Morning Eye Candy: Color Column
Posted in Photography on August 26 2014, by Matt Newman
Giant pineapple lily (Eucomis pallidiflora) in the Ladies’ Border – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Archive: August 2014
How Many Birds Can One Tree Nourish?
Posted in Shop/Book Reviews on August 25 2014, by Joyce Newman
Joyce H. Newman holds a Certificate in Horticulture from The New York Botanical Garden and has been a Tour Guide for over seven years. She is a blogger for Garden Variety News and the former editor of Consumer Reports GreenerChoices.org.
The answer to our titular question is provided by Doug Tallamy and Rick Darke in their new book, The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden, out this summer from Timber Press ($39.95) and available in NYBG’s Shop in the Garden.
In the book, Tallamy, known as the “guru” of native plant gardening for his earlier, award-winning book, Bringing Nature Home, actually recorded as many as 20 different bird species—many beautifully photographed in the book—eating berries and insects from an alternate-leaf dogwood tree planted outside his bathroom window.
“So many birds visit this tree during the summer that our bathroom has become the hottest birding destination in our house,” he jokes. But the serious message of this story and one of most important points of his entire new book is that “our plants are our bird feeders!”
Morning Eye Candy: Sugar Fix
Posted in Photography on August 25 2014, by Lansing Moore
Take it from this little hummingbird— the key to taking on Monday is an energizing breakfast!
In the Perennial Garden – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Morning Eye Candy: An Explosion of Color
Posted in Photography on August 24 2014, by Lansing Moore
The aptly-named Lagerstroemia indica ‘Dynamite’ is lending a burst of red to the Ladies’ Border.
Lagerstroemia indica ‘Dynamite’ in the Ladies’ Border – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Morning Eye Candy: Seclusion
Posted in Photography on August 23 2014, by Lansing Moore
These benches directly across from the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden offer shade, shelter, and a hint of surrealism—perfect for conversation.
Across from the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
This Weekend: A Highlight of Summer
Posted in Programs and Events on August 22 2014, by Lansing Moore
Happy Friday! After today’s rain, we have two days of sunny, mild weather to look forward to here at NYBG. Come admire the splendor of summer before August passes us by completely.
This weekend features a very special Garden Highlights tour focusing on poisonous plants! A Garden guide will lead two tours of fascinating plant species that with healing—or harmful—properties. When it comes to plants, the line between medicine and poison can be a narrow one indeed, and the myths and facts circulating in popular culture could always use a little more clarification. Learn more about plants’ effects on the body year-round with our award-winning Wild Medicine app.
Read on for this weekend’s complete schedule of programs at NYBG, including a whole new season of Dig! Plant! Grow!—this time focusing on those beloved and vital friends of any garden: pollinators.
Morning Eye Candy: Landing Pad
Posted in Photography on August 22 2014, by Matt Newman
A bumblebee atop a ruby-star coneflower in the Home Gardening Center – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez
An Urban Garden’s Mysticism
Posted in Learning Experiences on August 21 2014, by Diana Soler
Diana Soler is a NYC Summer Youth Employee with Bronx Green-Up, the community gardening outreach program of The New York Botanical Garden.
Growing up in the city, I wasn’t one to appreciate wildlife. I ran away from it. Tall buildings and concrete provided me with comfort. Seeing empty lots of land confirmed this attitude for me. They looked like restricted mini-forests, having fences around the perimeter with weeds and trash caged inside. It was almost as if these spaces don’t exist, as the urban life surrounding them doesn’t acknowledge the presence of nature and all of the mystical treasures it has inside.
Luckily, I was given the chance to see the light of these enchanted forests. While working for Bronx Green-Up (the community gardening outreach program of The New York Botanical Garden) as part of NYC’s Summer Youth Employment Program, I was exposed to community gardens that are being cared for and acknowledged by urban green thumbs. These once abandoned lots were turned into spaces where local community members can garden and establish meaningful relationships with both plants and people. The first task I am usually given when entering a new garden is to pull out weeds. I didn’t really know what I was doing at first. My common sense just told me to pull out the ones that look ugly, or that don’t quite fit in with the rest of the plants. Also, if there are decent-sized flowers on them, then those can stay.
Morning Eye Candy: Artfully Asymmetrical
Posted in Photography on August 21 2014, by Matt Newman
So much more than wreaths and bouquets find their way into existence when you’re learning from our Adult Education instructors.
From a Floral Design course in NYBG’s Adult Education program – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
This Week At the Greenmarket: Plum Perfect
Posted in Programs and Events on August 20 2014, by Lansing Moore
Wednesday is Greenmarket day at NYBG! Our local purveyors are back with an abundance of fresh goods until 3 p.m. Today’s market features tomatoes, eggplants, cantaloupe, fresh garlic, potatoes, green bell pepper, and plums—plus baked goods including gluten-free options!
Today includes another visit from Montefiore Community and Population Health, who are providing free body mass index (BMI) screenings as well as nutritional counseling on how to stay healthy. It’s a beautiful day to enjoy the grounds and make healthy choices at the Greenmarket!
Summer is salad season, so we found a recipe that uses a delicious seasonal fruit—plums—to make a fresh and light summer snack. Click through to see a quick and easy recipe for buffalo mozzarella with balsamic glazed plums, pine nuts, and mint.