Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Around the Garden
Posted in Around the Garden on January 23 2013, by Ann Rafalko
Forget the Valentine’s Day bouquet, give her (or him) a rainforest full of flowers instead! Thanks to our partners at MasterCard® this year we are offering two exclusive events that are the perfect Valentine’s Day treat.
Valentine’s Date Tour at the Garden
Currently Sold Out. For Wait List, call 718.817.8716 – Tour of Tropical Paradise with Chocolate and Champagne on February 10
Experience an inspired and romantic departure from the average date as we transform the historic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory into New York City’s most romantic Valentine’s Day date destination. The evening begins with chocolates and champagne at Shop in the Garden. After experiencing these delicious plant-based treats head over to the Conservatory for a tour through the sultry warmth of Tropical Paradise. The tour will have a special focus on plants that are well-known for their love-inducing qualities, including delicious chocolate! Buy your tickets. Currently Sold Out. For Wait List, call 718.817.8716
Schedule of Events:
– 4:00-4:30 p.m. Champagne and chocolate in Shop in the Garden
– 4:30-5:30 p.m. Tour of Tropical Paradise
– 5:30-6:00 p.m. Free time to explore the Haupt Conservatory
The Botany of Indulgence Classes at NYBG
Chocolate, Beer, and Herbal Aphrodisiac Series on February 9
If you and your sweetie are more into the science behind the romance, then our Botany of Indulgence classes are for you! Delve into the world of plant-based aphrodisiacs with this three-part class at our Midtown Center. Explore how chocolate, beer, and herbal aphrodisiacs have been used through the centuries to influence human behavior. Begin the day by concocting your own “love potion,” then explore the science and art of fermentation. In the afternoon sample several varieties of chocolate and study the neurobiological effect of theobrome, the ingredient in cacao that can simulate the feeling of “being in love.” Class participants will leave with a goodie bag filled with treats including two All-Garden Passes you can use to visit the Garden and drop some serious science about the biology of love on your companions! Buy your tickets.
Class Schedule:
– 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Herbal Aphrodisiacs
– 12-12:45 p.m. Lunch break
– 12:45-2:45 p.m. Home-brewing
– 3-5 p.m. The Temptation of Chocolate
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 23 2013, by Matt Newman
You know, “witch-hazel” as a common name really belies the true nature of Hamamelis–that being party streamers and good cheer. Seek out these lovelies in the Ross Conifer Arboretum.
Hamamelis vernalis — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 22 2013, by Matt Newman
Photos by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 21 2013, by Matt Newman
Prunus ‘Dream Catcher’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 20 2013, by Matt Newman
Tropical Paradise is up and running in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory! And the blueberries–neotropical blueberries, sure, but still relatives!–are cast in stunning colors. Keep an eye out for them, but as always, please look–don’t touch. (As it turns out, not everything that sounds like food really is.)
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 19 2013, by Matt Newman
They’re back! Maybe a little early, but we can never find a reason to complain about snowdrops. Look for them in the Perennial Garden and elsewhere on your walks around the NYBG–they’ll be the cutest blooms around, if you ask Ann.
Galanthus elwesii — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on January 18 2013, by Matt Newman
It’s the first long weekend of the new year, and we’re not about to kick off 2013 on a lazy note. Just look at our schedule! Over the next three days, we’ll not only be packing in the holiday fun with the help of Thomas and Friends™, but welcoming an early summer in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory through Tropical Paradise, our homage to all things chill (in the kick-back-and-breathe sense, naturally). If you’ve got a camera handy, this is not something you’ll want to miss. So join us as we keep the season’s festivities afloat while shrugging off the winter cold!
Through January 27, Thomas and his buddies continue to spark young imaginations in the Ross Hall with an interactive, problem-solving singalong that will not only put smiles on your kids’ faces, but have them playing right along with the cast as they guide Thomas to his destination. The fun only continues after the show, with our Thomas-themed “Playstation” activities running throughout the weekend in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. There, you’ll find toys, tracks, and trains to keep the little ones occupied while you catch your breath. Just remember that tickets are extremely limited, so it’s best to register as early as possible.
And while you’re here, don’t forget to sign up for our Cancun vacation sweepstakes, courtesy of Thomas and the Hard Rock Cafe!
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Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 18 2013, by Matt Newman
When Bird Walk leader Debbie Becker makes the claim that winter is the best season for bird-watching, there’s no equivocation. Wayne Cahilly, our institutional mapping specialist, knows this. While hoping to capture the dawn sun filtering through the dome of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, he found this Red-tailed Hawk waiting patiently for breakfast to scurry past. The resulting photographs are worth sharing.
Photos by Wayne Cahilly
Posted in Around the Garden, Science on January 17 2013, by Matt Newman
Winter is … well, a weird time of year. We tromp around in oversized boots, brandishing umbrellas that hardly seem useful. The trees all stand–if a touch awkwardly–in stark and naked relief, while phases of matter bounce at whim between liquid and solid. As a gardener, it’s hard to be optimistic. Sure, there’s the arrival of seed catalogs to look forward to, and bulbs to be forced indoors, but repeated trips to the backyard to peek at the soil rarely prove fruitful … most of the time.
Patience, an early rising, and a northerly location can prove that there’s beauty to be found in nature’s colder months, assuming you know where to look, because when the conditions are just right, at the edge of sunrise, frost flowers glitter.
I’m not referring to snowdrops, elegant as they are in late winter and early spring. “Frost flower” is more of a literal term. And when you see the leaves, vines, and gossamer threads formed through this unique interaction between plant and atmosphere, you’ll rightly understand how they came to earn this nickname.
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Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 17 2013, by Matt Newman
Whether it grabs you as reminiscent of a whispy starfish or a snarl of streamers, this wine-hued curiosity is worth a second look. You won’t catch Herrania balaensis growing beyond the borders of Ecuador, and even there it’s a rarity.
Herrania balaensis var. pouess — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
