We geek out pretty regularly over the photos snapped in the Home Gardening Center, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve overheard visitors asking “What’s that?” as they pass by this humble (or not-so-humble, depending on what’s in bloom) corner of the NYBG. For those not in the know, this is where we show off our practical chops–where the home horticulturist can come for some back yard inspiration.
Not only does the HGC house the Pauline Gillespie Gossett Plant Trials Garden and a composting demonstration area, but it’s also where we host our weekend gardening demonstrations. So if you’re here on a Saturday or Sunday, get a glance at the schedule before you hoof it into the Garden. “Free” and “super helpful” are usually the best ways to describe our learning sessions, meaning they’re worth making time for.
Not all home gardens are focused on the artful arrangement of their perennial plantings, or the ways in which the borders complement the patio furniture. Instead, it’s sometimes best to let form follow function. And I’m not just talking about the Gordian knot of cucumber vines in your vegetable garden! Of all the green conceits you can put to work in your yard, one of the most casual and native gardens you can grow is the one that will draw the greatest attention from your neighbors–though admittedly neighbors of a feathered variety.
Attracting hummingbirds to your plot is more than a game of luck; now and then you need to be proactive. And when it comes to inviting wildlife to your garden, it can’t hurt to start with a proven lure.
There’s a fireworks show taking place in the NYBG‘s Azalea Garden this month, thanks to a single native plant known as Lobelia cardinalis, or the “cardinal flower.” This colorful perennial is native and common throughout much of North America, springing up in wetlands from Texas east to Florida, and north to New Brunswick in Canada. So if you live on the east coast, you’ve already checked off one important box on the list of the lobelia’s growing requirements. Easy, right? In the northeast in particular, having a collection of lobelias in your burgeoning hummingbird garden is a sure step to attracting the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)–the only North American hummingbird to nest east of the Mississippi.
Don’t fold up your handkerchief just yet! You’re going to need something to keep your hands dry this Wednesday, because August may still be National Peach Month, but the fuzzy fruit’s friends–the juiciest plums and pears–are sliding right into their summer harvests. That means Bartletts, Seckels, and more Italian plums than you can stuff in your reusable bag, all waiting to make the trip from this week’s Greenmarket stalls to your own personal dining room still life. You do have a fruit bowl at home, right?
Whether it’s that first, tangy-sweet bite of a plum you’re craving, or an afternoon spent snacking on pear slices in the last of the hammock weather, you’ll find ripe fruits, vegetables, baked goods and more stacked high for Wednesday’s NYBG Greenmarket. It runs 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and as always, one-hour parking at the Mosholu Gate entrance and Garden grounds admission are completely free. As with many of the greenmarkets around NYC, attending growers also accept EBT, WIC, FNMP and NYC Health Bucks.
Don’t think of these weekly reminders as my concentrated effort to tease your appetite, but as a motivation to eat healthier and arrange your food in more colorful combinations. The Greenmarket is, as always, this Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
It’s been sort of a green-filtered past few days on Morning Eye Candy. I suppose I’m trying to heap as much appreciation as possible on the themes of summer before the trees transition for autumn. That and this picture from Ivo makes me want to swim, Scrooge McDuck style, through the Forest.
So I was sitting out here the other day, guessing at the rainclouds and mulling the notion that I should be up on my feet, exploring the Rock Garden and snapping pictures for others’ benefit. But I didn’t get up. It’s not because I was lazy–rather, I didn’t want to ruin a rare moment of serenity.
Despite what the average travel agent will write on your final quote, you don’t actually have to max out your credit cards to enjoy a taste of the global landscape. Instead, you could just spend some time driving through the Bronx. Block to block, you’ll pass through communities sampled from a half-dozen continents, enclaves built on traditions of culture and cuisine. Korean, Irish, Chinese, Italian, Caribbean–they’re all represented in the people of our borough. And they’re all here, too, growing in the NYBG‘s Global Gardens!
This weekend, the Garden celebrates the bounty of our efforts with the Summer Harvest Festival, joining our knowledgeable Global Gardeners for a romp around the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden. Bring your kids along for garden games, crafts, or a taste of what’s ripening in our many diverse plots. And for the parents (or especially precocious young chefs) there will be cooking demonstrations taking place at 2 and 4 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.