Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Photography on June 29 2016, by Matt Newman
Not quite enough candles to mark our 125th year, but this mullein along the Ladies’ Border certainly fits the bill as far as birthyear beauty goes.
Nettle-leaved mullein (Verbascum chaixii ‘Sixteen Candles’) along the Ladies’ Border – Photo by Brian Sullivan
Posted in Horticulture on June 22 2016, by Brian Sullivan
Brian Sullivan is the Vice President for Landscape, Gardens and Outdoor Collections. He oversees the care, presentation, and development of the outdoor gardens and landscape management of the Garden’s 250 outdoor acres.
If you visit the Garden this summer and walk down Perennial Garden Way to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, you will find a tidy planting bed that runs parallel to the roadway, edged with a short iron wicket fence and filled with robust perennials. If you were lucky enough to find yourself walking here three to four weeks ago, around Memorial Day, you would have been immersed in the flowers of the newly renovated Matelich Anniversary Peony Collection.
Now in its second growing season, this collection of herbaceous peonies, Paeonia lactiflora, showcases the fragrant pink, white, red, and coral blossoms of one of the most popular garden plants and cut flowers.
The tradition of growing herbaceous peonies near the Conservatory dates back to the early 1900s, when peonies were grown in double borders along pathways surrounding the elegant glasshouse.
Posted in Gardens and Collections, Video, What's Beautiful Now on August 11 2015, by Lansing Moore
The summer season is at its height here at NYBG, with plenty of seasonal beauty appearing each week. In this latest video, our own Brian Sullivan, Vice President for Gardens, Landscape and Outdoor Collections, highlights some of the gorgeous flowers of summer that visitors can admire in the Native Plant Garden and the Perennial Garden.
Escape the heat with a pleasant walk beneath the shaded canopy of the Thain Family Forest, admire the dramatic waterlilies and lotus blossoms adorning the Conservatory Pools, and be sure to plan your visit on a day with activities and tours for the whole family!
Posted in Horticulture on June 6 2014, by Brian Sullivan
Brian Sullivan is the Vice President for Landscape, Gardens and Outdoor Collections. He oversees the care, presentation, and development of the outdoor gardens and landscape management of the Garden’s 250 outdoor acres.
When choosing a new plant to add to a garden, some people choose plants for beauty. Others choose plants with a purpose, for example a shade tree or an upright evergreen for structure in the garden. Well, isn’t it nice to find a plant that fills more than one need?
One such plant is the ornamental allium. If that name sounds familiar, it should. There are many species and cultivars of the genus Allium, which include the well-known chives, onions, and garlic.
The flower appears to be a single, spherical flower borne on single upright stems. However, the globes are actually made up of many small, star-shaped flowers radiating out from the center. Alliums come in many sizes. The flower heads range from tiny to quite large, and the density of the flowers can be quite full, creating a dense flower head; or very open, making for an airy flower head. The stems also range from a short 12” to an astounding 36”. Colors can range from dark purple to the light pink, with some white cultivars. The different species and cultivars can be massed in large numbers or mixed all together for varying effects in the garden.