A lovely mixture of spring wildflowers including columbine, rue anemone, and violets.
Columbine, with its nectar-filled red spurs, blooms just at the time that hummingbirds are returning from their winter sojourns south of the border—or is it the other way around? Do hummingbirds return just when the columbine begins to flower? From either viewpoint, it is clear that these two species have coevolved to synchronize their arrival in spring.
Hummingbirds need a plentiful source of nectar to provide the energy required for their frenetic life style. In return they incidentally transport pollen from one flower to the next ensuring that the columbine will be fertilized and set seed, thus perpetuating the species. Some hummingbirds will become summer residents here, while others will continue their northward migration as far as Canada, following the columbine bloom north.
Long before the Age of Aquarius, some of the heritage roses currently in bloom in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden were anticipating a dubious fashion trend.
Hybrid Perpetual rose ‘Roger Lambelin’ Introduced in 1890 (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
This month we feature Elaine Yellen, a Westchester-based landscape designer and NYBG graduate who now runs her own firm in Scarsdale, where she continues to build upon her Garden education.
“I completed the Horticulture Program and the Landscape Design Program,” Elaine said. “Both provided essential preparation that let me feel like a true professional when I presented myself to clients as an expert in my field. Many of my teachers were working professionals and were so helpful in all aspects of project design and implementation. They were always very generous with advice to a budding designer.”
Elaine first came to the NYBG because she wanted to turn her love of gardening into a profession: “It was my creative outlet… so I decided to study it formally and see where that would lead.” In addition to many residential projects in lower Westchester, local golfers might be familiar with her work for clubs and courses such as Winged Foot, Brae Burn, Fenway, Sunningdale, Fairview, and Scarsdale.
Don’t mourn spring for too long! Even if those idyllic daytime temperatures came and went like an afterthought, what follows is that much better: summer, and all the delectable eats that tank-tops-and-flip-flops weather brings along with it. Spring’s fruit and vegetable plantings are teetering on the edge of the first harvest (I know, where did the time go?) in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, and naturally that can only point to cookouts in our future. But we’re not about to settle for half measures when it comes to the tastes of the warmer months. With Mario Batali back in our corner for another round of edible outdoor adventures, how could we?
This year’s Edible Academy Family Picnic brings the maestro of all things culinary back to The New York Botanical Garden for an exclusive evening dining experience, complete with a seasonal cooking demonstration from the chef himself. That’s in addition to hands-on vegetable harvests in the Family Garden, tutorials for hopeful greenthumbs, tree climbing, and more than enough crafts and family activities to keep even the most tireless toddler happily occupied. It all begins at 4 p.m. on June 10, kicking off with a delicious picnic supper designed by Mario himself and enjoyed on the flowering Garden grounds. Afterwards, dig into the fun taking place in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden before joining Mario at 5:30 p.m. for a book signing, followed by his gourmet cooking demonstration alongside Daphne Oz, Mario’s co-host on ABC’s The Chew.
Lecythis minor is the accepted name for the species shown in this image.
Memorizing scientific names can be an exasperating experience for nature lovers, especially when learning that those names occasionally change for complicated reasons. Last week I discussed the structure of scientific names based on the Linnaean binomial system. Now, I explain some of the most common ways scientific names change based on the law of priority, a rule stipulating that the first name validly published for a species is the correct name for it. Be aware that this may not be the most beginner-friendly topic, but it is integral to understanding the complex business of botanical nomenclature.
The rules of botanical nomenclatures are formalized in the International Code of Nomenclature (ICN), which is updated every five years at the International Botanical Congresses; the most recent such congress took place in Melbourne, Australia, in 2011. Although the ICN defines the rules for naming plants, it does not provide guidance for determining if a species is distinct from other published species, thus justifying a new name. The taxonomic validity of species is determined by reviewers of scientific papers in which names are either proposed or changed, as well as by the acceptance of the names by the scientific community in their scholarly works such as Floras.
The oldest of the heritage roses currently blooming in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden that we will feature in this unofficial heritage rose appreciation week.
China rose ‘Old Blush’ Unknown hybridizer, before 1752 (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
In 1921, when Henry Hurd Rusby was 65 years old, he embarked on his last field trip to South America as the Director of the Mulford Biological Exploration of the Amazon Basin. Professor of Botany and Materia Medica, and Dean of the College of Pharmacy at Columbia University, Rusby had much experience exploring in South America. The goal of the Mulford Biological Expedition was the discovery of plants with possible pharmaceutical properties.
