Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Horticulture on June 3 2019, by Matt Newman
Roberto Burle Marx loved to keep mounted staghorn ferns on display at his home, the Sitio, in Rio de Janeiro, and chances are you’ve seen them on offer in your local nursery or plant shop. Find out how easy it is to mount your very own for display at home, then get inspiration from our expansive wall of staghorns here at NYBG when we kick off Brazilian Modern: The Living Art of Roberto Burle Marx on June 8.
Posted in Horticulture on July 1 2015, by Christian Primeau
Christian Primeau is NYBG‘s Manager of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.
My office is situated in a most advantageous location adjacent to the ever-changing exhibition houses, my beloved desert houses, and steps from the breathtaking courtyard pools brimming with flowering lotus and water lilies. Voltaire might say “it is the best of all possible worlds.” Directly outside my door hang several beautiful specimens of Staghorn Fern (Platycerium sp.) As I sit at the computer, I am delighted by the amazed exclamations these plants elicit—so much so I feel compelled to write this post in hopes of answering the many wonderful questions visitors seem to have.
For the most part, patrons agree that the plant appears otherworldly. “It looks like some type of alien!” is a commonly overheard remark. I completely understand the sentiment, but these plants are most certainly of this world—found throughout the tropics and subtropics from the Philippines and Australia to Madagascar, Africa, and South America, to be exact. The way they grow in habitat and the unique way we display them in the Conservatory certainly present an unusual spectacle.
Posted in Photography on January 19 2015, by Matt Newman
Simple, vibrant beauty for an important day.
Ferns in the Haupt Conservatory – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on May 25 2014, by Matt Newman
Sundays are an especially good time for green. Especially a green dappled by sunlight.
In the Native Plant Garden – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on February 10 2014, by Matt Newman
Ferns are still the apple of my botanical eye, in case anyone was wondering if I’d changed allegiance in the last few months.
In the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
If you love taking photographs, don’t forget to enter our Tropical Paradise Photography Contest!
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, Photography on August 3 2013, by Matt Newman
Seeing the ferns in the Azalea Garden always reminds me of Dr. Oliver Sacks’ book, Oaxaca Journal. His descriptions of these delicate, prehistoric plants put me in mind of ancient forests, and the shade of deep, unbroken green so antithetical to stressing out.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on February 23 2013, by Matt Newman
I just….love ferns, tree ferns especially. You should, too! You’ll find some of ours hanging out in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, though the Native Plant Garden promises to have plenty of fringed beauties hanging around come the grand reopening. Keep an eye out for that one in early May.
Cibotium schiedei — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on October 18 2012, by Matt Newman
So I took the plunge. I buckled down, clambered over my fear of commitment, and dove headfirst into a relationship that’s been a long time coming. My barren desktop was beginning to look a bit suspicious to my colleagues here in the Plant Talk office, so without further ado, I introduce you to the newest addition to our window sill and my first desk plant: the as-yet-unnamed Mahogany fern.
You’re not misreading that; I’ve been here at the NYBG for a sliver under a year, and it’s only now that I’m making the choice to green up my desk. But before you jump to judgment, finger waggles, and well-deserved “tsk tsks,” my procrastination was out of respect for the plant’s well-being. All plants’ well-being, really. I may work at a botanical garden, and I may know my way around a watering can when push comes to shove, but I’ve still got a black thumb to make industrial weed killer blush.
I made my “adoption” a little over a week ago. Ann and I shuffled out to the Shop in the Garden under a nagging drizzle to peruse the shelves, and the suggestion came up that I stop waffling and do something to make my desk look a little less like an Alcatraz broom closet. I couldn’t really disagree on that point; I subscribe to the idea of living light, and spartan decor is part and parcel to that mindset, but my workspace is an eyesore of austerity. So I hit the potted plant displays with the hope of finding something that could tough it out in the office and still muster enough hardiness to forgive my misguided efforts.
Posted in Learning Experiences on March 1 2012, by Matt Newman
Look at the maidenhair tree and you’ll see nothing worth taking to the salon. You may see “duck feet” in the leaves, as some Asian cultures have, but certainly no flowing mane of vegetal locks. Botanical nomenclature is a lot like the horse racing circuit in that regard–every so often you stumble over a designation that makes not even a whit of sense. Thus, to explain the common name of Ginkgo biloba, we need to think smaller.
“Fern” small, actually. The humble maidenhair fern (Adiantum aethiopicum happens to be sitting on our window sill), with its cascades of dainty green leaves, is the true point of origin for the towering ginkgo’s street moniker. And if you compare the two, you’ll see what many would call a family resemblance (if the ginkgo were directly related to anything else on this planet; it’s not). Each has leaves resembling the foot of a waterfowl. So why aren’t they named as such? To answer that, we look even further down.