Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Halloween
Posted in Programs and Events on October 21 2013, by Matt Newman
After spending the day at Grand Central Terminal with Ray Villafane and his cadre of carvers, I had no doubt that his emerging work for this year’s Haunted Pumpkin Garden would be as jaw-dropping as ever. Literally. But I didn’t realize just how massively monstrous Villafane’s plans were! With fangs galore and a squadron of buggy targets for its searching tongue, the finished sculpture came together over the course of our Giant Pumpkin Carving Weekend, landing yet another notch on the team’s belt of pumpkin masterpieces. And, of course, doing the record-breaking pumpkins in attendance proud.
This ravenous plant puts even the most impressive of Venus flytraps to shame, trust me on that one!
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Posted in Photography on October 20 2013, by Ann Rafalko
Amid all the pumpkin hubub we mustn’t forget about the phenomenal exhibition Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Garden on now through October 27 in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on October 18 2013, by Ann Rafalko
Actually, let’s make that four words: Giant Pumpkin Carving Weekend! Have you heard the news? NYBG is playing host to the new world’s heaviest pumpkin, a 2,032-pound giant grown by Tim and Susan Mathison of Napa, California. Heavier than a 2013 Smart FourTwo (by a lot) the Mathison’s phenomenal pumpkin is joined by a retinue of other enormous gourds, a record breaking long gourd, and the new world’s heaviest watermelon.
You might think this all sounds like a recipe for a record-breaking pot of squash soup, followed by the world’s largest fruit salad, but you would be wrong (these fruit are barely edible because of the intense breeding for weight—well, kind of. They will be turned into “food,” food for zombie Venus flytraps!
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Posted in Around the Garden on October 16 2013, by Matt Newman
“Pumpkin King” isn’t a title tossed around lightly (that’s a long-game pun right there). Come to think of it, Danny Elfman’s probably held the honor longer than anyone. But once each year, right around the time the leaves start wandering off their branches and the Forest takes a sudden lean toward apple reds and lemon yellows, a new monarch arrives at the NYBG to wear the crown a while—and there’s always an entourage tagging along. Big, small, squat and tall, a cadre of gargantuan pumpkins are trundling into the Garden for this year’s Giant Pumpkin Carving Weekend, taking place here this weekend on October 19 and 20!
When your prized produce weighs as much as a standard sedan, no one’s going to call out your efforts for lacking heft. Still, in the hyper-competitive world of mammoth produce, every pound counts—even among the giants, one always stands above the rest, especially when the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth is involved. This year’s record-breaking pumpkin hails from Napa, California, where Tim and Susan Mathison primped and preened a young squash into a 2,032-pound behemoth that easily snatched up the world heavyweight title after a stop on the scale. Joining it at the Garden this year are two pumpkins from Dawn and Bill Northrup of New Brunswick, Canada, at 1,813 and 1,024.5 pounds, respectively; and a pair from Dave and Carol Stelts of Edinburgh, Pennsylvania, clocking in at 1,496 and 1,391.5 pounds. Just to add an extra touch of the big and bizarre, we’ll also have Chris Kent’s record-snapping, 350.5-lb. watermelon flying in from Sevierville, Tennessee; and a long gourd from Fred Ansems of Kentville, Nova Scotia, that clocks in at over 11 feet in length.
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Posted in Around the Garden on October 14 2013, by Ann Rafalko
They’re getting closer. All across the United States farmers are loading up moving vans and flatbed farm trucks with hulking pumpkins and heading for the Bronx and the Haunted Pumpkin Garden. And this year, the pumpkins are bringing friends.
For the first time, the Garden is excited to play host to the new world record-setting watermelon and the new world record-setting long gourd, too! Who names these world records? Our partners in giant pumpkin fun, the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, of course.
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Posted in Around the Garden on October 11 2013, by Ann Rafalko
For many, this weekend is a three-day weekend and we’ll be open on Monday to help you pass the extra day in one of New York City’s most beautiful natural spaces. That means an extra day of fall fun for everyone!
Fill your weekend with spooky fun in the Haunted Pumpkin Garden and the cultural immersion of Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Garden. Our two fall exhibitions come with a plethora of fun activities including pumpkin carving demonstrations, taiko drumming, wildlife encounters, and tours. And don’t miss the opening of Close: The Photography of Allan Pollok-Morris, going live in the Ross Gallery this weekend.
Start your Columbus Day weekend off right by joining our free Saturday bird walk around the grounds. It’s migration time, so you never know who you’ll spot in addition to our regular flock of raptors, turkeys, little brown jobbers, and colorful characters.
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Posted in Around the Garden on October 9 2013, by Ann Rafalko
Who decorated this leaf with Halloween-ready creepy cobwebs and fall colors?
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on October 4 2013, by Ann Rafalko
The weather forecast for this weekend looks equally as wonderful as our slate of weekend activities. Blue skies and golden sunshine pair perfectly with Japanese chrysanthemums, pumpkin carving demonstrations, bird walks, and garden tours. It just doesn’t get better than early October in New York City! So get outside and soak up this perfect weather in the Garden!
Children of all ages can join a bird walk (Saturday only), get pumpkin carving tips, thrill to the sounds of Japanese taiko drumming, and learn about the bugs and creepy creatures of Halloween. Adults hunting for horticultural knowledge will love our Bulb Basics demonstration in the Home Gardening Center, ikebana demonstrations in the Conservatory Courtyard, in-depth tours of Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Garden in the Conservatory, and an expert-led tour of the Native Plant Garden.
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Posted in Around the Garden, Exhibitions on October 3 2013, by Ann Rafalko
You probably know (or at least think you know) all about bonsai, the Japanese art of growing, tending, and shaping miniature trees in trays. But do you know about kiku? Where bonsai is small, kiku is large. Where bonsai is about long life, kiku is about ephemerality. Where bonsai is about a minimal aesthetic, kiku is about color, pattern, and profusion.
Or at least that is how we interpret this tradition of shaping and tending chrysanthemums in Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Garden, opening Saturday in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Many of these huge chrysanthemum “sculptures” begin as one single stem, despite looking like brilliant tapestries of many flowering plants woven together. They are tended for months on end to bloom for just a few weeks. There is no way for us to extend kiku beyond their natural lifespan, so to see them in their full glory, you have got to act fast!
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Posted in Programs and Events on September 26 2013, by Matt Newman
I like to think tarantulas, hissing cockroaches, snakes, lizards, and bats are actually the coolest animals in the kingdom, but then again, I was the de facto bug catcher and snake charmer in my neighborhood as a kid; I could be a little biased. Now, for those of you who aren’t entirely keen on making friends with an eight-legged arthropod in an everyday setting, Halloween brings up a handful of opportunities to challenge your fears and jump in on a little creepy-crawly education.
On weekends throughout October, the Clay Family Picnic Pavilions transform into a showcase of legs, wings, and scaly things as experts from local outreach programs introduce the creatures from around the world that, for some, inspire no end of the proverbial willies. The thing is, most of them are not only perfectly friendly, but beyond fascinating. These hands-on animal presentations might even put a dent in the thrill of watching B-movie creature flicks for some of you, especially once you’ve gotten to know the scorpions, giant millipedes, spiders and boa constrictors that you might otherwise run from.
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After spending the day at Grand Central Terminal with Ray Villafane and his cadre of carvers, I had no doubt that his emerging work for this year’s Haunted Pumpkin Garden would be as jaw-dropping as ever. Literally. But I didn’t realize just how massively monstrous Villafane’s plans were! With fangs galore and a squadron of buggy targets for its searching tongue, the finished sculpture came together over the course of our Giant Pumpkin Carving Weekend, landing yet another notch on the team’s belt of pumpkin masterpieces. And, of course, doing the record-breaking pumpkins in attendance proud.
