Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Photography on June 22 2014, by Matt Newman
“Classic” doesn’t mean bland. During our Groundbreakers exhibition, some of the Conservatory plantings in our “hot” and “cold” borders—inspired by the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden in Maine—flirt with the color schemes of candy dots or fireworks. And it’s so very good.
Groundbreakers in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on June 19 2014, by Matt Newman
At the heart of our Groundbreakers exhibition stand six women—three of them designers, three of them photographers—who, through combined efforts, effected a sea change in the style and popularity of the American garden. From Beatrix Farrand’s opus of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden in Seal Harbor, Maine, to Marian Coffin’s timeless creations here at NYBG, formerly staid home gardens in the U.S. shrugged off western Europe’s stylistic dominance for new and exciting influences from other cultures—not to mention those found right here at home.
Groundbreakers: Great American Gardens and The Women Who Designed Them is an homage to that renaissance of the early 20th century, when these six women established themselves not only as successful designers, but as pioneers along a fresh course for the country’s green spaces.
Posted in Photography on June 19 2014, by Matt Newman
The mullein (Verbascum) in our “Mrs. Rockefeller’s Garden” display is getting pleasantly overzealous in its efforts to outdazzle the rest of the planting.
Groundbreakers in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on June 13 2014, by Matt Newman
Whoever said candy doesn’t grow on trees was waaaaaaay off base (I’m kidding, please don’t eat the flowers!).
Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Exhibitions on June 10 2014, by Sonia Uyterhoeven
Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG’s Gardener for Public Education.
For the opening weekend of Groundbreakers: Great American Gardens and The Women Who Designed Them (May 17–September 7), curator Sam Watters led his audience back in time with a lecture entitled “Picturing a Beautiful America.” The show celebrates the work of some of America’s most influential women in early 20th century landscape architecture, design, and garden photography, and Watters’ talk set about laying the historical foundation on which these women and their works were established.
Posted in Programs and Events on May 23 2014, by Lansing Moore
Happy Friday! It’s a particularly happy one because it’s almost Memorial Day. That means we have three days of exciting activities for all ages lined up to help you celebrate the official beginning of summer at the Garden with a well-deserved long weekend.
This weekend is the time to revel in the lyricism of past masters with this Saturday’s Groundbreakers Poetry Reading, an enlightening journey to a past century through the words of Edna St. Vincent Millay—words you can also see adorning the grounds in our Groundbreakers Poetry Walk. None other than renowned feminist poet Eavan Boland will be in attendance to recite these classic poems. Meanwhile, the little ones can celebrate Memorial Day with the uplifting music of John Philip Sousa and make some tunes of their own during SousaKazooza! It’s just one of a whole roster of new family programs we have lined up for summer—and it all begins this weekend at the Garden!
Click through for more details on all the ways you can enjoy the world of Groundbreakers, and explore a glittering era of America’s past this Memorial Day Weekend.
Posted in Programs and Events on May 21 2014, by Lansing Moore
The centerpiece of the new Groundbreakers exhibit is naturally the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and its interpretation of The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden in Maine, but the exhibit continues throughout the Garden grounds. There is much to enjoy outdoors under the bright May sun, and the Groundbreakers Poetry Walk offers moments of reflection to those who stroll through the Perennial Garden and beyond. Occasionally, as on this Saturday, May 24, we set aside some time for a live reading with one of poetry’s greats—one such as Eavan Boland.
This year’s poetry displays honor the spirit of Groundbreaking women from the early 20th Century with the works of Edna St. Vincent Millay, the third woman to ever win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Her eloquent writing captures the beauty of nature while evoking the cultural triumphs of the era she lived in alongside the Groundbreakers celebrated in the exhibit. Millay was a fascinating figure and poetry aficionados and history buffs alike will not want to miss out on this Saturday’s Groundbreakers Poetry Reading. Click through for details about Millay’s life, and more on this exciting poetry event!
Posted in Photography on May 21 2014, by Matt Newman
Groundbreakers in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on May 19 2014, by Matt Newman
Blue tends to be associated with sadness, though I imagine everyone will agree with me when I say that delphiniums loom large as an exception.
Delphiniums in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Exhibitions on May 18 2014, by Matt Newman
Alongside the tools of the gardeners themselves, the camera played an important role in supporting the growth of American landscape design in the 20th century. It was in the efforts of the photographers, several of whom are currently being highlighted during our Groundbreakers exhibition, that the styles of women like Farrand and Coffin met the public eye. Don’t forget to visit our LuEsther T. Mertz Library for an important exhibit on some of the women who made all of this possible!
In the LuEsther T. Mertz Library – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen