Azaleas are wonderful additions to the garden. They are easy to grow, look sensational, and have attractive foliage. Evergreen azaleas provide year-round interest while deciduous azaleas often have exquisite fall color and exhibit an elegant woody framework in winter.
In their native habitats, azaleas are often found growing in or on the edge of woodlands in well-drained, acidic soil that is rich in organic matter. They have a shallow, fibrous root system, which needs to be considered when caring for them. Azaleas do well in full sun or part shade (about four hours of sun). Planted in full sun, azaleas will be more compact and floriferous. When planted in part shade, they will stretch toward the sunlight and form a more graceful habit; flowers will not be as plentiful but will last longer.
When using azaleas for foundation plantings, locate them 3 – 4 feet from the building so that the roof will not obstruct rainfall and so that air can circulate around the plants. Avoid planting near highly reflective walls unless on the north side of the building or in the shade. Windy sites are problematic: in winter, winds and sun can desiccate the foliage, of evergreen azaleas especially. Deciduous azaleas are more forgiving.
Azaleas need good soil structure and plenty of organic matter so that their shallow roots will not dry out. Conversely, azaleas can be suffocated by excess water and poor drainage; soil compaction around foundations and in yards is a frequent problem. When amending the soil, it is better to prepare the entire bed rather than just the planting hole to create a uniform condition so that the fibrous roots are encouraged to spread. As a general rule, the soil should contain 5 – 10% organic matter.
Medals for excellence were awarded to selected artists for their work in Green Currency: Plants in the Economy at the festive opening reception on Wednesday, April 20. This is the first medal-awarding international juried exhibition of contemporary botanical art in the United States, and is presented by the Botanical Garden and the American Society of Botanical Artists. The exhibition, which features 43 plants used in medicine, food, clothing, and shelter, will be on view in the Arthur and Janet Ross Gallery through July 31.
Dr. Shirley Sherwood, renowned contemporary botanical art collector and chair of the jury, along with Gregory Long, President of The New York Botanical Garden, presented the awards. Honorable Mentions for excellence in specific categories were also selected and announced. Click on an image below to see the commended works of art.
Gold: Beverly Allen, Coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, watercolor on paper
Silver: Asuka Hishiki, Garlic, Allium sativum, watercolor on paper
Bronze: Ingrid Finnan, Common ginger, Zingiber officinale, oil on paper
Honorable Mention, Prints: Monika deVries Gohlke, Jade-stripe bamboo, Bambusa vulgaris ‘Vittata’, hand-colored aquatint on paper
Honorable Mention, Drawing: Carrie Megan, Morels, Morchella sp., graphite on paper
Honorable Mention, Artistic Merit: Rosemary Bauman, Princess tree, Paulownia tomentosa, watercolor on paper
Honorable Mention, Work on Vellum: Karen Kluglein, Grapes, Vitis vinifera, watercolor on vellum
The New York Botanical Garden Acquisition Prize: Karen Kluglein, Grapes, Vitis vinifera, watercolor on vellum
A full-color exhibition catalog featuring all of the works in the show is available for purchase at Shop in the Garden. An audio tour in the Gallery includes personal statements from each of the artists; signage throughout the Garden grounds identify the living plants portrayed in many of the featured works of art.
The Garden’s Adult Education Program offers classes in Botanical Art for all levels. Browse courses, or order a free catalog to learn more.
I just got back from a walk around the Antique Garden Furniture Show and Sale, and boy are my arms tired! No, no. I didn’t fly over to the Conservatory and back, but I did impulse purchase a rather heavy cast concrete statue for my very own garden that I had to carry back to my cubicle. The Show is chock full of all sorts of gorgeous things, so I thought I would throw together this highly subjective slide show of some of the fascinating pieces that caught my eye.
I noticed one big trend: Bunnies are hot. Maybe it’s because it’s the Year of the Rabbit? Maybe it’s in the hope that placing one in your garden will scare the real ones away? I just can’t say. One thing I can say though, is don’t forget your checkbook. Many of the vendors cannot accept credit cards. Oh, and don’t worry. You won’t have to carry your own purchases as far as I did. The vendors are happy to hold onto your garden goodies until you can bring your car around.
The Antique Garden Furniture Show and Sale runs Friday, April 29 – Sunday, May 1; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The show is held in the tent behind the historic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. To get to the show, enter the Conservatory through the Palm Dome, then exit at the opposite side. Entrance to the Show is included in your All-Garden Pass. Happy shopping!
Debbie Becker leads a free bird walk at the Garden every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., beginning at the Reflecting Pool in the Leon Levy Visitor Center. Photos by Debbie Becker.
Every April, birders’ fingers start to twitch. They step a bit more lightly and are strangely polite. They are gracious to their loved ones, work harder than ever at their jobs, and make sure everyone is satisfied and happy. They whistle while they work, and perhaps when no one is looking, they will take a cloth and carefully wipe down the lens of their Nikon Monarch binoculars. At night, while everyone is sleeping, they secretly open Peterson’s Guide to Birds East of the Rockies, slip a CD into the player, and sit quietly listening, careful not to wake anyone, to the bird calls emanating from the speakers. It is April, which is followed, naturally, by May, and that means only one thing to the obsessed birdwatcher: The warblers are coming! The warblers are coming!
Suddenly, birdwatchers’ wives are widows, children wonder what happened to their parents, teachers are marking students absent, and employers anxiously eye the empty desks of their employees.
I know birders who plan entire vacations around the last two weeks in April and the first two weeks in May. They don’t get into a plane or drive across the country. They don’t even visit a beach. The birders park themselves in The New York Botanical Garden, Central Park, Pelham Bay Park, Riverside Park, Van Cortlandt Park, Rye Nature Center, or anywhere else that is green, and then they wait. They spend all year anticipating the spring migration of the warblers.
Warblers are tiny colorful birds that migrate from South America up to the Canadian border during our spring. Their brilliant plumage is for breeding purposes, but not only do they attract a mate, they also attract the eyes of millions of birdwatchers as they work their way up the eastern seaboard. The Garden is a flyway for these little critters, and birders turn out in the hundreds to see the orange glow of the Blackburnian warbler or the brilliant yellow of the Prothonotary warbler. The Black-throated blue warbler is majestically blue and a woodland warbler. The male’s call is hypnotic and can be heard from quite a distance away. The chatty Common Yellow throat and Yellow warbler often nest at the Botanical Garden and can be heard chanting their mating song while working the new maple leaves for insects.
The Pine, Palm, and Prairie are early warblers and can easily be seen before all the trees leaf out. This year, NYBG was lucky to have an early Prothonotary warbler show up at Twin Lakes on April 14th. The sunny yellow bird hung around for about a week and then continued his migration north. Many birders crowded the banks of Twin Lakes scouting out the precious little bird, and all were rewarded for their efforts as the Prothontary put on a spectacular show.
So far we have seen Northern Waterthrush, Black and White, Yellow Rumped, Palm, Pine, and Prairie warblers. Other spring migrants include: cat birds, orioles, kingbirds, indigo buntings, gnatcatcher, kinglets, vireos, tanangers and thrush.
Spring is alive at the Garden with song and color, so come join us as we rejoice and bathe in the warmer temperatures and put the snowy, cold winter of 2010/2011 behind us.
Mothers. Where would we be without them? They bring us into this world, they raise us, teach us, feed us, clothe us, and then hopefully, they send us off to be a good person, and perhaps (at least for 51% of the population) to replay the same role as a mother, too. It’s a wonder that mothers only get one day dedicated solely to them! So, to thank mom for all she has done for you, why not do something nice for her?
At the Garden, we’re throwing a garden party over Mother’s Day weekend in conjunction with the grand opening of our amazing new Azalea Garden. The Opening Weekend Celebration–May 7 – 8; 12-6 p.m–is a day full of picnic lunches, lawn games, Azalea Garden tours, music, kites, the opportunity for kids to make a bouquet, just for mom, and much more. Picnic lunches must be ordered online, in advance. Once at the Garden, pick up your lunch and then enjoy your day amid the sun-dappled, kaleidoscope of colors in this incredible new garden. Other food and beverages will be available for purchase on site.
If you come to the Garden for Mother’s Day weekend, snap some pictures and share them with us on Twitter (@nybg), Facebook, or in our Flickr Group Pool. If we get enough pictures, we’ll post some of them here on the blog! For Mom!
Azaleas are wonderful additions to the garden. They are easy to grow, look sensational, and have attractive foliage. Evergreen azaleas provide year-round interest while deciduous azaleas often have exquisite fall color and exhibit an elegant woody framework in winter.
