Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Photography on November 25 2013, by Ann Rafalko
While the Conservatory is currently dedicated to the Holiday Train Show other parts of the Garden are already thinking about The Orchid Show.
Paphiopedilum ‘Pinocchio’
Posted in Photography on November 24 2013, by Ann Rafalko
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on November 23 2013, by Ann Rafalko
There is no train in the Holiday Train Show more likely to elicit squeals of glee than this little ladybug trolley.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on November 22 2013, by Ann Rafalko
Next week is a busy one, with Thanksgiving and Hanukkah occurring simultaneously. So why not relax a bit ahead of it? Come stroll our grounds, visit the Holiday Train Show, let the kiddos blow off steam at Holiday Adventures in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, and wander amid the train-themed works of former United States Poet Laureate Billy Collins along our Holiday Poetry Walk.
The lights are glittering, the trains are running, there’s a nip in the air, and we couldn’t be more thrilled about it! After exploring the wonders of the Holiday Train Show, be sure to visit the rest of the Conservatory’s sultry galleries where you’ll find beautiful and fascinating plants aplenty. Our new, limited-run Holiday Dining Pavilion: “Streets of New York” has treats for everyone in your family, and plenty of comfy seating.
Outside, the Thain Family Forest is the epitome of fall, with plenty of leaves to crunch, even if they have fallen to the ground in many places. The Native Plant Garden and Azalea Garden are also worth a visit this time of year!
Posted in Photography on November 22 2013, by Ann Rafalko
A highly decorative pine tree in the Benenson Ornamental Conifer Collection.
Pinus strobus ‘Contorta’ (photo by Senior Plant Recorder, Kristine Paulus)
Posted in Holiday Train Show on November 21 2013, by Ann Rafalko
One step into the magical world of the Holiday Train Show should convince you of its heartwarming magic. It is a delight for children of all ages! But, should you have an interest in enjoying the Train Show‘s many splendors alongside children above a certain age, we have you covered there, too. Bar Car Nights are an adults-only way to see the Holiday Train Show at night, when the lights are twinkling and the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory‘s domes are aglow, cocktail in hand.
And this year, due to the overwhelming popularity of these delightful evenings, we are offering more Bar Car Nights than ever! Bar Car Nights are the perfect date night, or, come as a group and celebrate the season as a unique alternative to a more formal holiday party! Bring your friends, your adult children, or just come as a couple and enjoy a festive evening out. Bar Car Nights are the perfect way to indulge in the spirit of the holidays as an adult!
Posted in Adult Education on November 21 2013, by Lansing Moore
Visitors to the Adult Education classrooms on Garden grounds may have noticed a recent addition to the walls of the Watson Building in a series of framed, vintage botanical posters. These treasures were discovered in storage while refurbishing the botany lab, and we could not bear to dispose of such a colorful glimpse into the history of botanical science. While the paper had begun to yellow, the ink was flaking, and a few of the posters were beyond saving, Center Art Studio in Manhattan graciously took on the challenge of restoring ten of these double-sided instructional posters as a gift to the NYBG.
This series was originally the work of Father Hilary Jurica O.S.B., as published by A. J. Nystrom & Co., Chicago. Born in 1892, Jurica was a monk and a priest who earned a doctorate degree in biology from the University of Chicago in 1922. He was also the first monk of St. Precopius Abbey to attain this academic honor and the first American Benedictine to receive a doctorate from a secular university. Partnered with his young brother Fr. Edmund, a zoologist, Fr. Hilary the botanist spent forty years traveling around the country to gather many of the specimens on display in the Jurica Nature Museum in Illinois.
Posted in Photography on November 21 2013, by Ann Rafalko
Passiflora x kewensis (Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Posted in Around the Garden on November 20 2013, by Caitlin Rowles
This week’s Greenmarket dispatch comes to us from the Garden’s Greenmarket intern, Caitlin Rowles.
For the past three months, I’ve worked at The New York Botanical Garden as the Greenmarket intern. I have gained a wealth of knowledge and experience regarding food, farming, and public education. With just over a week left until Thanksgiving and the end of the Greenmarket‘s season, I am thankful for all that I have learned from the Greenmarket, its vendors, and the shoppers who come by every week.
After studying Global Food Systems at NYU, I’ve come to consider myself pretty knowledgeable about produce. But one recent Wednesday—when Migliorelli Farm arrived at the market with the biggest assortment of squash I had ever seen—reminded me of how much I still have to learn. The vendors explained to me the difference between acorn and kabocha squash, how best to prepare a delicata squash, and what on earth anyone would want to do with a “cheese pumpkin.” And the best part? They’re all grown right on New York State land by the farmer I get to see every week!
I have even had the chance to talk to these farmers about aspects of agriculture that I’m learning in my classes, like how farms feel climate change and the huge effects of varying weather and extreme events on production, and bring these stories back to NYU. For one of my food studies classes, I will be writing my final research paper about food waste in the production chain using primary resources—stories from the farmers themselves!
Posted in Photography on November 20 2013, by Ann Rafalko
It may be gone, but it’s not forgotten, and you can still “visit” the old Penn Station in miniature at the Holiday Train Show.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen