Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Photography on October 22 2015, by Matt Newman
Here’s a first look at our gargantuan record-breaker from North American grower Ron Wallace, a 2,230-lb. pumpkin from Rhode Island that you can see here now and throughout the next two weekends of our Giant Pumpkin Carving and display!
North America’s heaviest pumpkin in the Visitor Center – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Programs and Events on October 16 2015, by Matt Newman
Time’s running out for FRIDA KAHLO: Art, Garden, Life, and there’s so much going on in the final weeks of October that you won’t want to let this one pass you by. Fall’s presence is undeniable as you walk through the Garden, tinging the trees with reds and yellows, and Halloween is fast approaching. More importantly, Día de los Muertos is just around the corner. It would be an understatement to say that we’re celebrating the holidays with style.
Alongside this weekend’s schedule of outdoor tours, music, food, and other exhibition programming, we’re preparing for the coming week of after-dark events and lively holiday fiestas that all begin with Frida for Families: A Spooky Nighttime Adventure. On Friday, October 23, grab tickets and bring your little ones (don’t forget their costumes!) for a night of trick-or-treating in the Garden, hands-on Halloween fun in the Adventure Garden, live costumed performers, giant puppets, and more. It’s a safe and exciting way to celebrate the holiday a little early.
For adults, join us during our Frida al Fresco LGBT night on Thursday, October 22, and don’t forget to register for our last Frida Look-Alike contest of the exhibition—accepted entrants get free admission to the evening event and a chance to win prizes from NYBG Shop!
Posted in Programs and Events on October 8 2015, by Matt Newman
Autumn for families in the Garden is one of the most colorful times of year to stop by, from the changing leaves in the Forest to our much-loved tradition of giant pumpkin carving in late October. And new this year, we’re taking things a step further with a full schedule of fall FRIDA KAHLO programming geared toward families who’re looking for something more than the average Halloween outing!
Take a break from the haunted houses and join NYBG in the coming weeks for some of the most lively Día de los Muertos activities you’ll find in New York.
Kids and adults alike are welcome at the Garden in late October, when we highlight the Mexican Day of the Dead with two festive weekends of stilt-dancers, live music, food, and fun for all ages—with events throughout the garden on October 24, 25, 31, and November 1. Our first Día de los Muertos Weekend also happens to feature a fan-favorite in Ray Villafane, who returns to the Garden with his team of artists for two days of live pumpkin carving—some of the biggest and heaviest gourds in the country!—creating creepy creatures inspired by traditional calaveras characters.
Posted in Programs and Events on October 29 2014, by Lansing Moore
Today our weekly Greenmarket is hosting a special Halloween Celebration! Come by before 3 p.m. for some extra fun and to enjoy your favorite fall treats. Try a taste of caramel corn and hot cider and snap a photo with a scarecrow! Kids can make some fall art, creating a leaf rubbing from one of NYBG’s many fallen leaves. Be sure to enter the New York Botanical Garden Raffle for a chance to win a bag of fresh produce and local goodies from the NYBG Greenmarket. Celebrate the season and learn about New York’s regional produce!
Our vendors have an abundance of healthy, fresh cauliflower for sale today, so it’s the perfect chance to share a little-known use for cauliflower—as a pizza crust! I kid you not, and speaking of kids, they won’t mind eating their vegetables when served like this. Click through for a quick and simple way to make a cauliflower pizza crust that you can cover with your preferred toppings.
Posted in Exhibitions on October 14 2014, by Andy Garden
The thrills and chills of the Halloween season are filling The Haunted Pumpkin Garden right now! And more hair-raising fun awaits in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden with the first of four Spooky Nighttime Adventures taking place this weekend. Afraid of the dark? We have plenty of ConEdison flashlights to help you illuminate the Whole Foods Market® Trick-or-Treat Trail while you listen for critters of the night.
There are many opportunities to immerse yourself in the Halloween spirit at NYBG. On October 18, 24, 25, and 31, capture a family photo with larger-than-life skeletons and costumed creatures, delight in the giant pumpkin displays, or even sit in on an eerie ghost story. For those who dare to journey along the meandering Mitsubishi Wild Wetland Trail, keep your eyes peeled for the colossal marsh monster!
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on October 31 2013, by Matt Newman
Here’s to a frightful Halloween, a gentle autumn, and the last day of our Haunted Pumpkin Garden! After today, the pumpkins and spooks take their leave to make room for the peak of fall color, the coming winter, and the Holiday Train Show. We’ll see you in the Forest.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Programs and Events on October 29 2013, by Matt Newman
Only two days ’til the spooks and spirits spill out in force for tricking, treating, and spades of ghoulish fun, so it’s not that surprising that we’ll be going all out for the last Greenmarket of October, right? Of course not! The shifting palette of fall foliage mingles with apples, baked goods, and mounds of fresh gourds and pumpkins to make this time of year one of the most beautiful and flavorful harvest periods there is. With the Halloween Harvest Festival hosting Haunted Pumpkin Garden activities for families, donut-eating contests, “Witch’s Brew” samplings and creepy-crawly compost events, it’s nothing you want to miss out on, plus it gives you an excuse to wear that stunning new autumn jacket you just bought.
As a primer for what we’ll likely see on the tables this Wednesday, last week offered a broad spectrum of goodies. From Migliorelli Farm, we saw a Pantone gradient of fresh cauliflower, deep green spinach, all sorts of pumpkins and squash, and fresh tomato juice to remind you that the brunch Bloody Mary never takes a break in New York. Red Jacket Orchards came in on the fruity end of the spectrum, boasting a cadre of pears including Yali, Bosc, and Seckel varieties; apples ranging from Jonamac to Golden Supreme; and enough fruit juice and cider to stock your fridge for a good while. Gajeski Produce brought in the hearty meal fare with fennel, savoy cabbage, Tuscan kale, sweet potatoes and—a personal favorite since I discovered crock pots—fresh collard greens.
But what meal would be complete without at least some kind of dessert, if not an entire bread basket? Meredith’s Bread had that covered with assorted pies and tarts, brownies, cookies, biscotti, and bunches of breads—oatmeal walnut, Anadama corn, and challah varieties among them. Honestly, they’ve always got it covered.
Posted in Around the Garden on October 25 2013, by Ann Rafalko
The 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!
Posted in Programs and Events on October 23 2013, by Matt Newman
With 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.
Posted in Gardening Tips on October 22 2013, by Sonia Uyterhoeven
Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.
This is the time of year when we celebrate everything autumnal at the Garden. As part of the Haunted Pumpkin Garden, some of the year’s biggest pumpkins have been carved by master carver Ray Villafane and his crew from Villafane Studios into a display with a theme resembling a home garden run amok. I am personally hoping to see Rick Moranis pop out of one of these pumpkins and wow us with his endearing humor, but something tells me that won’t happen. In addition, we have a lot of fun activities going on at the Garden right now, from demonstrations with bats and bugs to the statuesque and enthralling Japanese chrysanthemum exhibition, Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Garden.
In the spirit of the season, I’ll be in the Perennial Garden this weekend giving a demonstration on how to make decorative arrangements with pumpkins and gourds. This demonstration is always a popular one, giving homeowners some fun, easy, and creative ideas on how to dress up their homes for the holidays.