Amanda Gordon writes about the New York City social scene.
The New York Botanical Garden is not only skilled at cultivating orchids, it also knows how to keep its annual Orchid Dinner fundraiser blooming.
“In this difficult time, we’ve raised almost $600,000,” announced gala chair and Botanical Garden board member Mary Davidson at the February 24 event at the Rainbow Room in Manhattan.
The steadiness of support is owed to the loyalty the Botanical Garden inspires. “The finest in the USA, The New York Botanical Garden deserves support in the best of times and the worst of times and at all times,” Fernanda Kellogg, president of The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, said. Orchids are of particular interest to the Foundation because in 1900 Tiffany & Co. won its first international award at the World Exposition in Paris with a collection of jeweled orchids.
Guests also enjoy buying tickets to this event because it offers such a beautiful spectacle of orchids, as featured in 28 centerpieces—one for each dinner table—created by top designers at the invitation of Veranda magazine editor-at-large and design maven Carolyn Englefield.
“My favorite part of the evening is walking into the dining room for the first time and seeing the incredibly creative centerpieces. They are amazing!” said gala chair Gillian Miniter, who in keeping with the theme wore an Angel Sanchez gold cocktail dress with flowers on the torso.
Gala chair Deborah Royce formally thanked the designers at the podium for their extraordinary effort. Among their feats: Alan Tanksley designed a cornucopia of purple orchids in a handcrafted black-and-white vase. Elise Cullman and Lee Cavanaugh wrapped orange orchids around a gold wireframe. Barclay Butera used white orchids and driftwood to transport guests to a beach setting, complete with sand dollars at each place setting. Darren Henault placed a disco-sized ball of white orchids atop a Chinese vase and made it glow by placing battery-operated lights inside.
Guests also had the opportunity to purchase orchids to take home. Many noted that the orchids were of the highest quality. In fact, they were hand-picked by The New York Botanical Garden’s Manager of the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections and Curator of The Orchid Show, Marc Hachadourian, who was on hand to answer questions about their care.
The dinner was a brief break from his busy schedule working on the Garden’s 7th annual Orchid Show, which opened on Saturday. A dramatic mosaic by the late Brazilian landscape architect and artist Roberto Burle Marx takes center stage in the Palms of the Americas Gallery in the landmark Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.
“It will be like nothing you’ve ever seen,” the president of the Garden, Gregory Long, told guests at the dinner, describing the design for the show by landscape architect Raymond Jungles as “architectonic.”
As for tending orchids at home, that’s another story. Fernanda Kellogg leaves the orchid care to her husband. “Kirk has the orchid green thumb,” she said. “He lived in Florida and learned to grow and nurture these quirky plants, so we always have orchid plants blooming at home. The orchids are off-limits to the housekeeper and the same goes for me!”
“I have tried to resuscitate orchids many times,” said Jane Pauley, the former Today Show co-anchor, as she walked across the dance floor in the Rainbow Room with Alan Tanksley. She got better results with less effort. “After sheer neglect, one plant gave us six more flowers,” she said.
Elise Cullman said orchid care is worth learning, especially in a recession. “Orchids are good value; they last much longer than fresh-cut flowers,” she explained. And she shared an orchid tip from a friend, author Patrizia Chen: “She sings to her orchids.”
Nick Leshi is Associate Director of Public Relations and Electronic Media.
Orchid lovers, rejoice! The Orchid Show: Brazilian Modern opens this weekend and runs through April 12. Visitors will have the chance to escape the winter blues and enjoy the thousands of orchids on display at The New York Botanical Garden.
The orchid is the world’s largest family of flowering plants with more than 30,000 naturally occurring species and tens of thousands of artificially created hybrids. Which is your favorite? Let us know by clicking on the Orchid Poll at right. Do you love the amazing shapes of the Oncidium or Paphiopedilum? Are you captivated by the stunning colors of Vanda orchids? Are you a Cymbidium or Phalaenopsis fan? Or does another species or hybrid capture your fancy? Vote now and let us know.
Brilliantly colored orchids and the lush tropical setting of a contemporary Brazilian garden await you at The Orchid Show, now in its seventh year. Miami-based landscape architect Raymond Jungles has created this contemporary Brazilian garden design, inspired by his mentor, the renowned Roberto Burle Marx. The design features fountains, pools, and colorful mosaics combined with graceful palms, delicate orchids, bromeliads, and other native plants of Brazil. The orchids have been selected by Marc Hachadourian, Manager of the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections at the Botanical Garden and Curator of The Orchid Show, and are featured throughout the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.
Everything You Need to Care for Orchids Is in Cupboard
Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education at The New York Botanical Garden.
The best way to avoid or eliminate pest and disease problems when growing orchids in your home is to follow good cultural practices. Correct watering routines, consistent fertilizing, a good growing medium, proper light requirements, and adequate humidity levels are all essential to getting your exotic friends to thrive.
Sometimes, all that we do to take care of our orchids just isn’t enough. Let’s take a look as some user-friendly products that we have on hand to treat an ailing orchid. The first on the list is a grapefruit. If you notice that something is munching holes in the leaves of your orchid, but you just can’t find the culprit, then it’s probably a slug.
They nestle into the nice loose and moist pieces of your fir bark potting mix and wait until dark before they strike. These nocturnal creatures can do quite a bit of damage, so leave an overturned grapefruit or citrus rind in your pot. The slugs will crawl up into the damp cavity and you can then toss it out (slug and grapefruit rind) in the morning.
For other pest problems such as aphids, mealybugs, and scale try reaching into a household cupboard and pulling out the rubbing alcohol or the Murphy’s Oil Soap®. Dilute the Murphy’s Oil Soap® by adding 2–3 tablespoons to a quart of water. For scale, take a soft toothbrush or a cotton swab soaked with rubbing alcohol and rub off the scale.
Any new treatment should be tried first on one leaf or an isolated part of the plant to see how it is going to respond. Spray early in the morning or late in the day. Some sprays dry off quickly in the middle of the day and lose their potency and other times the combination of the spray and the intensity of the midday sun can burn the leaves. You will miss some insects the first time you spray, so repeat the treatment once a week for several weeks.
If your orchids have black or brown spots that start to grow and look watery or mushy, then there is a good chance that it has a bacterial or fungal problem. Stick your hand back into the cupboard and grab the cinnamon—nature’s favorite natural fungicide. If possible, cut off the infected portion of leaf and sprinkle cinnamon over the area. If that is not available try Neosporin® applied with a cotton swab.
Carol Capobianco is Editorial Content Manager at The New York Botanical Garden. Charles Darwin (shown in bronze in a sculpture in the Rare Book Room) was born on this day in 1809, sharing the exact same birthday as Abraham Lincoln—though a world away in England.
Last spring the Botanical Garden celebrated his work with plants in the Garden-wide exhibition Darwin’s Garden: An Evolutionary Adventure as a lead-in to this bicentennial year, which also marks the 150th anniversary of his groundbreaking book. (We can’t tell you the name of it here, because it’s one of the questions in the short quiz below).
During the show, some of the world’s leading Darwin experts had gathered to discuss the far-reaching legacy of Charles Darwin and the implications of his thinking for science and society today in a special two-part symposium, Darwin: 21st-Century Perspectives, hosted by the Garden and the American Museum of Natural History, and which you can hear by clicking here.
If you first need a Darwin 101 refresher before listening to these scholars, test yourself with these few questions. The answers are provided after the jump.
Or, if you want to learn about Darwin in song, check out this snippet taped partly in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory recently of live performer and Darwin scholar Richard Milner. Milner performed his Charles Darwin: Live & In Concert at the Botanical Garden during last year’s exhibition and was featured this week in The New York Times.
And now for the quiz…
1. Darwin sailed to the Galápagos on a ship named…
a. Sundew
b. Retriever
c. Beagle
d. Albatross
2. Darwin began his formal studies in botany at…
a. Oxford
b. Cambridge
c. Glasgow
d. Edinburgh
3. How many children did Darwin have?
a. 10
b. 7
c. 3
d. None
4. Darwin is known as the founder of which famous theory?
a. Relativity
b. Big Bang
c. Quantum Mechanics
d. Evolution by Natural Selection
5. What was the title of Darwin’s book that changed the way scientists view all life?
a. Inherit the Wind
b. The World As I See It
c. Origin of Species
d. The Diversity of Life
Nick Leshi is Associate Director of Public Relations and Electronic Media.
When I talk about The New York Botanical Garden, one phrase I tend to repeat over and over is: “No matter what the weather is like outside, there is always something to see and do here, both indoors and out.” In addition to the beauty of the Garden’s grounds and living collections in every season, there are also great indoor attractions. One of my absolute favorites is located on the fourth floor of the Library building—the permanent exhibition Plants and Fungi: Ten Current Research Stories.
The exhibition, housed in the grand Britton Science Rotunda and Gallery, allows visitors to explore the important research being conducted by Botanical Garden scientists here in the Bronx and around the world. Massive mural images of the Garden’s founders, Nathaniel Lord Britton and Elizabeth Knight Britton, overlook a map showing the corners of the world where our scientists have traveled for field research to solve some the mysteries of nature and to better understand the role of plants and fungi in our lives, part of the Garden’s overall mission as an advocate for the plant kingdom.
The rotunda features multiple displays illustrating the “William C. Steere Tradition,” with information on mosses, lichen, and three panels on mushrooms and berries. It educates the public on the legacy and influence of the man for whom the adjacent William and Lynda Steere Herbarium is named and where over 7 million plant and fungi specimens are archived. Computer terminals in the Gallery allow visitors to access the online specimen catalog from the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium.
Other computer stations in the exhibition provide audio-video presentations explaining Garden scientists’ research on rice, cycads, brazil nuts, squashes, ferns, and vanilla orchids. Visitors young and old can see how modern tools such as DNA fingerprinting as well as classic techniques of plant exploration are used, and how scientists are studying vital topics like genetic diversity in rice and a nerve toxin in cycads that may provide insight into neurological diseases.
You can meet some of the scientists in person and hear them discuss their research as part of the 2009 Gallery Talks series Around the World with Garden Scientists in the Britton Science Rotunda and Gallery. Robbin Moran, Ph.D., kicks off the series this Saturday, January 24, at 1 p.m. with his presentation “The Fascinating World of Ferns” and provides a behind-the-scenes tour of the Herbarium.
Dachell McSween is Publicity Coordinator at The New York Botanical Garden.
One of my favorite times in the Garden is in January. Yes, I know it is cold outside and it gets dark early, but I look forward to seeing The Life and Work of George Washington Carver exhibit and program in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. This fun and informative exhibit looks at the life of George Washington Carver, the renowned plant scientist who created hundreds of uses for peanuts, soybeans, and sweet potatoes.
Dr. Carver was born to slave parents in Diamond Grove, Missouri, in 1864. As a child, he developed an early interest in plants. In fact, he became known as the “plant doctor” for helping neighbors and friends with ailing plants. He learned to read, write, and spell at home, because there were no schools for blacks in his hometown. In 1891 he became the first black person to enroll at Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, known today as Iowa State University. After completing his Bachelor’s Degree in 1894, Dr. Carver’s professors encouraged him to stay on as a graduate student. He became known for his excellence in plant breeding and was appointed to Iowa State’s faculty, becoming its first black faculty member.
The exhibit in the Children’s Adventure Garden makes me appreciate all of Dr. Carver’s vast accomplishments. I enjoy seeing children transform into “plant scientists” by putting on lab coats and picking up a magnifying glass to diagnose and remedy sick plants, just like Dr. Carver did as a child. The children also create a personal science timeline, plant a soybean to take home, and enjoy stepping into the interactive yellow replica of Dr. Carver’s Jesup wagon, which he used as a traveling school to help spread his agricultural knowledge to farmers and homemakers. The wagon was named after Morris K. Jesup, a New York financier and philanthropist.
As we look forward to celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the inauguration of America’s first black president, it is inspiring to see children get excited about this remarkable program that encourages them not only to learn about plant science, but also to dream big and impact the world, just like Dr. Carver did.
Nick Leshi is Associate Director of Public Relations and Electronic Media.
Visitors of all ages have marveled at the sight of the monumental sculpture throughout the grounds of The New York Botanical Garden, where these works of art have stood sentinel since last spring. Moore in America, the largest exhibition of Henry Moore’s art ever displayed in a single venue in the United States, continues to attract praise from audiences and journalists alike, including Time magazine’s art critic Richard Lacayo, who named it one of the Top 10 Museum Exhibits of 2008.
Photographers, in particular, have been drawn to Moore’s captivating forms situated within the Garden’s historic landscape. In partnership with the International Center of Photography, the Botanical Garden hosted a photography contest in celebration of the landmark exhibition. The contest sparked many beautiful submissions, from which four monthly finalists were selected. From those four a grand prize was awarded, to Jimin Kim of Manhattan for his portrait of Large Reclining Figure. His winning image appeared in an advertisement for Moore in America in the December 4–10 issue of Time Out New York.
Runners-up included Julie Salles of Yonkers, Ken Schwarzof Lexington, Massachusetts, and Debra Allen of Pelham Manor. Their images, plus countless others submitted by garden- and art-loving shutterbugs during the months of the competition, showed how the sculpture could look fresh from different angles and with different lighting throughout the day and during the changing seasons, proving Moore’s desire to have viewers approach—and even touch—his artwork from different perspectives.
If you haven’t seen the exhibition yet, now is your chance. Moore in America is being extended through March 15. Even if you’ve seen it in spring, summer, or fall, now is your opportunity to see it in winter. Bring your camera and snap some pics for yourself while you’re at it!
If your orchids have black or brown spots that start to grow and look watery or mushy, then there is a good chance that it has a bacterial or fungal problem. Stick your hand back into the cupboard and grab the cinnamon—nature’s favorite natural fungicide. If possible, cut off the infected portion of leaf and sprinkle cinnamon over the area. If that is not available try Neosporin® applied with a cotton swab. 
Another exhibition season ends this weekend with the closing of the ever-popular