From left to right: Councilman Andrew Cohen, Councilman Ritchie Torres, Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and Gregory Long, CEO and The William C. Steere Sr. President of NYBG
On Saturday, October 18, I was honored to host a Garden tour for the Speaker of the New York City Council, Melissa Mark-Viverito. Joining us were two Councilmen—Ritchie Torres and Andrew Cohen—whose Council districts include a part of the Garden.
The day’s schedule called for a golf cart tour through the grounds, viewing The Haunted Pumpkin Garden and Ray Villafane’s masterful carvings, taking in the elegant Kiku exhibition in the Haupt Conservatory, and touring much of the Garden’s historic permanent collections. In addition, the Speaker spent a good deal of time in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden learning about NYBG’s edible gardening program and the Edible Academy project soon to break ground.
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 top notch, curates the herbaceous gardens and collections, and manages the curator of woody plants. She lives and gardens in Fairfield, CT.
Schizachyrium scoparium
Most of our gardens evolve through the seasons, and I look forward to seeing the next wave of loveliness all spring and summer. It may be November, but we are just coming in to one of my favorite times. Most people think of perennials for their lovely flowers, but many perennials have more to offer—beautiful fall color!
Even as the trees and shrubs are glowing with their fall display, perennials in the garden add their own distinct light. The broad leaves of Penstemon digitalis sing in scarlet and ruby. Graceful, feathery Amsonia hubrichtii ripples with the wind, showing off golden and burnt orange hues. Many of the garden geraniums, most notably Geranium wlassovianum, are simply amazing with their Jacob’s coat of orange, gold, scarlet, and purple. Even hosta—those the deer haven’t eaten, anyway—bring touches of lemon or gold into a shady spot.
NYBG’s Greenmarket is back today until 3 p.m. with fresh fruits, vegetables, and baked goods from our local vendors. Halloween may be behind us, but there are still pumpkins available for sale in time to whip up a fresh pie for Thanksgiving! Plus fresh mint, thyme, parsley root, broccoli, blue potatoes, fingerling potatoes, red delicious and crab apples, and radishes.
The Children’s Aid Society will host a fun activity from 12 to 2 p.m. to teach about gardening, cooking, and food justice while providing healthy recipes and nutrition information. As always, information is available to those interested in the enrollment process for the New York State of Health Marketplace for Medicaid, Child Health Plus, and Qualified Health Path.
Plan your visit to the Greenmarket by checking out what’s in season. The Greenmarket accepts food stamps, EBT, WIC/FMNP, and Senior coupons, in addition to cash and credit or debit cards.
November 15 marks the long-awaited opening of NYBG’s annual Holiday Train Show®! This beloved holiday tradition is now in its 23rd year, with more trains, more landmarks, and more fun than ever. The Holiday Train Show® is a whimsical reintroduction to New York through a mini-metropolis of landmarks both past and present.
See the monumental Brooklyn Bridge and the unmistakable Statue of Liberty alongside buildings from bygone eras revived as plant-based replicas, such as the original Penn Station and the TWA Flight Center. Admire New York’s most iconic structures as you have never seen them before and explore detailed models of nearby historic gems that may be completely new to you. Throughout the exhibit, more than a dozen large-scale model trains zip along almost a quarter-mile of track, for a thrilling display for the whole family.
