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Plant Talk

Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Matt Newman

Oscar de la Renta Brings the Garden Home

Posted in Shop/Book Reviews on April 7 2014, by Matt Newman

Oscar de la RentaAccompanying the sweeping new updates to our Shop in the Garden site (have a look!), I’m beyond proud to announce the NYBG‘s latest partnership—a design collaboration with one of the world’s preeminent designers, Oscar de la Renta. For almost 50 years, de la Renta’s design house has produced some of the most timeless and recognizable styles in accessories, bridal, home decor, fragrance, and so much more, meaning it was only natural that we’d team up to create an equally inspired tabletop collection informed by Garden imagery.

Oscar’s own lifestyle paired with his passion for entertaining in his country home made these botanically-inspired housewares a natural progression for his Country Gift and Entertainment Collection. Now in its third installment, the set traditionally includes table linens, brass giftware, and earthenware accessories—accents to spruce up the kitchen and dining room alike. But this time around, the inner green thumb takes root! As an avid gardener and floral expert himself, Oscar de la Renta hand-picked images from The New York Botanical Garden’s peerless collection of rare books and engravings to interpret through his signature aesthetic. The result is a set of 15 table and giftware pieces emblazoned with the life and color of the country garden.

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Morning Eye Candy: A New Generation

Posted in Photography on April 4 2014, by Matt Newman

The future leaders of our upcoming exhibitions are growing up in the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections at this very moment. To say we’re proud of their efforts is an understatement.

Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections

In the Nolen Greenhouses – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Morning Eye Candy: The Vanguard

Posted in Photography on April 3 2014, by Matt Newman

Success! The earliest arrivals in the daffodil flotilla can be seen making their appearance around the Visitor Center. In fact, because of the delayed spring, we may have daffodils and tulips overlapping in a flood of mixed color. That’s from Associate Vice President of Outdoor Collections Kristin Schleiter herself in a recent chat with The New York Times.

Daffodils

Daffodils at the Visitor Center – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Morning Eye Candy: Katharine’s Best

Posted in Photography on April 2 2014, by Matt Newman

My favorite iris is blooming in the Rock Garden. It is my favorite by leaps and bounds, by landslide mandate, by as many kind words and encouraging gestures as one could drum up in support of a simple flower. The bees are of like mind.

Iris 'Katharine Hodgkin'

Iris ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ in the Rock Garden – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Poetry of Paradise

Posted in The Orchid Show on April 1 2014, by Matt Newman

The Orchid Show: Key West ContemporaryJust beyond the glass of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, where clouds of tropical orchids form a colorful interpretation of Key West’s wholly original island atmosphere, you’ll enter a world of poetry. More than a canvas for some of spring’s earliest blooms, the Perennial Garden is also home to the Orchid Show‘s written verse (because the flowers speak so eloquently for themselves). There you’ll find placards displaying some of the finest writing to come out of the Florida Keys, from expatriate poets as diverse as James Merrill, Richard Wilbur, and Elizabeth Bishop—all of whom found a second home near the Southernmost Point.

Not content to let these works stand alone, we enlisted some of the country’s brightest modern poets to lend their voices to their predecessors’ pens. This Sunday, April 6, join us for our once-only Key West Poetry Reading as these published writers recite the lyrical legacy of warmer climates. And if you haven’t already paid a visit to The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary, now is as good a time as any!

Our cadre of visiting poets certainly doesn’t lack for skill or accomplishments, as you’ll see below.

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