Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on October 20 2012, by Matt Newman
This one’s much further along than it was on Thursday! Stop by the Garden today to see Ray Villafane and his crew of fellow carvers turning squash into screams for this year’s Haunted Pumpkin Garden. We’ll be at it all weekend, so don’t miss out!
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on October 19 2012, by Matt Newman
Nope, it’s not a scene from the as-yet-unreleased Little Shop of Horrors 2. Ray Villafane and his team have been working since Thursday to prep these monstrous pumpkins for this weekend’s Great Pumpkin event, and today they’ll be at Grand Central Terminal for the kick-off. If you happen to be around midtown this morning or afternoon, feel free to stop by and see Ray whipping up the stuff of nightmares from nothing more than….well, a few thousand pounds of pumpkin. And remember: the big event goes off this weekend here at the NYBG!
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on October 18 2012, by Matt Newman
So I took the plunge. I buckled down, clambered over my fear of commitment, and dove headfirst into a relationship that’s been a long time coming. My barren desktop was beginning to look a bit suspicious to my colleagues here in the Plant Talk office, so without further ado, I introduce you to the newest addition to our window sill and my first desk plant: the as-yet-unnamed Mahogany fern.
You’re not misreading that; I’ve been here at the NYBG for a sliver under a year, and it’s only now that I’m making the choice to green up my desk. But before you jump to judgment, finger waggles, and well-deserved “tsk tsks,” my procrastination was out of respect for the plant’s well-being. All plants’ well-being, really. I may work at a botanical garden, and I may know my way around a watering can when push comes to shove, but I’ve still got a black thumb to make industrial weed killer blush.
I made my “adoption” a little over a week ago. Ann and I shuffled out to the Shop in the Garden under a nagging drizzle to peruse the shelves, and the suggestion came up that I stop waffling and do something to make my desk look a little less like an Alcatraz broom closet. I couldn’t really disagree on that point; I subscribe to the idea of living light, and spartan decor is part and parcel to that mindset, but my workspace is an eyesore of austerity. So I hit the potted plant displays with the hope of finding something that could tough it out in the office and still muster enough hardiness to forgive my misguided efforts.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on October 18 2012, by Matt Newman
Color spotted! We’re seeing trees turn in gradients lately. How is fall getting along in your neck of the woods?
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on October 17 2012, by Matt Newman
The Garden’s been good for fungus, lately. This shot comes from one of our Adult Education courses in the last couple of weeks, and now is as good a time as any to point out that we have another two-parter beginning this Thursday, October 18. The Medicinal Mushroom Workshop zeroes in on the use of mushrooms for health purposes throughout history and into contemporary medicine, so if you’re looking to find more information or snag a spot in the class, head this way.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on October 16 2012, by Matt Newman
Hi from the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections! Just wanted to check in on the tropicalia going on behind the glass. We’ll be having more from Nolen as we get into this year’s Kiku displays, which will be viewable there between November 3 and 18, so keep an eye out as we hustle toward the fall exhibitions.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on October 15 2012, by Matt Newman
The neat thing about the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden is that it has no concept of Mondays; no dread of the week to come, or need for three cups of coffee just to clear its inbox. It plugs along, 24/7, looking like a technicolor mosaic until its season is up.
Shrub rose ‘Audubon’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on October 14 2012, by Matt Newman
You’ll catch little flags of transition here and there. It’s not long now until this path puts up eye candy on an entirely different level.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on October 13 2012, by Matt Newman
An early, early, early good morning to our west coast friends. Happy Saturday, everybody.
California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on October 12 2012, by Matt Newman
So how many of you are indulging in the pre-weekend chill like we are? If you’re eying that rack of scarves in your closet with hopeful impatience, I’d say you’re right there with us. And fortunately (for those of us with wool and fleece ensembles on the brain), these brisk October afternoons look to continue through Saturday and Sunday as we dig into The Haunted Pumpkin Garden and everything that rolls along with it. Hint, hint! You’ll want to yank your fall coat off the hanger and walk, drive, or train your way up to the NYBG, with a few easy-going activities to take in on the side, of course.
For the grown-ups, we’re still keeping perfect time with our Saturday Bird Walks, and Debbie Becker is as keen-eyed as she’s ever been. The Red-tailed Hawks have been making a show of things from time to time, but not without showy competition from a certain heron who’s been munching his way through the Rock Garden pond. Whether local or migrant, the bird populations are in full preparation for the winter switch. We’ll also be joining Sonia Uyterhoeven for another weekend gardening demonstration, this time turning our eye on pollinator plants. If livening up your home garden with Snow White-worthy levels of birds, bees, and butterflies is your game, Sonia’s got the know-how to make it happen.