I took an aimless jaunt around the Garden yesterday to see what the birds were singing about. Of course, I rarely have a goal when I set out, and this was no different. I checked to see whether the trees had given up all of their fall color (they haven’t), and if the NYBG‘s wild turkeys were still tottering around without care for man, beast, or passing Garden tram (they are). In the Forest, breezy reds and yellows still clung to many of the trees, and there was that pervasive, comforting sense of autumn isolation to wrap yourself up in. But what’s going on by the Visitor Center can only be called a holiday hubbub.
I saw winter-bare trees wrapped in strings of lights, wreathed benches, and a conifer display primped and preened, anxious for someone to come along and flip the switch on its own light show. And further down the path, just outside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, I picked up on the telling twinkle of the season’s defining event: the Holiday Train Show! Horticulturists, model makers, and toy train aficionados have kept their noses to the grindstone for weeks, making sure that each elevated track and glowing window is left perfect for the thousands of New York fans ready to pour through those Conservatory doors. And because there are new models to be seen this year, the challenge was that much greater. But, as always, it’s worth the work they put into it to see so many grins.
I spent about an hour wandering yesterday, half of that in the Forest and the collections surrounding. It’s impressive–how insulated and peaceful the place is when you have a late afternoon to while away there.
Can you blame me for the flood of kiku imagery hitting Plant Talk lately? Well, you could, but I’m willing to bet that you understand my motivations on sight alone.
Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG’s Gardener for Public Education.
After a week of election post-mortems, the NYBG is now ready to follow suit with the results from our ‘choose your favorite mum’ poll. For those of you not already in the know, I posted a blog on October 26 entitled ‘Mum Madness.’ In it, I explained our breeding program for Korean mums at the Garden.
To make things easy for newcomers, here is the encapsulated version: every year we collect seed from our Korean mum collection and grow them on through the next year to see if we have any new varieties. We look for certain traits–compact growers, flowering time, flower forms, and color. When we find one we like, we keep it to propagate via cuttings.
This year we asked the public to join us in the selection process. We went out to the Korean mum Trial Bed in the Home Gardening Center and chose six mums that differed from our current collection and had great appeal, photographing and displaying them in the October 26 blog. They were also labeled in the garden and, through signage, visitors were asked to vote for their favorite selection by texting in their answers.
Worldwide exposure, thousands of dollars in prize money, and the chance to see your work displayed alongside that of the globe’s most talented nature photographers–the International Garden Photographer of the Year competition offers a seriously tempting package. But what it doesn’t offer is an infinite submission window! The November 30 deadline is nearly at our doorstep, and as the official U.S. IGPOTY partner, we’re not playing coy about pushing our talented fans and visitors to get their work out in the open.
With a little under three weeks until the contest shutters for 2012, I can’t emphasize enough what an opportunity this is for those who patron The New York Botanical Garden. For professional photographers, IGPOTY is the next step in bolstering your name among garden photography circles; for amateurs, it’s a chance to prove your mettle with the big players. Whichever the case, a win during IGPOTY boils down to a shot in the arm for your photography career (and your bank account).
Seems we haven’t visited the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory in a while. While horticulturists prep for our next exhibition, the orchids nod off under the warmth of the glasshouse.
Phragmipedium ‘Inti’s Tears’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Temperatures are inching up! The sun is bright, and the NYBG doesn’t look quite so much like a scene pulled from a Bing Crosby movie. Still, there’s enough in the way of pristine snow to remind us of our flirt with winter. The frosty juxtaposition with the very last of the fall leaves, all of it laced over still-green grass, creates a beautiful mosaic of the seasons. And if you’re joining us for the end of 2012’s Fall Forest Weekends, you’ll get to see the scene for yourself, so why am I waxing poetic?
Our schedule through Saturday and Sunday is dedicated to celebrating our 50-acre Forest, the last, old growth remnant of the woodlands that once covered what is now New York City. We not only have educational opportunities and detailed tours in the works, but a docket loaded down with hands-on adventures such as tree-climbing adventures and bird watching. We’re also proud to host the Bronx River Alliance‘s canoe trips along the Garden’s own stretch of clear, cool water; it’s a rare opportunity to look out on this borough from nature’s perspective. You simply can’t understand how important green spaces are to the Bronx until you’ve seen it with a paddle in your hand, passing under a panorama of treetops.
I took an aimless jaunt around the Garden yesterday to see what the birds were singing about. Of course, I rarely have a goal when I set out, and this was no different. I checked to see whether the trees had given up all of their fall color (they haven’t), and if the NYBG‘s wild turkeys were still tottering around without care for man, beast, or passing Garden tram (they are). In the Forest, breezy reds and yellows still clung to many of the trees, and there was that pervasive, comforting sense of autumn isolation to wrap yourself up in. But what’s going on by the Visitor Center can only be called a holiday hubbub.
