Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Photography on June 14 2016, by Matt Newman
At the heart of the Rose Garden, the pergola is the broach that brings the ensemble together. The collection, designed by Beatrix Farrand in 1916, still carries late spring on its shoulders.
The Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden – Photo by Marlon Co
Posted in Photography on June 13 2016, by Matt Newman
The Luce Herb Garden is hitting that seasonal sweet spot where it’s the perfect place to reacquaint yourself with your sketchbook or journal.
Nancy Bryan Luce Herb Garden – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Programs and Events on June 10 2016, by Matt Newman
A highlight of the Garden’s NYBG/125 Anniversary celebrations kicked off with a night of soaring trumpets, matchless tap, a glowing Manhattan skyline, and the heights of what might just be called the defining sound of New York City—really good jazz.
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra was on grounds last night with trumpeter and music director Wynton Marsalis for a performance in honor of our 125th year, taking the stage on the Conservatory Lawn to play for a sold out crowd of over 1,600 fans new and old. We were ecstatic to have the concert introduced by both Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., and the former U.S. Poet Laureate and current Poet Laureate of NYBG, Billy Collins, whose memorable reading set the tone for a night of incredible artistry. You can read his dedication here.
Posted in From the Library on June 9 2016, by Esther Jackson
Esther Jackson is the Public Services Librarian at NYBG’s LuEsther T. Mertz Library where she manages Reference and Circulation services and oversees the Plant Information Office. She spends much of her time assisting researchers, providing instruction related to library resources, and collaborating with NYBG staff on various projects related to Garden initiatives and events.
The Rooftop Growing Guide comes from NYBG’s own Annie Novak, the Manager of the Edible Academy. Novak writes clearly, with accessible prose and an eye to the practical. Yes, we should think big…. and look up! However, while it may seem that the sky is the limit when it comes to rooftop growing, Novak continuously reminds the reader of real-world concerns and offers detailed and practical advice to would-be rooftop gardeners.
Chapter titles include “Why Rooftops?,” “Assessing Your Rooftop,” “Containers, Greenhouses, Green Roofs, and Irrigation Methods,” “The Dirt on Rooftop Soil,” and several other sections that carry the reader through a successful rooftop garden. Simple graphic guides are included to lead the reader through activities such as assessing one’s roof or understanding seed viability and germination rates. Supplemental content is arranged carefully in sections that include technical how-tos and profiles of rooftop gardens and gardening activities.
Posted in Photography on June 9 2016, by Matt Newman
Summer’s not quite here yet, judging by the calendar, but the green’s unbothered by schedules.
Stone Mill & Forest – Photos by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Shop/Book Reviews on June 7 2016, by Joyce Newman
Joyce H. Newman is an environmental journalist and teacher. She holds a Certificate in Horticulture from The New York Botanical Garden.
In this presidential election year, a new book by NYBG instructor and garden historian Marta McDowell, entitled All the Presidents’ Gardens (Timber Press, $29.95), is both timely and refreshing for it avoids partisan politics entirely. As McDowell puts it,“whether gardeners lean right or left, blue or red, we are united by a love of green growing things and the land in which they grow.”
The book, available in the NYBG Shop, concentrates on fascinating stories, quirky presidential personality traits, and humorous observations—all of which vividly document how the White House gardens under different administrations reflect a changing America.
Recently McDowell talked about writing the new book and some of her favorite White House gardens. (The interview below has been edited for length.)
Posted in Photography on June 7 2016, by Matt Newman
Shrub rose ‘Rosenstadt Freising’ in the Rockefeller Rose Garden – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in From the Library on June 6 2016, by Jane Lloyd
Jane Lloyd is a volunteer in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library of The New York Botanical Garden.
Visitors to a garden are often impressed by the showy, brightly colored roses and barely notice the smaller, humbler daisies. Likewise, visitors to the Rare Book Room in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library of The New York Botanical Garden often admire the large folio volumes of botanical illustrations by renowned botanical artists, but are unaware of the treasures among the smaller print volumes on the shelves. For the last two years I’ve been examining the names written and bookplates pasted in these books, trying to trace the histories of these books and to identify their former owners. This detective work has revealed that many books have led fascinating lives.
One book that has had a particularly noteworthy life is Apologia adversus amathum lusitanum by Pietro Mattioli, first published in 1558. Mattioli (1501–1577) was a well-known physician, botanist, and natural scientist from Siena, Italy. His book is a discussion of another book, first published in 1557, In Dioscoridis Anazarbei de materia medica libri quinque, enarrationes eruditissimae by Lusitano Amato (Juan Rodrigo Del Castel-Branco) (1511–1568), a well-known Jewish-Portuguese physician and natural scientist. Amato’s book is a discussion of De materia medica, written in the first century A.D. by the Roman physician Dioscorides (c.A.D. 40–90). De materia medica was a comprehensive compilation and description of plants and their derivatives and of animal and mineral substances used as medicines at that time and was one of the most important reference books on medical substances in the Western world for 1600 years.
Posted in Photography on June 6 2016, by Matt Newman
Papaver orientale ‘Prince of Orange’ in the Perennial Garden – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in What's Beautiful Now on June 3 2016, by Matt Newman
If the Garden wears spring like jewelry, the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden is our Hope Diamond—and at 80% of the way to peak bloom, this is the time to see it. Our Rose Garden Weekend is shaping up to be a festival of flowers both classic and contemporary, from hybrid teas and shrub roses to the most superlative floribundas.
Stop in all weekend long for live music and dance, plein-air painting, drinks, and talks with the Garden’s top rose experts that’ll set you on the path to a thriving rose garden of your own. You might even win one of our incredible plants to take home—learn more here.
And if you’re not yet sold, have a look at just a few of the flowers in bloom this week.