Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Around the Garden on March 29 2012, by Matt Newman
The cold snap of the past few days may be pitching everyone into sighs and confusion, but the Garden‘s caretakers aren’t wasting any time waiting for the summer sun to seize the reins. It takes an ambitious cherry picker and a steady-handed crew to give the Conservatory its yearly whitewashing.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on March 28 2012, by Matt Newman
I was walking into work on Monday morning when I caught sight of the small green clouds perking up Tulip Tree Allée. There was a moment of cognitive dissonance–I was sure the branches had been barren when I left on Friday night.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Behind the Scenes, Learning Experiences on March 27 2012, by Amy Weiss
Amy Weiss works in The New York Botanical Garden’s Herbarium, cataloging and preserving plant specimens from around the world.
Part of my job in the Herbarium of the NYBG is processing plant collections researchers have stored over the years. In general, we only mount plants that have been identified to species. That process can be quick if there is currently a specialist–we send the person a duplicate of a plant collection, and they send us the plant’s name once it has been identified. However, identifying plants to specific species can take much longer if there is no one currently specializing in a certain family or genus.
Herbaria are important because they are the depositories of such historical collections, and with our care they will still be around when a specialist is available. Once identified, we mount the plant specimen for New York, and distribute any duplicates to other herbaria around the world. The collections gathered by NYBG scientists that are still waiting for identification reside in our cold room in the meantime, where they will occasionally remain for decades before the right specialist becomes available.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on March 27 2012, by Matt Newman
Korean rhododendron (Rhododendron mucronulatum) — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Gardening Tips on March 26 2012, by Matt Newman
Meteorology is something of an inexact science. Some days, forecasting the weather seems a little closer in discipline to fortune telling. And after all of the comforting reassurance (we were so set on it!) that the cold was behind us and nothing but picturesque spring days lay ahead, the hard freeze set to plow through New York tonight has shoulders slumping in gardens across the region. But, while it’s tempting, skip leading a pitchfork mob to your weatherman’s house. Shooting the messenger never solved any problems, especially when nature is such a fickle character.
The inbound chill may be grim news for many of the early blooms that sprung out of dormancy at the first sign of warm weather. But which petals will pull through, and which are facing the axe? We asked Kristin Schleiter, our acting Director of Outdoor Gardens, to chime in with her take on the situation. Depending on what you’re keeping in your home garden, you may be in the clear.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography, The Orchid Show on March 26 2012, by Matt Newman
The Orchid Show means thousands upon thousands of orchids, curling and spiraling their way across nine separate vertical walls of exotic foliage. It’s a family reunion of sorts in the Conservatory.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on March 25 2012, by Matt Newman
A sliver of trivia: this flowering cherry hybrid was developed at the U.S. National Arboretum in D.C. by the prolific Dr. Donald Egolf, back in 1982. However, it wasn’t until 2003 that ‘First Lady’ made its way onto the horticulture scene at large. It boasts the abundant flowers and hardiness of the mother plant, ‘Okame,’ with the coloration of its father, the Taiwan flowering cherry (P. campanulata).
I suppose it also technically shares its birthday with Tron, Bladerunner, and Conan the Barbarian. It’s not like I was going to give you a dossier without a few oddball connections tacked on.
Prunus ‘First Lady’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on March 24 2012, by Matt Newman
Prunus pendula var. ascendens — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, The Orchid Show on March 23 2012, by Matt Newman
If the flowering magnolias and budding bottlebrushes around the Garden are any evidence, New York really has shifted gears to full-on spring pleasantry. You know it was satisfying to leave your coat on the hook before work all this week! And with the Orchid Show now settled into its groove and flourishing with its thousands of exotic flowers, this is the time to head up to the Bronx and see what everyone is swooning over. You finally get to start off without the screech of an alarm clock, ditch the briefcase, and leave your uncomfortable shoes near the front door for a couple of days–make the most of it!
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on March 23 2012, by Matt Newman
Magnolias in spring–I’ll keep posting them so long as they’re this appealing. This shot of airy pink saucers under a sky of curly clouds is further giving me amnesia (what winter?)
Magnolia x soulangeana — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen