Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Amy Stewart
Posted in From the Library on October 3 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.
Amy Stewart delighted readers with her 2009 book Wicked Plants from Algonquin Books. With a scope that included poisonous plants, plants that cause physical injuries, invasive plants, and addictive plants, Stewart engaged and alarmed her audience with cautionary tales about, and cultural histories of, some of the plant kingdom’s more dangerous and infamous members. Now, in 2016, The Wicked Plants Coloring Book renews the theme, highlighting some of the wickedest and most beautiful plants.
One of the things that made Wicked Plants so engaging was the care taken by Stewart to use Latin names (binomials) for the organisms she discussed. Stewart also situated each species within a larger context. Readers would learn the properties of a plant like Mandragora officinarum (mandrake) and then in turn learn about its relatives. In the case of M. officinarum, “the notorious nightshade family includes peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes, along with deadly nightshade and belladonna.” This context was helpful to readers who did not have botanical or horticultural backgrounds and made phylogeny, or the study of relationships, accessible to the average reader.
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Posted in Programs and Events on May 22 2014, by Lansing Moore
Gardening is both an art and a science. While our new Groundbreakers exhibition examines the art of landscape architecture and ornamental plantings, next week’s Annual Science Open House will dive headfirst into the cutting-edge research and history of innovation that distinguishes NYBG. It’s amazing to witness the variety of work that goes on at the Garden, much of which goes unseen by visitors who come to admire the serene landscape. Join expert tour guides next week on an exclusive peek behind the scenes of the real “groundbreaking” work that goes on right here in New York.
The Open House kicks off next Thursday, May 29, with our not-to-be-missed evening hosted by bestselling authors Elizabeth Gilbert and Amy Stewart. Click through for complete details on all four days of scientific exploration!
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Posted in Programs and Events on May 14 2014, by Lansing Moore
Only two more weeks until Elizabeth Gilbert and Amy Stewart come to the Garden for what promises to be one of the most engaging and inspiring evenings of the summer—and we can hardly wait! On May 29, attendees will enjoy a private viewing of the Garden’s triennial exhibit of botanical art, Weird, Wild, & Wonderful in the Ross Gallery. 46 works in a variety of media from a talented selection of contemporary botanical artists display nature’s most unusual plants as you’ve never seen them before.
Specialty cocktails will be available for purchase during the viewing, crafted by none other than Amy Stewart herself, the celebrated author of The Drunken Botanist, a bestselling guide to the plants at the root—as it were—of our favorite drinks. Truly an indispensable gardening tool. The recipes for this evening include the “Kind-hearted Monster,” inspired by Asuka Hishiki’s outstanding illustration of Solanum lycopersicum—or heirloom tomato—featured in the exhibit.
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