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Inside The New York Botanical Garden

fall

Fall Forest Weekends: Sweeping Color

Posted in Programs and Events on October 28 2013, by Matt Newman

Fall foliageLeafers, this is your weekend! And honestly, even if you’re not the type to travel for fall foliage, Saturday and Sunday are worth a peek at what The New York Botanical Garden‘s 250 sprawling acres have to offer. With October nearing its end, the leaves are just now slipping into their colorful groove, and that means no end of reds, yellows, oranges, and every warm, welcoming color in between. It’s a pretty perfect palette for the onset of chilly weather. So to celebrate the changing trees, we’re setting off into our 50-acre Forest with entertainers, activities, tours, and more!

Fall Forest Weekends highlight the beauty of fall with the largest uncut, old growth tract of forest left in New York City. And there’s certainly more than one perspective from which to appreciate the bright transition. For those with their sea legs, so to speak, you’ll want to get in on the canoe trips taking place along the stretch of Bronx River that cuts through our woodland; the program is hosted by the Bronx River Alliance, a group working to reclaim the river for not only the people of the Bronx, but the incredible variety of fish, birds, and even beaver that call this waterway home.

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One Week To Garden Photography Greatness

Posted in Photography on October 25 2013, by Ann Rafalko

Trees in Utah by Micha Pawlitzki. Commended 2009
“Trees in Utah” by Micha Pawlitzki. Commended 2009.

Our friends at the International Garden Photographer of the Year contest asked us to remind you that there is just one week left for you to enter this prestigious contest, and I thought it was an excellent opportunity to remind you that the Garden is an amazing place to take photographs with which to enter!

I’m sure most people think that spring and summer would be the best times in which to undertake a photographic exploration of our 250 acres, but fall is also an incredibly beautiful time, especially since the reopening of our Native Plant Garden earlier this year. Native plants seem to really shine in fall, they lend so much beautiful texture and color to the landscape. And let’s not forget fall’s amazing light. It lends an incredible luminosity to flowers and leaves, and the long shadows of this season can add incredible drama and contrast to your shots.

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This Weekend: Spooks, Blooms, and Trees!

Posted in Around the Garden on October 25 2013, by Ann Rafalko

mumThe weekend starts on Friday evening, right? At NYBG it does! Celebrate the start of the weekend with a Spooky Nighttime Adventure!

Children of all ages are encouraged to come in costume for this after-dark Halloween spook-tacular. Explore the creepy crawlies hiding in the shadows of the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, see Ray Villafane’s amazing giant pumpkin sculpture illuminated and looking cool, and decorate your own gourd to take home. If you can’t make it Friday, don’t panic—there’s another Spooky Nighttime Adventure on Saturday, too.

This weekend is also the final weekend of Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Garden, and we’re celebrating with a weekend focused on two Japanese artforms: bonsai and poetry. Incredible examples of bonsai will be on display in the Conservatory Courtyards, and demonstrations aimed at helping you understand these miniature trees will be held at 12 and 2 p.m. On Sunday join acclaimed poet Jane Hirshfield for an afternoon of poetry celebrating the beauty of fall flowers and foliage and their significance in Japanese culture

And if you’re just looking for a reason to get outside, our 250 acres have you covered! Cooler weather is helping to bring out the fall color in the Thain Family Forest in a real way. If you’re interested in the fine art of photographing trees, a Saturday morning conversation with Larry Lederman, where he will share his technical, creative, and philosophical insights into the art of nature photography, is a must. The Forest’s 50-acres of old growth trees isn’t the only place for leaf peeping within our borders, the entire Garden puts on a show at this time of year. So lace up your sneakers or hiking boots, hop the train, and join us for a weekend full of trees, spooks, and blooms!

 

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Two More Nights of Spooks & Scares

Posted in Programs and Events on October 23 2013, by Matt Newman

Spooky Nighttime AdventuresWith Halloween looming at the end of this month’s calendar (and on a Thursday of all days—what gives?), we’re not about to pass up any opportunities to celebrate the tricks and treats that come once each fall. So this weekend, on both Friday and Saturday nights, we’re doing the holiday of ghouls, ghosts, and goblins proud with the final two evenings of Spooky Nighttime Adventures. It might be the last chance for your kids to scare up the night without having to worry about rolling out of bed for school the next day!

Seeing as we seldom open the gates after dark for a night of creeping about under the trees, we encourage kids of all ages to break out their costumes and dress for the occasion. They’ll start the Haunted Pumpkin Garden festivities by picking up a treat bag to decorate near our Reflecting Pool while Lucrecia Novoa’s fantastical costumed entertainers keep things lively around the Visitor Center. Afterwards, head out onto the Trick-or-Treat Trail for some well-earned edible rewards, or take part in any number of creepy crawly activities in the Discovery Center and elsewhere: digging for decomposers, dissecting owl pellets, calling for the creatures of the night, decorating gourds to take home, and other hands-on fun.

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