Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 10 2014, by Matt Newman
Tropical Paradise is nearly here, and with it come new opportunities to put your camera to work. The plants in the Conservatory are beyond ready for their close-up!
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on January 2 2014, by Matt Newman
Winter in the Garden is far from a sleepy season. With the deciduous trees stripped of their leaves and the branches reaching over and across one other, the grounds adopt a new face—one defined by stark lines and contrasts sparked with small bunches of colorful berries. Groups of birds lunch in and around the trees, and if you’re lucky, you’ll catch sight of a hunting raptor, a Red-tailed Hawk or a Great-horned Owl on a diurnal run. In the conifers you’ll see the classic hunter greens of snow-dusted pine needles arching above the first blooming snowdrops.
Once you’ve admired the New York miniatures of the Holiday Train Show with all its twinkling lights, and stopped to sing along with your kids during a performance of All Aboard with Thomas & Friends, be sure to save some daylight for a walk in the 50-acre Forest. It’s about as close as you can get to seclusion in NYC, and well worth the time spent aimlessly wandering the winding trails. And I do mean aimlessly—it’s pretty gratifying to find yourself strolling along a path you’ve never seen before, more so with a little snow blanketing the branches above.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on September 4 2013, by Matt Newman
There are only a few more strolls around the fountain to be had as we close in on our bon voyage to Wild Medicine this weekend. Where will you be on Sunday?
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on September 3 2013, by Matt Newman
I think this is our first (and hopefully last) Afternoon Eye Candy, thanks to my forgetfulness when it comes to holidays. Though they say good things come to those who wait, right..? In the meantime, a very uncitylike scene unfolds in a desert house of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on September 2 2013, by Matt Newman
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on August 31 2013, by Matt Newman
Sometimes the passions you develop come small and unexpected. I like to think our horticulturists find inspiration in subtle beauties.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Gardening Tips, Gardens and Collections on August 13 2013, by Sonia Uyterhoeven
Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.
Last week we discussed how to plant your water lilies. This week we will focus on the bloom. Water lilies flower for 3 – 5 days, with the bloom emerging from the murky depths on the first day, opening, and standing erect. On the second day, the flower starts to bend slightly, slouching more on the third day and falling back into the water by the fifth.
Once the bloom disappears back into the water, it is a good idea to take your hand and run it down the stem until you get close to the base, then either snap or cut it off. The water lily stem will start to get mushy as it ages, and sometimes a good tug is all you need.
In a pond situation, the flower head forms seeds that eventually find their home on the muddy floor of the pond. As a homeowner, however, you are probably interested in maximizing your bloom. Seed production takes energy away from flowering, so try to remove old flowers and foliage once a week to keep your water lily tidy and focused on producing flowers.
Posted in Programs and Events on August 12 2013, by Matt Newman
We’ve made our way through cucumbers and gin, berry-tinged tequila, and the finest in Italian jazz, and as we near Thursday night’s final Cocktail Evening & Summer Concert of the Wild Medicine exhibition, we’re changing it up one more time. If you’re as much a fan of the smoky nuance of bourbon as I am, you’ll want to clear your evening schedule.
This round’s specialty cocktail is “Strawberry Fields,” a balanced mix of Crème Yvette, bourbon, ginger ale and lime—all matched to the tenor of Michéal Castaldo, our guest singer. Backed by his string quartet, he brings the classic standards of his Italian homeland to our stage for one night only.
Preface your evening out with a quiet walk through our Wild Medicine displays in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, strolling around the Italian Renaissance Garden and the many medicinal plants growing in our glasshouse. Afterward, grab your complementary cocktail and a few samples from Mike’s Deli and the Bronx Beer Hall, or bring a blanket and pick up a picnic dinner to enjoy the concert from the Conservatory Lawn. Those looking to keep the night moving will find a cash bar with wine, beer, food, and other refreshments available.
For MasterCard holders, we also offer a champagne pre-party beginning in the Shop in the Garden and moving on to Wild Medicine. We even offer discounts at famed Arthur Avenue restaurants nearby for those holding Cocktail Evening tickets. Because why wouldn’t you make a full night of it?
With only a few days remaining between now and our last Cocktail Evening on August 15, not to mention tickets dwindling, you may want to think about registering as soon as possible. You just bring yourself—we’ll bring the drinks!
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on July 18 2013, by Matt Newman
Think like a parasol. The lotuses do.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Programs and Events on July 17 2013, by Matt Newman
Crème Yvette, lime, and one all-important choice to finish it: tequila or mezcal? We’re moving off from the last Cocktail Evening‘s gin and cucumber combo toward something on the smoky side of the spectrum, couching the refreshing flavors of berry liqueur in everyone’s favorite agave spirits. And with the city baking like a blueberry pie this week, I can’t think of many things better than a complimentary cocktail, a stroll through Wild Medicine, and some music after dark to shrug off the day’s heat.
On stage, “Italia in Jazz” spotlights the musical talents of the Marco Pignataro Quartet, paying a proper tribute to timeless Italian standards and original compositions alike. And with Marco and his saxophone at the helm, the night’s entertainment is in good hands! Originally from Bologna, Italy, Pignataro has taken the stage with such jazz greats as Eddie Gomez and Danilo Pérez. In concert with the latter, he now leads Berklee’s Global Jazz Institute in Boston, but that hasn’t stopped him from performing on stages around the world—and he’ll be right at home with his quartet here at the Garden.