Morning Eye Candy: Catching Raindrops
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on May 10 2012, by Matt Newman
Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii ‘Shorty’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Around the Garden
Delphinium: Vivid Blues
Posted in Around the Garden, Exhibitions on May 9 2012, by Matt Newman
Claude Monet may have defined his career as a painter with the iconic irises and water lilies that sprung from his palette, but his garden at Giverny offered a menagerie of color and shape that reached far beyond his most common canvas subjects. And it does to this day: over a century later, a crack staff of gardeners still tends the dazzling variety of plants that makes up the Impressionist’s living legacy. This includes a collection of vibrant indigo flowers well-known to home gardeners, cattle ranchers, and one of the 20th century’s greatest creatives.
As May makes its case for cheerful spring weather, a prime example of the Impressionist’s varied tastes blooms at the NYBG‘s Nolen Glasshouses, awaiting the opening of Monet’s Garden. And if ever an eponymous color did its namesake proud, it would be that of “delphinium blue.” There are other hues in the plant’s repertoire, of course–lavender, white, red–but each understated alternate might seem almost banal in comparison.
Morning Eye Candy: Hornbeam, Sculpted
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on May 9 2012, by Matt Newman
Remnants of last week’s constant, soaking downpour. It’s so seldom we appreciate the sculpting of a tree trunk under the marquee of leaves and flowers.
Carpinus betulus ‘Fastigiata’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
What’s Abuzz in the Family Garden?
Posted in Around the Garden on May 8 2012, by Ann Novak
Ed. Note: The beekeeping craze that’s sweeping New York City isn’t just for rooftops in Brooklyn! Annie Novak, Assistant Manager of the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, was kind enough to explain her most recent adventure giving bees a home at the NYBG.
We installed the beehives on top of our garden shed space, so the bees have a clear flight path over the Garden site. As the hives’ populations grow, so do our vegetables. Thanks to the bees, we have higher rates of fruiting on our apple trees and pepper plants.
The bees spend the first part of the spring season building up wax combs to lay eggs in, as well as store honey later in the year. As the Family Garden grows, and the cherries and lilacs just outside the Family Garden bloom, we start to see our bees venture further afield. They’ll fly up to five miles from the hive to gather nectar and pollen, but with a campus as lush as the New York Botanical Garden, they don’t have to go that far to get food.
Morning Eye Candy: Sleep, Sleep
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on May 8 2012, by Matt Newman
A field like this not even the Wicked Witch has seen before. Look for the poppies to pop up in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory during Monet’s Garden. In the meantime, you can see these high-contrast beauties in the Rock Garden. Don’t forget to vote today in support of restoring it to its original beauty!
Papaver commutatum ‘Ladybird’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Morning Eye Candy: Marigold Monday
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on May 7 2012, by Matt Newman
It’s Monday. We commiserate. But no threat of the work week’s impending doom and gloom will make the marigolds any less bright.
Calendula officinalis ‘Radio’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Morning Eye Candy: Suspicious Mallard
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography, Wildlife on May 6 2012, by Matt Newman
The disapproving waterfowl of the NYBG, ever ready and willing to shame you into putting down that camera.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Morning Eye Candy: Around the Bend
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on May 5 2012, by Matt Newman
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
This Weekend: The Spring Gardening Open House!
Posted in Around the Garden, Programs and Events on May 4 2012, by Matt Newman
We’re entering the weekend of our Spring Gardening Open House, leading a seasonal tour de force through the explosive color of the Azalea Garden, the awakening Rose Garden, and of course, the Rock Garden! It’s a perfect cocktail of the mesmerizing and the serene (though the afternoon wine tastings can’t hurt, either). And more than an opportunity to revel in the spring landscape, it’s a chance to brush up on your gardening techniques.
Meet with expert Garden Tour Guides for a tour through our iconic landscapes, then stop in with our talented gardeners for casual demonstrations on the care of azaleas and Alpine plants. The Rock Garden in particular is the home of New York’s most revered Alpine collection, as well as an integral piece of Nature’s Showplace, so make a point of spending some time there. If anything, it will help you to experience the very thing we’re trying to restore!
Summer Camp for Grown-ups: Have Some Fun
Posted in Adult Education, Around the Garden, Learning Experiences, Programs and Events on May 4 2012, by Joyce Newman
Suppose you really can’t draw, but always wished you could…especially when it comes to drawing those gorgeous blooms in your backyard. Well now’s your chance to make your wish come true: Botanical Drawing I is just one of the new summer intensive classes offered by NYBG starting in July. Think of it as a summer camp experience designed for grown-ups.
With the botanical drawing class, in just one week you’ll learn specific techniques for drawing accurately, including professional standards of form, measuring, foreshortening, and perspective. The classes are offered in July (9 through 13) or August (6 through 10), at NYBG and the Midtown Manhattan Center, respectively.