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Plant Talk

Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Around the Garden

The Garden Rocks!

Posted in Around the Garden, Programs and Events on April 26 2012, by Matt Newman

After months of preparation, we’re not only proud, but ecstatic to announce our participation in the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Partners in Preservation competition! Beginning today, the NYBG launches its campaign alongside 40 fellow historical places of New York in a race to win the vote.

We like to think of The New York Botanical Garden as more than a cultural institution. It’s a community–of horticulturists, of members, of contributors and fans. It’s thanks to the continued generosity of people like these (and you!) that our gates remain open today, over a century after these 250 acres were unveiled as one of the finest botanical gardens in the world. And if the thrumming excitement winging its way around the office today suggests anything, it’s that we aim to keep that title.

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Garden Art and Ornaments

Posted in Around the Garden, Programs and Events on April 24 2012, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

This year is the 20th Anniversary of our Antique Garden Furniture Show. In honor of its celebration, I will review some of the basics for maintaining antique garden ornaments, but my best suggestion is that you stop by the show from April 26 through 28 and talk to the experts. We will have over 30 antique dealers who specialize in garden ornaments, catering to a wide range of tastes and budgets.

In anticipation of the show, I have been perusing the library’s collection of books, finding inspiration not only in the traditional tomes filled with marble nymphs and cast iron urns, but from modern design books that suggest repurposing local material.

I have started to construct my dream garden piece by piece. One item that is at the top of my wish list is a 19th century terra cotta oil jar from Italy. It was traditionally used to hold vats of olive oil, but in its modern rendition would make a wonderful focal point in an herbaceous border.

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Earth Day Resolution: Explore Your ‘Greener’ Side

Posted in Adult Education, Around the Garden, Learning Experiences on April 21 2012, by Joyce Newman

It’s easy to help the planet and explore your greener side with the NYBG‘s programs. There are loads of Saturday and one-day programs offered at the Midtown Education Center in Manhattan and there’s even outdoor Yoga and Tai Chi offered at the Garden in the Bronx.

Browsing the new Spring-Summer Catalog, you can find one-day and half-day Saturday programs on everything from Beekeeping Basics and Vegetable Gardening, to new Earth-Kind® Roses and terrific Urban Tree Pits. You can discover the healing power of plants or the best choices for a city container garden. Plus, there are a wide range of new cooking classes for romantics to consider, among them, The Art of Cooking in the French Garden–For Couples.

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Morning Eye Candy: That Perfume

Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on April 21 2012, by Matt Newman

I had trekked over to the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden a few days ago to get a closer look at the tree peonies, passing by the lilacs on the way back. The aroma–it was like walking face-first into a pole, it was so sudden and powerful. Everyone gathered near the flowers was nodding and smiling contentedly, though whether in unspoken acknowledgement of one another, or in quiet appreciation of the perfume, I couldn’t say.

Syringa vulgaris ‘President Lincoln’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen