Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Photography on March 15 2014, by Lansing Moore
The crocus is a real early bird, one of the first to bloom when winter is at its end. Paired with the snowdrops we have already seen, it’s a good sign.
Crocus in the Seasonal Walk – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Programs and Events on March 14 2014, by Lansing Moore
There are many ways to explore the Garden this weekend, whether on the brisk, sunny grounds or in the enchanting warmth of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, where The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary is in full bloom. Among our exciting programs this week are our regular Orchid Demonstrations. This weekend our experts will focus on fragrant orchids. While these gorgeous flowers brighten up any home, you can also explore which orchids have the best scent. You can treat all your senses this weekend with a specialty cocktail at Saturday’s Orchid Evening. Tomorrow’s brand new recipe is called “The Desert Flower”—read on to find out its delicious ingredients!
Don’t forget that this Saturday is also a Members Day in celebration of The Orchid Show! Members of the Garden will enjoy free parking and special discounts at the Dining Pavilion and Shop in the Garden—not to mention half-off admission for their friends and family! It has never been a better time to join, and if you are already a member this is the weekend to bring your loved ones on an excursion to the Garden. You can learn more about Members Day and the benefits of membership at nybg.org/membership.
Click through for the full weekend schedule of adult and children’s programs!
Posted in Horticulture on March 14 2014, by Kristin Schleiter
Kristin Schleiter is the NYBG’s Associate Vice President of Outdoor Gardens and Senior Curator. She oversees the wonderful gardening team that keeps our flowering gardens looking topnotch, curates the herbaceous gardens and collections, and manages the curator of woody plants. She lives and gardens in Fairfield, CT.
Every February, I can be found on my knees in the Garden poking and prodding and looking for signs that my beloved snowdrops are coming up to signal the beginning of spring. Pushing aside the snow, I see small green noses forcing their way up for a whiff of warm air. Even a single sunny day can bring forth elegant white blossoms which have a lovely honey scent. The spring’s earliest snowdrops, Galanthus elwesii, are blooming now in the Perennial and Azalea Gardens. Their glaucous blue foliage and large flowers create a much nicer drift of white.
Posted in Photography on March 14 2014, by Matt Newman
Keep an eye out for Darwin’s famed star orchid when you visit Orchid Evenings this weekend. You might even be able to make out the feature that made this bloom such an evolutionary puzzle for decades on end.
Darwin’s Star Orchid (Angraecum sesquipedale) in the Conservatory – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in The Orchid Show on March 13 2014, by Lansing Moore
For about a week now the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory has been plunged in the colorful escape of The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary. Our first Orchid Evening already took place last Saturday, and visitors have been pouring in to see the many varieties of orchids on display since the exhibit opened on March 1.
The day before it opened to the public, Kevin Character stopped by Members Day, where Garden Members were enjoying an exclusive preview of The Orchid Show. Early reviews were very encouraging. Some members called it the best Orchid Show yet, and they should know! Click through for this exclusive video tour of the unique design concept and varied special programs surrounding The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary.
Posted in Photography on March 13 2014, by Matt Newman
Our second Orchid Evening of 2014 kicks off this Saturday night, March 15, and there are still some tickets left! Revelers this time around can look forward to “The Desert Rose,” a cocktail of Creme Yvette berry liqueur, tart lime juice, and—naturally—the spicy bite of mescal. Check out our Orchid Evenings event page for more info or to register. Don’t wait too long!
In the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Exhibitions on March 12 2014, by Matt Newman
Walking through the Ross Gallery on my way to the office each morning, I like to pause a moment and admire the greenery clothing the walls. There’s no vertical garden on display, per se. Rather, the photography of Allan Pollok-Morris is so verdant as to come close to imitating one. His compositions of Scottish countrysides, estate gardens, and landscape sculpture depict a depth of color and foliage that we seldom see on the left side of the Atlantic, and there’s a grandeur to each image that belies the “humble ruggedness” many default to when discussing Scotland.
Sadly, after months of lovely display here at the Garden, Close: The Photography of Allan Pollok-Morris will be moving on as of this Sunday, March 16.
To give you a refresher of what you’ve been missing out on if you haven’t yet made a stop to see this photo exhibition, I put together a slideshow of some of Allan’s iconic works hanging now in the Ross Gallery. Each photograph depicts the landscapes, sculptures, or gardens of a designer living or working in Scotland—natives and expats alike.
Posted in Adult Education on March 12 2014, by Sonia Uyterhoeven
Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG’s Gardener for Public Education.
Our spate of presentations from international gardening savants continued in February with British landscape architect Kim Wilkie, who joined us for the second of our annual Winter Lectures. At face value he may seem mild-mannered, but make no mistake: Wilkie loves to play in the mud. He shifts massive amounts of soil to sculpt the landscape in a very literal fashion.
Wilkie began his discussion by explaining how he infuses his contemporary ideas with historical perspectives. One source of inspiration is Mother Nature. He paid tribute to the powerful influence of ice and water, and the role of erosion in shaping the landscape. After this long, punishing winter, most of us will remember ice and water as a combined nuisance, reflecting on the piles of snow that buried our cars and blocked sidewalks. Wilkie, however, had a much more romanticized view of nature, presenting images of graceful contours carved into the land by winding rivers and glacial erosion.
In his quintessentially British Oxbridge manner, Wilkie related the fascinating chronology of both the military and spiritual tradition of moving massive amounts of earth to create man-made fortifications and construct sites for burial, solace, and worship. His slides carried us back in history with a sublime visual tour of this Northern European landscape custom.
Posted in Photography on March 12 2014, by Matt Newman
Never, ever feel guilty about your snowdrop favoritism. Who else earns their keep by predicting spring so handily?
Galanthus elwesii in the Perennial Garden – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on March 11 2014, by Lansing Moore
While we are well into The Orchid Show, I know our photography aficionados have not forgotten about this year’s Tropical Paradise Photo Contest. After lengthy deliberations over our six weekly winners in the Macro and Sense of Place categories, we are ready to announce the Grand Prize Winners in each category, recipients of a seat in the NYBG Adult Education photography class of their choice.
Most of all, I hope enjoying the outstanding weekly submissions on Plant Talk has inspired you all to enjoy the Garden through your own lens. If you want to challenge your skills and enhance your enjoyment of the Garden, then NYBG Adult Education offers a variety of classes to help you see the grounds in new ways. For those shutterbugs out there, the next class will be Photographing Birds, Bees, & Butterflies on April 26, but there are many more slated for spring as the Garden comes into full bloom. Whether with an iPhone or a full DSLR rig, there are classes for all subjects and levels of expertise.
Now for the moment that has been weeks in the making. We are very pleased to announce the Grand Prize Winners of the 2014 Tropical Paradise Photo Contest! Click through to find out.