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Plant Talk

Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Summertime Roses Offer Sights and Scents

Posted in Horticulture on July 3 2014, by Stephen Scanniello

Stephen Scanniello is NYBG’s Curator of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden. The author of six books on roses, his latest is A Rose By Any Name. Stephen is the recipient of the Jane Righter Rose Medal from the Garden Club of America. He gardens in Barnegat, NJ.

Shrub rose 'Alexandra, Princesse de Luxembourg'
Shrub rose ‘Alexandra, Princesse de Luxembourg’

During July in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, you’ll find the gardeners and volunteers bent over headfirst into the rose beds filling buckets with faded blooms. We’re deadheading, or as they say in England, “refreshing” the rose shrubs. Deadheading is summer pruning and very easy to do. Simply cut the stem bearing the faded rose to a point where a set of healthy leaves is attached. This is a time-consuming job that will reward you with beautiful new roses in a few weeks time.

There are still plenty of roses to enjoy in the garden. The sweetly scented ‘Alexandra, Princesse de Luxembourg’, a blush-pink shrub rose, and ‘David Rockefeller’s Golden Sparrow’ are both in full bloom. Last week, in Paris, this yellow beauty won the prestigious Gold Medal for Landscape Roses at the International Rose Trials of Bagatelle.

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This Weekend: The Garden is Open Tomorrow!

Posted in Programs and Events on July 3 2014, by Lansing Moore

container planters Enid A. Haupt ConservatoryHappy Independence Day! The Fourth of July is tomorrow, and another well-deserved long weekend is just around the corner. If you’re looking for something to do in between barbecue and fireworks, the Garden will be open to visitors this Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.. The Garden invites you to celebrate America’s history with the little ones at SousaKazooza! This musical trip through the world of John Philip Sousa will have kids making their own music to celebrate, and it only takes place over holiday weekends.

Seeing as our summer exhibition—Groundbreakers: Great American Gardens and The Women Who Designed Them—is in full swing with exhibits and activities throughout the Garden, the most patriotic day of the year is certainly a good time to celebrate our horticultural history.

As summer rolls on, the Garden continues to grow more beautiful each day. Read on for all the ways you can explore the greatest green escape in the city this weekend!

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Catching up with a Floral Design Intensive Alum: Marcela Bonancio

Posted in Adult Education on July 2 2014, by Plant Talk

Marcela Bonancio
Marcela Bonancio (Photo by Martha Sascher)

Marcela Bonancio took a big step last summer, followed by a huge leap last winter.

A year after attending the Floral Design Summer Intensive in 2012, Bonancio decided to launch her own floral design business, The Lotus Blossom Atelier, using her business chops from her marketing degree and NYBG education as driving forces, in December 2013.

The Floral Design Summer Intensive laid the foundation for Bonancio’s successful business and floral design skills.

“In my mind, floral design foundations are very important, because without them being in place, all the beauty of flowers just falls apart,” Bonancio said.

The Summer Intensive program instructors are all working New York City-area designers themselves, with a variety of styles and skillsets that translate well to students with different reasons for signing up for Floral Design classes.

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This Week at the Greenmarket: Edible Summer

Posted in Programs and Events on July 2 2014, by Lansing Moore

At the GreenmarketWednesdays at the Garden have been especially appetizing with the return of the weekly NYBG Greenmarket, offering a variety of fresh, local produce and baked goods. This week’s stock includes a variety of refreshing juices and fruit butters, apples, strawberries, cherries, cider and rhubarb on the fruit front. For vegetable lovers, we’re seeing squash flowers, zucchini, cucumbers, radishes in droves, and asparagus to boot.

Baked goods are back again this year in the form of cakes, brownies, cookies, biscotti, and, of course, breads—both sweet and savory. New on the list, you’ll also find some delicious dairy, including milk, cheeses (this week we’re seeing goat and strawberry), and eggs. You can even get goat milk soap!

Among the many available fruits and vegetables at the Greenmarket this season are mustard greens, an Asian staple which can make an excellent addition to your summer culinary routine. If you’ve ever tackled the brining process in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden during our Dig, Plant, Grow events, and you’ve got a few spare jars on hand, you’re more than ready to try this at home. Read on for the full recipe!

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