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What’s Beautiful Now: Spring Blooms!

Posted in What's Beautiful Now on April 11 2013, by Matt Newman

Narcissus 'Ice Follies'It’s been a trying wait, I admit. But I seem to remember someone spouting off a line about “good things” in store for those with a little patience in hand. And after a drawn out season of waffling temperatures and flaky snowstorms–nothing at all like last year’s phoned-in winter–we’re finally seeing the rewards of all that waiting. It’s been a sleepy spring thus far, but the Garden’s now waking up to a fanfare of yellows, pinks, purples and whites!

Some spots, of course, are more alert than others. Most of the trees are still sleeping it off in the early going, but the snow-white and fragrant magnolia blossoms–thousands of them–are blooming en masse across the landscape. Narcissus crowd the lawns in dairy colors, and passersby won’t have any trouble finding hints of spring color along the Seasonal Walk, just to the side of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, where netted irises and dainty daffodils already perk up the atmosphere. Across the lawn in the Perennial Garden, orange pansies mingle with soft blue chionodoxa, spotted in between with drowsy snowdrops and a few electric tulips.

And the Ladies’ Border is no slouch, either; you’ll find the fan-favorite ‘Peggy Clarke’ plum blossom tree lighting up the branches with poodle skirt pinks; lime green ‘Honeyhill Joy’ hellebores at full attention; dense bunches of paper bush flowers; and the occasional crowd of bee-friendly Amur Adonis opening to the sky. Further back, look (or sniff) for the perfumed mahonia blossoms, right near the blushing ‘Spring’s Promise’ camellia flowers.

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Spring is Finally Here!

Posted in Around the Garden on April 9 2013, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.

'Barmstedt'
Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Barmstedt Gold’

It’s come in fits and starts this year. Snow falls one day, only to vanish in an instant through heat or a heavy rain. With all the yo-yoing we have experienced this winter, oscillating from warm to cold, the fluctuating temperatures have sent me and many of my colleagues home with lingering ailments as our bodies try to figure out what’s going on.

While walking through the Garden in these early days of spring, I notice that Mother Nature is equally confused. The persistent cold has slowed down the cycle of spring, leaving us somewhere between one and two weeks behind schedule in terms of spring bloom. Once the warm temperatures arrive in earnest, things will accelerate. What this means for now is that some of the early signs of spring–the ones that we usually like to see from our living room windows–are out and worth perusing.

The Cornelian cherries (Cornus mas) started flowering around the very end of March this year, whereas they usually bloom sometime in the middle of the month. As one of the many cheerful harbingers of spring, they’re a welcome sight; the 15-foot, multi-stemmed branching shrub is smothered with tiny umbels bursting with golden yellow, star-shaped flowers.

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Morning Eye Candy: Cabernet, Complementary

Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on April 7 2013, by Matt Newman

They may not put on a show of the usual “spring spectrum”–pinks, bright yellows, all the pastels of new growth. Honestly, they’re a little menacing with their velvety, claret petals. But the flagrant elegance of these hellebores comes in handy when the bright green varieties need balancing out.

Helleborus orientalis 'Optimism'

Helleborus orientalis ‘Optimism’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

This Weekend: Sowing Sun, Evening Ambiance

Posted in Around the Garden, Programs and Events on April 5 2013, by Matt Newman

The NYBG WeekendIt’s a double whammy for the cocktail crowd this weekend as we launch into our Orchid Show excitement with back-to-back Orchid Evenings, running both tonight (April 5) and Saturday, April 6. That’s twice as many opportunities to see thousands upon thousands of mystifying blooms under the glass of a Conservatory dressed to the nines with ambiance. And if the flowers, mood lighting, and chill grooves don’t set the tone for the perfect night out, I have no doubt the cocktails will drive it all home.

While the April 6 Orchid Evening is completely sold out for incoming visitors, those with tickets in hand will be happy to know that Jack from Brooklyn is kitting us out with one of the most deliciously unique cocktails in the five boroughs, using their very own Sorel–a hibiscus liqueur–to stage the many flavors. But if you don’t yet have a ticket, there’s no call for tears–our first of several new additions to the Orchid Evening schedule launches tonight. Our bartender will be slinging “Vanilla Gales” for the first-of-the-weekend crowd, an orchid-inspired take on the Dark & Stormy that kicks this sparkling rum drink up into the stratosphere.

Tickets are still available for tonight–April 5–if you’d like to join us for cocktails. But register quickly, as they’re moving just as fast! Check out our ticket page for available dates, both tonight and in the future.

For the daylight crowd, there’s just as much to see or do. The Orchid Show is in full swing throughout Saturday and Sunday, while the first of spring’s growth is coming out of hibernation across our 250 acres! Keep your eye out for the snowdrops, crocuses, hellebores and daffodils first on the scene to this sleepy change of season. And if you’re anywhere near the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden while you’re exploring, our staff will be diving headlong into the sowing of spring–they might even need a little help from passersby.

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Hepatica: A Pretty Plant Deserving of a Prettier Name

Posted in Around the Garden on April 5 2013, by Carol Gracie

After spending nearly three decades at NYBG, and working much of that time in South American rainforests with her husband, Scott A. Mori, Carol Gracie has returned to one of her first botanical interests in retirement–local wildflowers. She is the author of Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History and coauthor (with Steve Clemants) of Wildflowers in the Field and Forest: A Field Guide to the Northeastern United States.

Anemone americana
Dense hairs serve to protect the delicate flower from cold temperatures and drying winds.

Hepatica is the first “true” wildflower (that is, other than the rather unusual-flowered skunk cabbage) to bloom in the tri-state region. Its lovely flowers are a cheerful indicator that spring has really begun, but they can be surprisingly difficult to spot among the dull brown leaf litter. The flowers range in shades of pink, lavender, purple, and white, but they are small and low growing—plus they only open on sunny days. This strategy serves to conserve the flower’s pollen for days when its pollinators (usually small native bees) are likely to be flying.

It may be easier to find the distinctive leaves of hepatica; they are three-lobed, leathery, and often a deep burgundy color at this time of year. Hepatica retains its leaves for a full year, allowing the plant to photosynthesize on mild winter days and thus get a jump-start on the season. The appearance of the leaves is what has given this plant its somewhat unattractive common names, hepatica and liverleaf, both references to the imagined similarity of the leaves to a human liver. This fancied resemblance almost led to the plant’s demise during the 19th century.

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This Weekend: Rock Around the Garden

Posted in Around the Garden, Programs and Events on March 29 2013, by Matt Newman

The NYBG WeekendIt was a little touch and go on the seasonal front over the last couple of weeks, but, with some nudging, spring seems to have settled on sticking with us! And though the hints of its arrival are subtle–crocuses, snowdrops, a few plum blossoms coloring the trees–temperatures in the mid-fifties don’t exactly scream “winter!” anymore, do they?

Because some of you are heading into a three-day Easter weekend, we figure it makes sense to skip the usual Monday downtime and open our doors to everyone. So if you happen to be in the city on April 1, pay us a visit! We’ll be running all of our usual Orchid Show events and activities throughout the day, and with the NYBG only twenty minutes away from Grand Central by the Metro North, there’s no excuse to veg’ out on the couch.

For the night owls among you, it’s also worth mentioning that our latest Orchid Evening kicks off this Saturday–and tickets are still available! But if you plan on joining us for an evening of cocktails and ambiance, I suggest registering quickly, as these spots rarely last long. Recent events have seen hundreds of nighttime visitors pass through our Conservatory doors, with more than a few romantic surprises between them. Check out our most recent video under the glasshouse roof!

Last but not least, I’ve got another piece of exciting news up my sleeve: the Rock Garden reopens this Saturday! It’s no easy thing to go through the whole of winter without access to this most zen of landscapes, but the reopening of the Rock Garden each March is made that much better with the return of warmer weather. When you stop by the ticket booth, see about getting an All-Garden Pass for an opportunity to see what is–without fail–my favorite space in our 250 acres.

Even if you’re not looking at a long weekend, the start of spring (finally) is cause for some fanfare–and where better to ring in the warmth? See the full schedule of events below.

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