Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Photography on April 6 2015, by Lansing Moore
Remember that NYBG is open for regular Garden hours today! And this beautiful day calls for a brisk early spring walk through the pine forest.
In South Arboretum – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Horticulture on April 3 2015, by Michael Hagen
Michael Hagen is the NYBG’s Curator of the Native Plant Garden and the Rock Garden. He previously served as Staff Horticulturist for Stonecrop Gardens in Cold Spring, NY and Garden Manager at Rocky Hills in Mt. Kisco, a preservation project of the Garden Conservancy.
While spring might still feel several long weeks away, the first cheerful blooms of the season have already made their debut in the Rock Garden! We’ve been hard at work cleaning beds, raking leaves, and removing the last of the winter debris in order to open the garden as soon as possible for everyone to enjoy. And now we’re ready.
The very first heralds of spring, the winter aconites (Eranthis hyemalis) are still in bloom where they were covered until the last snow to melt, and along with our other early bloomers like snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis), snow crocus (Crocus tommasinianus), and winter cyclamen (Cyclamen coum), they’re still putting on a great display. This past week they’ve also been joined by even more early bulbs—netted iris hybrids such as Iris ‘Pauline’, ‘Harmony’, and ‘Katharine Hodgkin’; alpine squills (Scilla bifolia); spring snowflake (Leucojum vernum); and glory of the snow (Chionodoxa sardensis).
Posted in Programs and Events on April 3 2015, by Lansing Moore
This weekend, NYBG kicks off the spring blooming season with three days of Orchid Show programs, brisk walks, and interactive family fun! That’s right, we are open on Monday, April 6—so come celebrate the holiday and share the Garden with your loved ones!
Dig! Plant Grow! is back, just in time for kids to enjoy playing outside again, with a new session entitled Wake Up, Garden! The Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden is filled with interactive gardening fun, while in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, Little Landscapes continues through Monday. Get more information about family programs.
Monday promises to be absolutely gorgeous, so we have two brisk walking tours scheduled to enhance your experience of the Native Plant Garden and the Thain Family Forest, the two areas of the Garden that best showcase the beauty of our region at all times of year. See the full schedule of upcoming tours and begin planning your time in the sun.
Meanwhile, The Orchid Show: Chandeliers continues through April 19, so don’t miss your chance to see this soaring floral display and enjoy the fragrance of thousands of orchids filling the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Only four Orchid Evenings remain if you’re looking to plan the perfect evening with someone special.
Read on for more details about this weekend at the Garden!
Posted in Children's Education on April 2 2015, by Plant Talk
Marissa Ayala is a school garden pioneer, at least in the eyes of her students and colleagues at Muscota New School in Manhattan.
Ayala had taken informational gardening courses before, but needed to polish how she tied gardening skills back to K–5 science curriculum. So, she enrolled in School Gardening 101 in February this year at The New York Botanical Garden. She wanted to get to know other educators who share her mission and to gain NYBG staff expertise to elevate her knowledge and ability to instruct a more rigorous curriculum.
“I wanted to make sure the garden was used in as meaningful a way as it could be,” she said.
Her biggest takeaway was the idea of intentionality; her students investigate specific scientific concepts on each visit to their garden plots—from photosynthesis and renewable energy to geometry and problem solving. This way, Ayala connects the purpose of each visit to the curriculum taught in her classroom.
Posted in Photography on April 2 2015, by Lansing Moore
What does this guy find so sweet about our trees?
Along the Mitsubishi Wild Wetland Trail – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez
Posted in Adult Education on April 1 2015, by Plant Talk
Hillary Parker’s painting career started with a mistake.
“Serendipity has always directed the way for me,” she said.
She enrolled in college to become an elementary school art teacher. In her senior year, a schedule mix-up landed her in an advanced painting course instead of the introductory one. She was granted access to the class on the condition she could handle the work and their weekly critiques.
For her first project, she chose an artichoke, potato, a head of garlic, and green onions from her own refrigerator and painted individual studies of each of them. Then the big day came.
“True to his word, the professor started going down the row of student artwork, harshly critiquing them,” Parker said. “When he got to mine, he paused, turned and smiled at me, looked back at my little veggies, and pointed to the artichoke. He said, ‘I want to eat that for dinner.’”
Posted in Photography on April 1 2015, by Lansing Moore
The conifers is getting “spruced” up for spring, and it’s a gorgeous day for a walk along their beds of needles.
In the Ross Conifer Arboretum – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Adult Education, Programs and Events on March 31 2015, by Plant Talk
“An unsung American hero,” is how film director Carey Lundin describes landscape architect and pioneering conservationist, Jens Jensen (1860–1951), who rose from street sweeper to prolific city park designer amid Chicago’s steel industry boom. On Earth Day, April 22, the Garden’s Humanities Institute hosts the New York premiere of Lundin’s award-winning documentary, followed by a panel discussion exploring ways we can honor Jensen’s legacy. We sat down with Carey to hear more about the important man behind the film.
What inspired you to choose Jens Jensen as your subject matter?
I was born in Chicago and I love a great underdog man against the machine story, and I mean that two ways, both the political power machine and the rise of the machine age. Jensen fought for humanity against both.
Posted in Horticulture on March 31 2015, by Lansing Moore
Christian Primeau is the NYBG‘s Manager of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.
Vanilla gets a bad rap. The term “vanilla” is bandied about to label all manner of the unexceptional, uninspiring or flat out boring. To my shock and dismay, a coworker recently applied this idiom to my beloved automobile. I’ll have you know, good sirs and madams, the 1988 Mercury Topaz has an abstruse appeal. Really, would I squander such an uproarious collection of bumper stickers on a so-called “boring” vehicle? FYI, the color isn’t beige…it’s called “Mojave Dune.” I mean, the factory only produced 300,000 units in Mojave Dune! You get the point. This is one sweet ride.
Likewise, the vanilla orchid (Vanilla planifolia) itself is far from ordinary. In my humble opinion, Vanilla planifolia may be counted among the most fascinating plants in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. More than a flavoring for criminally overpriced lattes, it’s a beautiful vining orchid with a captivating history and makes a truly unique houseplant.
Posted in Photography on March 30 2015, by Lansing Moore
The Orchid Show: Chandeliers in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen