Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on September 22 2013, by Matt Newman
It’s the first day of fall and the Rose Garden isn’t batting a lash. We’ll see the color shifting in the canopies in the coming months, but expect to be enjoying this painted spot through October.
Floribunda rose ‘Tequila’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on September 21 2013, by Matt Newman
The sun sets on summer and already we’re excited for the hues of a new season. We’ll let you know as soon as the leaves turn the corner in earnest.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Programs and Events on September 20 2013, by Matt Newman
Summer bows out this weekend as we pack away our sandals, margaritas, sunscreen and park picnics and ready the scarf-and-peacoat ensembles. Officially, the first day of autumn is this Sunday. And nothing screams the merits of fall like jack-o’-lanterns, scarecrows, bugs, bats, and snakes, right? Emphasis on the “scream,” though it’s all in good fun!
Saturday is the opening day of The Haunted Pumpkin Garden, so of course we’re doing things big with spooky Halloween events and activities in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden and the Clay Family Picnic Pavilions, to start. You’re welcome to sit in on an expert carving as gourds become ghouls in the Discovery Center, or interact with some of the skittering, slithering creatures that make the holiday what it is in the pavilions.
Elsewhere in the Garden, we’re all about demos. Our gardeners for public education will be on deck in the Home Gardening Center with enlightening how-tos on the late-season, under-the-radar beauties known as salvias. And in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, we’re all about cooking demonstrations with seasonal, fresh-picked edibles twice a day on Saturday and Sunday. It should give those of you joining us for Saturday night’s Family Dinner with Mario Batali’s Chefs a tasty glimpse into the coming feast.
Toward the close of Saturday afternoon, you’ll also want to make your way toward the Perennial Garden, where poets Patricia Carlin, Adam Fitzgerald, and John Murillo will recite classic verse and original works to give these summer nights a proper send-off.
The coming months promise a cornucopia of new events and exhibitions, so stay tuned!
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on September 20 2013, by Matt Newman
Had Jason and his Argonauts come upon this goldenrod in their search for the actual fleece, I’m not sure they would have been fooled. Though I doubt they’d be disappointed in its brightness, either.
Solidage sphacelata ‘Golden Fleece’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Adult Education on September 19 2013, by Matt Newman
At its core, botany revolves around the study of plants and how they function, all in order to appreciate the massive role they play in our lives. Maybe that causes your brain to jump to associations with greenhouses and laboratories. But, just for a second, step away from the thought of picking your way through a hothouse or leaning over a microscope and consider the industries and passions that rely on plant knowledge to exist. Without some understanding of botany under the brewer’s belt, your go-to dive bar would like as not be non-existent. And the organic lotions, infusions, and supplements sold for a premium in body boutiques around the city wouldn’t be an issue, either. Not many people understand this quite so well as our Adult Education staff.
You can even relate this to your favorite stories. A famous if apocryphal anecdote attributed to the writer Vladimir Nabokov tells of a student who declares, in Nabokov’s office, that he wants to be a writer. Nabokov glances up and points out the window. “What kind of tree is that?” he asks. “I don’t know,” says the student. “Then you’ll never be a writer.”
A harsh lesson, maybe, but the fact stands that botany influences our lives more often than we give it credit for, be it tangibly or in the small, creative details that make up the world around us. Thankfully, our instructors aren’t nearly so brutal as Nabokov, and our botany courses offer fun, down-to-earth routes to engage the immense importance of plants.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on September 19 2013, by Matt Newman
Floribunda rose ‘Garden Delight’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Programs and Events on September 18 2013, by Matt Newman
When monster masks, vampire make-up, and shuffling the kids around the neighborhood with candy-laden pillow cases won’t cut it anymore, it’s time to step up your Halloween game! And this weekend, starting September 21, The New York Botanical Garden does exactly that. We’re launching into one of our favorite holidays a little early this year with a Haunted Pumpkin Garden full of creepy, crawly events and activities, and there’ll be no shortage of spiders, bats, snakes and jack-o’-lanterns here to make your twilight adventures frightfully memorable.
No, seriously—we’ll be showcasing actual bugs and bats. Why would we miss an opportunity like that?!
Check out the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden this Saturday for the return of intricately carved pumpkin sculptures, parades, and more. Your little ones will have free reign to play in our “gourd-geous” Pumpkin House (no pun apologies here) and put on a show in our Pumpkin Puppet Theater. Or, if they’re especially daring, they can join some of our Discovery Center staff on the hunt for wriggling earthworms under rotting logs. And on Saturday and Sunday at 12 and 2 p.m., we’ll be joining our friends from The Nature of Things at the Clay Family Picnic Pavilions for live animal presentations featuring the “stuff of nightmares,” creatures that really aren’t so terrifying if you give them a chance—in fact, these lizards, tarantulas, and sneaky snakes can be downright cute.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on September 18 2013, by Matt Newman
Halloween is inching its way into the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. More on that later today!
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Programs and Events on September 17 2013, by Matt Newman
The crisp bite in the air tells us fall is hoofing it over the horizon, but the apple cider donuts (the porch lamp to our proverbial moths, so to speak) at our Greenmarket really drive home the point. If you’re looking for something to do with your Wednesday morning, look no further than our Mosholu Gate, where several of the region’s most respected producers join us each Wednesday to offer fruits, vegetables, juices, sauces, fresh-baked treats, and just about anything you wish your CSA care packages included more of.
Recent highlights among the heaps of fresh-picked produce include a vibrant spectrum of peppers, from cayenne and sweet to white, blue, and hot cherry, while corn, chives, kale, Swiss chard, fennel, turnips, and parsnips cover the tables elsewhere. Tomatoes are also in top form, from hefty heirlooms to pickable, poppable cherry varieties. Macintosh and Paula apples lead the pack alongside peaches and plums, and Concord grapes have made a showing in recent weeks as well, with plenty of fruit juices and ciders to boot. And if you’re still in back yard barbecue mode, you should still see watermelons by the boxful when you join us tomorrow. Don’t forget to grab some pies on the way out!
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on September 17 2013, by Matt Newman
Consider this the latest installment in our “Fine Places to Take a Load Off” series. The sky is absurdly blue today and the thermometer reads “crisp”—find a spot to enjoy it. (You could easily do worse than the Herb Garden.)
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen