Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Photography on December 13 2014, by Lansing Moore
Nobody—at least not in this one! The Holiday Train Show® is full of these lovingly constructed plant-based models.
In the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Programs and Events on December 12 2014, by Lansing Moore
Tomorrow afternoon, join us in welcoming former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins to NYBG for a special reading of his most beloved works. Visitors to the Garden have enjoyed his poems that line the Holiday Poetry Walk, inspired by trains, winter, and New York. Tickets are still available, so plan your weekend at NYBG and come enjoy the Holiday Train Show alongside beautiful poetry.
The Holiday Train Show continues this weekend with holiday guides, live a cappella, and screenings of your favorite holiday- and train-related films. Other programs this weekend include a special in-depth tour of the latest exhibition in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library, Flora Illustrata: A Celebration of Botanical Masterworks. These treasures from the Library’s Rare Book and other Collections span centuries, so come explore botanical history with an expert guide. Or you can be an expert for a day and join professionals and aficionados alike for this Saturday’s Annual Winter Bird Count to learn about bird conservation and population health while observing the Garden’s birds. Keep reading to get the full details on this weekend’s programs at NYBG!
Posted in Photography on December 12 2014, by Lansing Moore
Autumn-flowering cherry blossoms stand up the winter’s chill.
Prunus × subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’ in the Ross Conifer Arboretum – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on December 11 2014, by Matt Newman
Rich with deeper meaning, Frost taught us that “nothing gold can stay,” but I do wish—in the most literal sense—that this eulalia grass would stick it out.
Eulalia grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Gracillimus’) in the Perennial Garden – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Programs and Events on December 10 2014, by Matt Newman
The poetry of Billy Collins has long bridged the gap between the generations with its evocation of all things New York. For those who live here, his verse is a painted representation of daily life in the city, winter trips along the Hudson, and workaday commuter rituals unchanged for decades. At large, he’s a classic American poet, something recognized by virtue of the fact that he’s a former U.S. Poet Laureate. But as timeless as his words are, the effect is all the more potent when you hear them read aloud by Collins himself.
This Saturday, December 13, Billy Collins returns to The New York Botanical Garden for an intimate reading of his works in our Ross Hall. For those of you who’ve enjoyed strolling the Poetry Walk that winds its way through the Perennial Garden—just outside the Holiday Train Show taking place in the Conservatory—this is a chance to hear these poems as they were intended by the writer. Of course, if you haven’t had the opportunity to stroll through Poetry for Every Season, you’ll have the best of both worlds. And it’s not a bad time to check out the Train Show, either.
Posted in Photography on December 10 2014, by Lansing Moore
Viburnum × burkwoodii in front of the LuEsther T. Mertz Library – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Horticulture on December 9 2014, by Sonia Uyterhoeven
Sonia Uyterhoeven is NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.
As the holiday season descends on us, it’s time for gardeners to spruce up their home in preparation for the seasonal festivities. I love the smell of pine in my home and I always try to create an evergreen holiday centerpiece for my table. The addition of a Balsam fir adds a lovely fragrance to my living room.
As a New Yorker, I am bombarded by Christmas tree vendors when I walk down the streets around this time of year. Having moved several times in my 10-year tenure in the city, I’ve discovered that Christmas trees are like Rainer cherries. Their price changes as you walk from east to west, and they drop the further north you walk. I have vivid memories of living on the east side and walking from 2nd Avenue to Madison during cherry season, watching the price rise from $4.99 a pound to $13.99—all within a four-block radius.
Now a Westsider, I buy my trees anywhere from West 106th to West 118th. Last year, I bought an eight-footer for a wonderful price. The tree took a ride on the M10 thanks to a generous driver who understood that my eyes were bigger than my arms. This year I am torn between the good prices I see at my local Whole Foods and the deals that I see on West 106th. It all depends on how far I want to lug the tree.
Posted in Photography on December 9 2014, by Lansing Moore
Who needs glass baubles with berries like this?
Idesia polycarpa in the Ross Conifer Arboretum – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Horticulture on December 8 2014, by Christian Primeau
Christian Primeau is the NYBG‘s Manager of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.
Winter is suddenly upon us and, as the temperatures plummet and the city braces for the inevitable snow and ice, many will find their way to the garden’s iconic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory to decompress, take a leisurely stroll among the lush, tropical foliage, and escape the bitter cold. Some, perhaps inspired by the lowland rain forest houses or the desert displays, will jet off to warmer climes. While I freely admit that I already work in paradise, it’s nice to get out and see some of my plants in habitat now and again.
I recently took an exploratory trip through the Sonoran desert of Mexico and into Arizona. By design I made no specific plans and, like a slightly less profane version of Anthony Bourdain, I had “No Reservations.” From the dusty desert proper through the dense Chaparral shrubland and semi-arid grasslands of Arizona, much of the area ranges in temperature from broiling hot to bone-chilling, depending on month and time of day. Here it was late October and still scorching with nary a cloud in the sky to provide respite.
The landscape is truly as beautiful as it is unforgiving, and the same may be said of the plant life. My arms and legs looked as if they’d been shredded by a tidal wave of furious cats; such were the hazards of botanizing in a region so thick with spiny inhabitants. I would later discover the name for a cowboy’s protective “chaps” was actually derived from the word “Chaparral”—an arid and prickly biome on the Sonoran desert’s northern border. One quickly discovers the Chaparral functions quite efficiently as human sandpaper.
Posted in Photography on December 8 2014, by Lansing Moore
Highbush blueberry adds a warm splash of red to a winter’s day.
Vaccinium corymbosum ‘Elliott’ in the Native Plant Garden – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen