Matt Newman
Tropical Paradise is up and running in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory! And the blueberries–neotropical blueberries, sure, but still relatives!–are cast in stunning colors. Keep an eye out for them, but as always, please look–don’t touch. (As it turns out, not everything that sounds like food really is.)
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Morning Eye Candy: First Come, First Served
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 19 2013, by Matt Newman
They’re back! Maybe a little early, but we can never find a reason to complain about snowdrops. Look for them in the Perennial Garden and elsewhere on your walks around the NYBG–they’ll be the cutest blooms around, if you ask Ann.
Galanthus elwesii — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
This Weekend: January in the Tropics
Posted in Around the Garden on January 18 2013, by Matt Newman
It’s the first long weekend of the new year, and we’re not about to kick off 2013 on a lazy note. Just look at our schedule! Over the next three days, we’ll not only be packing in the holiday fun with the help of Thomas and Friends™, but welcoming an early summer in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory through Tropical Paradise, our homage to all things chill (in the kick-back-and-breathe sense, naturally). If you’ve got a camera handy, this is not something you’ll want to miss. So join us as we keep the season’s festivities afloat while shrugging off the winter cold!
Through January 27, Thomas and his buddies continue to spark young imaginations in the Ross Hall with an interactive, problem-solving singalong that will not only put smiles on your kids’ faces, but have them playing right along with the cast as they guide Thomas to his destination. The fun only continues after the show, with our Thomas-themed “Playstation” activities running throughout the weekend in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. There, you’ll find toys, tracks, and trains to keep the little ones occupied while you catch your breath. Just remember that tickets are extremely limited, so it’s best to register as early as possible.
And while you’re here, don’t forget to sign up for our Cancun vacation sweepstakes, courtesy of Thomas and the Hard Rock Cafe!
New Name, Same Great Photography Contest!
Posted in Exhibitions on January 18 2013, by Ann Rafalko
It’s back! Our annual winter photography contest returns to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory with the opening of Tropical Paradise Saturday, January 19! Tropical Paradise–a reinterpretation of the Conservatory’s lush permanent collections–is the perfect way to shake off the winter doldrums and exercise your photography skills.
In addition, glean inspiration from the award-winning photographers of the International Garden Photographer of the Year contest. Taken in gardens around the world, these prize-winning photos will be on display alongside plants from the tropics throughout the Conservatory. Enjoy the beautiful photographs and access additional information on the photographers, their inspiration, and the techniques they used to capture these stunning images by simply scanning a code on each sign with your smartphone. And on Sundays, join one of two accomplished photographers for a brief course on the basics of garden shooting.
2012 Sense of Place Grand Prize Winner: Mika Sato’s serene shot of the Aquatic Plants Gallery
The contest is run on NYBG’s Flickr Group Pool, and this year it’s easier than ever to enter because Flickr has launched a fabulous new iPhone app that allows anyone to enter seamlessly and easily. Grab your camera or your phone and head to the sultry warmth of the tropics, capture the beauty you find, and you just might win one of two grand prizes: A photography class taught at the NYBG!
Morning Eye Candy: A.M. Patience
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 18 2013, by Matt Newman
When Bird Walk leader Debbie Becker makes the claim that winter is the best season for bird-watching, there’s no equivocation. Wayne Cahilly, our institutional mapping specialist, knows this. While hoping to capture the dawn sun filtering through the dome of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, he found this Red-tailed Hawk waiting patiently for breakfast to scurry past. The resulting photographs are worth sharing.
Photos by Wayne Cahilly
Winter’s Mimics
Posted in Around the Garden, Science on January 17 2013, by Matt Newman
Winter is … well, a weird time of year. We tromp around in oversized boots, brandishing umbrellas that hardly seem useful. The trees all stand–if a touch awkwardly–in stark and naked relief, while phases of matter bounce at whim between liquid and solid. As a gardener, it’s hard to be optimistic. Sure, there’s the arrival of seed catalogs to look forward to, and bulbs to be forced indoors, but repeated trips to the backyard to peek at the soil rarely prove fruitful … most of the time.
Patience, an early rising, and a northerly location can prove that there’s beauty to be found in nature’s colder months, assuming you know where to look, because when the conditions are just right, at the edge of sunrise, frost flowers glitter.
I’m not referring to snowdrops, elegant as they are in late winter and early spring. “Frost flower” is more of a literal term. And when you see the leaves, vines, and gossamer threads formed through this unique interaction between plant and atmosphere, you’ll rightly understand how they came to earn this nickname.
Morning Eye Candy: Streamers & Starfish
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 17 2013, by Matt Newman
Whether it grabs you as reminiscent of a whispy starfish or a snarl of streamers, this wine-hued curiosity is worth a second look. You won’t catch Herrania balaensis growing beyond the borders of Ecuador, and even there it’s a rarity.
Herrania balaensis var. pouess — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Keep the Winter Bright with Thomas & Friends
Posted in Programs and Events on January 16 2013, by Matt Newman
Our Holiday Train Show may be packed away for another year, but thanks to the thoughtful cast of All Aboard with Thomas and Friends™, kids who haven’t had the opportunity to chug along with Thomas and his companion, Driver Sam, will now have almost the entire month of January to take part. That’s from now until January 27, at varying times in the NYBG‘s Ross Hall. And to make these family memories last, know that this is no simple puppet show–the cast will need your kids’ help in guiding the wayward Thomas all the way to Brendam Docks, with crowd interaction, singalongs, and more.
Just keep in mind that our shows are incredibly popular this time of year, so you’ll definitely want to take a moment and register for your tickets sooner, rather than later. Even with several shows per day (up to five on Saturdays and Sundays), we’re still filling seats at a record pace!