It’s Been a Hoot for Debbie Becker, Who Launches New Season on Saturday
Carol Capobianco is Editorial Content Manager at The New York Botanical Garden, and Nick Leshi is Associate Director of Public Relations and Electronic Media.
Every Saturday at 11 a.m. throughout most of the year, a few dozen people gather at the Reflecting Pool in the Leon Levy Visitor Center with binoculars and high hopes. They’ve come to go on a walk in search of the birds that live at the Botanical Garden either year-round or temporarily during migration periods.
The tour leader, Debbie Becker, who this season marks her 25th year conducting bird walks at the Garden, knows all the nooks and crannies, and all the favorite spots of many of the nearly 200 species that have been recorded in the Garden over the years. In other words, if someone wants to see a particular bird—say, the resident great horned owls or the aberrant white-winged crossbills—Debbie can deliver.
“The habitat dictates what kind of bird you’re going to see,” explains Debbie. “And in the Garden’s 250 acres of diversified habitat, you can see a lot of birds. You can walk from a forest, to a meadow, river, waterfall, ornamental garden, and native plant garden in just a couple of hours.”
For Arbor Day, Staff Name Some Favorites; Tell Us Yours
Carol Capobianco is Editorial Content Manager at The New York Botanical Garden.
In honor of Arbor Day tomorrow, I asked some of the Horticulture staff to divulge their favorite tree at the Garden. With over 30,000 trees to select from, this could be daunting. For some, it was a cinch and they rattled off a tale about a special specimen. For others, it was like picking a favorite child, so they gave several choices.
Todd Forrest, Vice President for Horticulture and Living Collections, judiciously noted: “My favorite tree is always the one we just planted, because it helps ensure that our historic landscape will have trees for people to enjoy for decades to come.” (But he later did offer up a name, see below.)
Here, then, are some exceptional trees at the Garden and the reasons why they made the grade. Let us know which of the thousands of trees at the Garden—and we keep planting additional ones—is your favorite. We’d love to hear from you.
Prepare for Gardening Season with this Special All-Day Program
Carol Capobianco is Editorial Content Manager at The New York Botanical Garden.
It may not feel like it, but spring begins this month. Gardeners—me included—are chomping at the bit for it to get under way and for that telltale whiff in the air. (You know, that certain smell that stops you as you step outdoors one day in late winter and puts a smile on your face.)
Of course, there is always enough garden-related chores to do indoors before the warmer weather arrives, and sometimes spring comes too soon for my own good. I still haven’t mended my favorite gardening pants or switched my gardening paraphernalia into the larger tool bag I bought last fall or ordered a new pair of gardening shoes to replace the ones with worn-out soles or thought enough about my plant wish list.
But, still, I’m ready for the sun and soil, and I’m sure you are, too. So come to Spring Fever Saturdayon March 6 to be with kindred spirits who want to spend the day learning how to fine tune their soil, select early blooming trees and shrubs, prune woody plants, and other such tasks to prepare their gardens and lawns for that special time of year called spring.
For more information about each of the sessions offered—participants may select as many as three from six topics—or to register, click here or call 718.817.8747.
Carol Capobianco is Editorial Content Manager at The New York Botanical Garden.
Liz Costa, Associate Vice President for Corporate and Foundation Relations, and her husband, Rob Yagley, moved in to their own home in September. Their small yard is framed by several trees, which can be challenging to landscape. As their first spring planting season approaches, they decided to seek help from the Botanical Garden’s Continuing Education program.
So both signed up for this Saturday’s Shade Gardening event—a day of classes for gardeners who want to understand the different levels of shade, design shade gardens, choose appropriate plants, and more. Liz and her husband have even split up the chores—she’ll attend three of the six sessions offered and he the other three so that they cover all the topics.
“As apartment dwellers most of our lives, we knew we needed help with our new yard, especially with gardening in the shade,” said Liz. “When we spotted the six different sessions offered on one Saturday, we knew we found the best way to start thinking about our shady spot!”
To find out more about Shade Gardening Saturday or to register, click here and search “shade garden” or call 718.817.8747.
Two Species Normally Found in Spring Spotted on Bird Count
Carol Capobianco is Editorial Content Manager at The New York Botanical Garden.
Local birder Rob Jett reports on his Web site The City Birder that two pine warblers and four Baltimore Orioles—bird species that at this time of year are usually much farther south (as in Florida and south of the border)—were recorded on December 27 at the Botanical Garden during the National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count.
The Garden falls within the Bronx-Westchester count area, which this year marked its 86th season. (Roger Tory Peterson was one of the more famous participants.) This is the seventh time in the past 11 years that orioles (see photo at right, by Steve Nanz) were found in the count area, but four is a record high.
Debbie Becker, who leads the Garden’s weekly bird walks, has seen pine warblers (photo at left, by Steve Nanz) here since early December. And, she says that seeing orioles in December—often near the crabapple trees or the Rock Garden—has become more common. She has conducted her own “unofficial” bird count at the Garden in December for about 20 years. She thinks the sightings of birds such as orioles and warblers in winter may be the result of climate change, and some birds that usually migrate instead find a secure home with plenty of sustenance at the Garden.
Celebrating the Season and Looking Ahead to Our Spring Exhibition
Carol Capobianco is Editorial Content Manager at The New York Botanical Garden.
Garden staff members have been busy learning all they can about Emily Dickinson and her poetry in advance of the Botanical Garden’s spring exhibition, Emily Dickinson’s Garden: The Poetry of Flowers, May 1–June 13, 2010. We take note wherever and whenever we see her name.
So when we saw in a datebook, by chance, a gingerbread recipe by Emily Dickinson, we decided to blog about it, since the Garden currently is presenting Gingerbread Adventures in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden as part of the Holiday Train Show.
With a little digging around I learned that Dickinson had a bit of a reputation as a baker in her hometown of Amherst, Massachusetts. In fact, she was particularly known for her gingerbread (and Rye and Indian bread), and would lower a basket of it to children below (photo by Lewis S. Mudge, courtesy of his estate), according to Emily Dickinson: Profile of the Poet as Cook, with Selected Recipes, by Nancy Harris Brose, Juliana McGovern Dupre, Wendy Tocher Kohler, and Jean McClure Mudge, and published in 1976. We have a copy of this 28-page booklet in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library, where in spring 60 objects that tell the story of Dickinson’s life will be on view in the Rondina and LoFaro Gallery. (Complementing this will be a re-creation of her garden in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and a poetry walk throughout the Garden’s grounds.)
My intention was simply to post the recipe here, with permission from Jean Mudge, and let you try it out for yourself. However, I got caught up in the “everything Emily” mood, and to celebrate her 179th birthday (December 10), I decided to try making the recipe myself to share with co-workers.
Carol Capobianco is Editorial Content Manager at The New York Botanical Garden.
As in past years, Gingerbread Adventures in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden features a wondrous display of gingerbread houses created by some of the area’s most imaginative bakers.
This year’s theme was “Fairy Tales,” and the bakers delivered charming interpretations of classic children’s favorites.
Jill Adams of The Cake Studio, Brooklyn, featured the archetypal princess and frog prince in front of a castle. Kate Sullivan of Lovin Sullivan Cakes, Manhattan, gave life to the tale of the Three Little Pigs, with a big, bad wolf at the front door. Liv and Kaye Hansen of Riviera Bakehouse, Ardsley, tell the story of The Pied Piper of Hamelin with confectionary rats overrunning the town.
Irina Brandler of Sugar and Spice Bake Shop, the Bronx, offered her rendition of the Russian folklore witch Baba Yaga, who “lives in a house which walks about on chicken legs,” and Mark Tasker of Balthazar Bakery, Manhattan, created a red-and-white circus tent, “Greatest Show in the Big Apple,” with a rotating center ring inside.
Come and have fun as I—and the moms and kids around me—did picking out the types of candy and other treats that creatively construct each design: frosted cereal as roof tiles, candy canes as columns, pretzel sticks as firewood, bubblegum as a ceiling light fixture, and so much more.
Carol Capobianco is Editorial Content Manager at The New York Botanical Garden.
We asked some of our Members for their most special holiday experience at The New York Botanical Garden and they told us—and sent photos, too.
Here are a few of our favorites. Oh, and please keep sending us your stories. We’d love to hear from you and post your wonderful experiences at the Botanical Garden to our blog.
A Yearly Tradition
For several years Barbara Moran has taken family and friends to see the Holiday Train Show and other facets of the Garden. But on her recent visit she was surprised that one of the staff “engineers,” Christopher, remembered her from last year and greeted her warmly. “I wondered what I had done to stand out in his mind,” Barbara wrote. “He is one of the reasons why I continue to return: a friend happy to have me back. I was born in the Bronx, and though I’ve lived most of my life in a small town in Connecticut, the Bronx always welcomes me back and greets my family and friends like treasured guests.” That’s one of the highlights of the Garden and nearby Belmont neighborhood, she continued. “Thank you all for the hours of joy and fellowship I have enjoyed while visiting our beautiful gem of the Bronx, the Botanical Garden. I look forward to many more visits.”
Carol Capobianco is Editorial Content Manager at The New York Botanical Garden.
Earlier this year both Mayor Bloomberg and President Obama issued a call to action, encouraging New Yorkers and all Americans to volunteer in their communities.
Many regarded the call and came to volunteer at The New York Botanical Garden in record numbers during a challenging year for cultural institutions. They contributed to every program, project, and department, helping to ensure that, alongside staff, the Garden would rise above financial obstacles.
Margaret Horgan of the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx heeded the words of the Mayor and President and in June became a volunteer for the first time in her life—choosing the Garden as the place she’d give of her time. Here, as a newcomer, she is open to whatever is asked of her, from stuffing envelopes to greeting visitors.
“I try just about everything and anything,” said Margaret, who also credits her neighbor’s influence for finally getting involved 10 years after retiring as an administrative assistant. “I’m a Bronxite, and I love the Garden; it’s a gem. I wanted to give something back.”
Margaret is one of many first-time volunteers the Botanical Garden welcomed this year and one of a record 1,109 people who gave 84,000 hours, playing a major role in making the Garden a special place to visit. She was among those present at this year’s annual lunch reception, which honors, praises, and thanks Garden volunteers for their generous service.
Carol Capobianco is Editorial Content Manager at The New York Botanical Garden.
The Bronx River runs through The New York Botanical Garden on its way from Westchester County to the East River and is a primary reason the Garden was sited at this location in 1895. Over the years, the Garden’s 250-acre lush landscape has protected a segment of this urban river, while other sections have been negatively impacted by development and heavy land use.
But the Bronx River as a whole has been on the mend in recent times, thanks to the efforts of many organizations and government agencies. People in canoes and beavers and other wildlife have returned. On Thursday, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo visited the Garden, along with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., and others, to award funding to NYBG and six other entities for pollution-control projects.
The Garden, which received $349,599, will use the funding for a “green infrastructure” demonstration project designed to reduce and treat storm water discharge to the Bronx River. The Garden will install permeable pavement, a tree well that captures storm water, and a pipe outflow with cascading pools. It will also stabilize the shoreline and restore it with the planting of native trees, shrubs, and groundcovers.
In his address, Cuomo particularly congratulated Botanical Garden President and CEO Gregory Long for his work. “He has done such a fantastic job,” Cuomo said. “The Garden is a real beautiful gem and treasure for the Bronx and for the entire state.”
Every Saturday at 11 a.m. throughout most of the year, a few dozen people gather at the Reflecting Pool in the Leon Levy Visitor Center with binoculars and high hopes. They’ve come to go on a walk in search of the birds that live at the Botanical Garden either year-round or temporarily during migration periods.
