Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on November 5 2013, by Matt Newman
It’s colder now. For the time being, the plants in the Perennial Garden don’t seem to notice much, spilling over the borders of their beds in cozy rebellion.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on November 4 2013, by Matt Newman
Big, small, fierce, or cute, the birds of prey that live out their lives in the northeast are an uncommon cadre of sharp-eyed hunters, though seldom seen by your average park wanderer. Here in the New York Botanical Garden, our most popular visitors are definitely the Red-tailed Hawks that patrol the skies around our grounds, as well as the occasional Great-horned Owl, but the many local species that you might not always see are equally fascinating! And I admit they’re also pretty adorable if you’re not a squirrel or a chipmunk.
As part of our Fall Forest Weekends events and activities, which kicked off this past weekend and run through the next, our friends from the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary & Audubon Center stopped off at the Garden with a few clever companions in tow, among them an American Kestrel, an Eastern Screech Owl, and a Barred Owl—some of which you can see hunting around our grounds if you’re lucky. Many of the birds in the Audubon Center’s care are rescues, brought in to be rehabilitated after sustaining injuries that won’t allow them to survive back in the wild. But they do plenty of good in their downtime, educating people about the importance of raptors for a healthy, diverse ecosystem.
Posted in Around the Garden on November 4 2013, by Matt Newman
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on November 3 2013, by Matt Newman
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Programs and Events on November 1 2013, by Matt Newman
The spotlight falls on our 50-acre woodland this weekend as we leapfrog past ghouls and ghosts and straight into Fall Forest Weekends! The timing couldn’t be better, either, with the leaves on the trees sitting at just over 50% of peak color. Over the next two weekends, we’ll be making the most of this painted season with canoe trips, Forest tours, tree-climbing courses, woodcarving demonstrations, beer tastings—you get the idea.
My suggestion? Come early, wander a bit to orient yourself, then launch into Saturday’s 11 a.m. Bird Walk with Debbie Becker. That should set you up for the rest of the day’s activities in the Forest while giving you a chance to experience the variety of wildlife that calls the Garden home. There’s a good mix of active and casual events taking place throughout each day, too, so take it all at your own pace!
The weather’s been mild, the colors are bright, and we’re super excited to get outside and enjoy it all. Everyone is welcome to join us!
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on November 1 2013, by Matt Newman
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on October 31 2013, by Matt Newman
For everyone who’s been cooped up in an office cubicle for far too long to frolic in the changing fall palette, I thought I’d throw together some of the best and brightest shots from around the Garden this week. The autumnal leaves are really picking up the pace! We’re actually heading into the coming weekend at about the halfway mark on our Fall Foliage Tracker, with reds, oranges, and yellows popping all over our 250 acres. Some of the gradients—trees starting green at their lower branches and graduating to red at the tip-top—are downright majestic.
Whether or not you decide to come and join us for Fall Forest Weekends over the next two Saturdays and Sundays (you really should!), here’s to enjoying every last minute of this colorful middle ground before winter’s snows set in.
Photos by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on October 31 2013, by Matt Newman
Here’s to a frightful Halloween, a gentle autumn, and the last day of our Haunted Pumpkin Garden! After today, the pumpkins and spooks take their leave to make room for the peak of fall color, the coming winter, and the Holiday Train Show. We’ll see you in the Forest.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on October 30 2013, by Matt Newman
The pitcher plants in the Native Plant Garden huddle up for a morning chat about “this unseemly 40-degree a.m. weather we’ve been having.”
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Programs and Events on October 29 2013, by Matt Newman
Only two days ’til the spooks and spirits spill out in force for tricking, treating, and spades of ghoulish fun, so it’s not that surprising that we’ll be going all out for the last Greenmarket of October, right? Of course not! The shifting palette of fall foliage mingles with apples, baked goods, and mounds of fresh gourds and pumpkins to make this time of year one of the most beautiful and flavorful harvest periods there is. With the Halloween Harvest Festival hosting Haunted Pumpkin Garden activities for families, donut-eating contests, “Witch’s Brew” samplings and creepy-crawly compost events, it’s nothing you want to miss out on, plus it gives you an excuse to wear that stunning new autumn jacket you just bought.
As a primer for what we’ll likely see on the tables this Wednesday, last week offered a broad spectrum of goodies. From Migliorelli Farm, we saw a Pantone gradient of fresh cauliflower, deep green spinach, all sorts of pumpkins and squash, and fresh tomato juice to remind you that the brunch Bloody Mary never takes a break in New York. Red Jacket Orchards came in on the fruity end of the spectrum, boasting a cadre of pears including Yali, Bosc, and Seckel varieties; apples ranging from Jonamac to Golden Supreme; and enough fruit juice and cider to stock your fridge for a good while. Gajeski Produce brought in the hearty meal fare with fennel, savoy cabbage, Tuscan kale, sweet potatoes and—a personal favorite since I discovered crock pots—fresh collard greens.
But what meal would be complete without at least some kind of dessert, if not an entire bread basket? Meredith’s Bread had that covered with assorted pies and tarts, brownies, cookies, biscotti, and bunches of breads—oatmeal walnut, Anadama corn, and challah varieties among them. Honestly, they’ve always got it covered.