Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 30 2012, by Matt Newman
Not Costa Rica, Brazil, or the Philippines. Not even the Virgin Islands (though the ongoing Caribbean Garden event in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory might convince you otherwise).
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 27 2012, by Matt Newman
News for birding fanatics! The owls are making themselves known again at the NYBG, or so recent sightings would suggest. Friend of the Garden Pat Gonzalez informs me that a birdwatching group caught a glimpse of our Great Horned Owls mating (that’s a good sign) in the Forest near the hemlocks, meaning that we may have another small parliament of owls (I maintain that collective nouns are the most fun you can have in language arts) terrorizing our chipmunk population in the near future.
Despite often being year-round residents at the NYBG, we generally see neither hide nor feather of these airborne hunters due to their nocturnal habit–at least up until breeding season when diurnal hunting becomes more common. Having the leaves off the trees at this time of year also makes spotting these raptors more of a cinch. But when a storm toppled the birds’ favorite nesting tree, it made locating them something of a challenge. Seeing the owls going into 2012 has proven a hit-or-miss endeavor for our local birders.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 27 2012, by Matt Newman
If you follow the NYBG Tumblr feed with any regularity, you know my succulent fanaticism shows through like the sun. I (sort of) promise not to let it overtake Plant Talk.
Crassula perfoliata — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Exhibitions on January 26 2012, by Matt Newman
At the core of botany is a rampant love of adventure. It’s traipsing through the back yard in search of four-leaf clovers as much as it’s hiking through a cloud forest on the trail of a rare epiphyte. It’s about climbing trees, whistling through blades of grass, and chasing the satisfaction of discovery. The need to uncover new things begins early. And if, as Carl Sagan once said, “every kid starts out as a natural-born scientist,” there’s no better team to enlist in our search for Dr. Ed!
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 26 2012, by Matt Newman
Pinus virginiana ‘Wate’s Golden’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Holiday Train Show on January 25 2012, by Matt Newman
Kickstarting the imaginations of children is the kind of gratification you love to run into here at the NYBG. Some exhibitions–the Holiday Train Show, for one–just happen to be especially good at creating the perfect incubator for young creativity. And with stories like these, it’s always a perk to follow up.
Back in December we received a suggestion for our “20 Days” series from an administrator at the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich, Connecticut, explaining just how excited the kids were by their visit to the Garden in 2010. They were so ecstatic, in fact, that the club decided to give its own train show a try. For 2011’s traditional visit, the kids put their patience and skill together in recreating the Greenwich landmarks they grew up with. And this was no half-baked homework assignment: they even set up their own running model train.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 25 2012, by Matt Newman
Consider yourself punned for the rest of the week. (That one actually hurt to type.) Is it too much to hope that these resilient winter blooms will be enough of a mea culpa for such a knock-out headline?
Winter-blooming jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 24 2012, by Matt Newman
If our Conservatory speaks of history, the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections foster the future. The occasional “members only” tour lets visitors in on the care, technology and horticultural know-how that goes into designing each and every plant exhibition that you see here at the NYBG. Plus it’s just really cool to see the greenery inside the superstructure.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 23 2012, by Matt Newman
Resident photographer and wonderbeard (it’s a term of endearment) Ivo M. Vermeulen recently stole (politely asked for a ride in) a cherry-picker from our NYBG arborists, snagging a rare opportunity to see our Conservatory from a songbird’s perspective. I love to see the contrast in greenery on either side of the glass.
The Tracey Towers in the distance look a little ominous here, don’t they?
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 22 2012, by Matt Newman
How often do you see the perm trying to make a comeback anywhere, let alone in horticulture?
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen