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Plant Talk

Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Matt Newman

Morning Eye Candy: Cirrus

Posted in Around the Garden on September 21 2012, by Matt Newman

To see the Summer Sky
Is Poetry, though never in a Book it lie —
True Poems flee —

                                    Emily Dickinson

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Changing Seasons in the Family Garden

Posted in Around the Garden on September 19 2012, by Matt Newman

On Saturday, September 22, the autumnal equinox comes along to peg the exact moment when the northern hemisphere tilts its way into the colder months, leaving many northeastern green thumbs with a bittersweet goodbye on their hands; it’s ciao to cucumbers and adios to eggplants until 2013. But just because summer’s warmth is tipping its hat, that doesn’t mean you need to stow your trowels and pack up your gardening gloves! As explained by Toby Adams, manager of the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, fall can be just as bountiful with a little savvy under your belt.

For the cooler seasons, we’re giving a farewell salute to tomatoes, summer squash, and fresh beans, but welcoming an entirely new class of crops to our one-acre vegetable garden; all sorts of hardy vegetables will be taking root, including mustard greens, broccoli, and prolific plots of radishes to be harvested later in fall. And if the fresh start wasn’t reason enough for fanfare, we’re marking the first day of fall with the long-awaited Edible Garden Festival on Sunday, September 23. It’s as proper a send-off to summer as I can imagine, with all-day gardening activities, cooking demonstrations, and a gourmand’s getaway in Mario Batali‘s garden-to-table dinner event.

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Weekly Greenmarket Preview: Bon Voyage to Summer

Posted in Programs and Events on September 18 2012, by Matt Newman

Tomorrow is Wednesday, and that means one thing and one thing only (if you’re particularly fixated on fresh produce, at least): the NYBG Greenmarket! From what the calendar tells me, we’re looking at the last official summer Greenmarket before we move on toward autumn’s bushels and baskets–spicy apple cider and the like–so you might want to think about hoofing it up here while we’re still savoring the flip-flop weather. It’s been pleasantly cool out until now, but some trees are already coloring for fall; it’s going to be scarves and pea coats before you can say “fare thee well peaches.”

Last week’s tasty loot came in the form of apple-cranberry pies, concord grapes, San Marzano tomatoes, jalapenos, bosc pears, and so much more. But along with the fruits, vegetables, and baked goods, I noticed something else: the Greenmarket staffers work really hard. They’re out there each week, trucking away to keep market events moving smoothly, and striving to get the word out to New Yorkers in all the boroughs. Beyond that, they’re holding events within events, like last week’s cooking demonstration. I’m only disappointed that I missed out on the omelettes!

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October’s Woodland Weekend

Posted in Programs and Events on September 17 2012, by Matt Newman

Countless acres of lush flora, over 230 bird species, a virtual menagerie of fish, insects, reptiles, and mammals–and that’s just Central Park. New York City may have a reputation for being the urban jungle, but tucked in and around the buildings are the greenscapes–including the NYBG–that land us in the upper echelons of woodland sustainability. Places where flora and fauna have thrived in spite of the metropolis built up around them. But it’s not as if it was an easy task to get to where we are now, as The Cultural Landscape Foundation‘s (TCLF) president, Charles Birnbaum, recently explained; it was a long and trying process, with green spaces across the city sometimes suffering under a lack of proper management. And that’s a part of the reason that we’re adding our voice to TCLF’s fall conference, Bridging the Nature-Culture Divide II: Stewardship of Central Park’s Woodlands.

On Friday, October 5, the NYBG joins with the Central Park Conservancy and institutions from across the country to examine today’s woodland sustainability, along with natural diversity, the role of people in the care of these landscapes, and public education. Speakers such as the Garden’s Arthur Ross Vice President for Horticulture and Living Collections, Todd Forrest, will offer their expertise on the lessons learned by our park stewards over the years, while accomplished landscape architects and other national experts detail the challenges now faced in caring for these cultural icons.

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