Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Holiday Train Show
Posted in Around the Garden on January 11 2013, by Matt Newman
The ornaments have been shuffled into the attic and you’ve wrapped your holiday lights into an “unknottable” ball (we’ll see what the garage has to say about that in eleven months). For most, the holidays are done with. But while work and school are back in full swing, the celebration continues here at the NYBG. Our lights are still twinkling, our conifers still decked to the nines in seasonal flash–you’ll hear at least a few quiet Christmas classics humming in the Conservatory. Sadly, at some point, we do have to pack it in for another year (coming exhibitions need the space to sprawl). This weekend, we say goodbye to the Holiday Train Show of 2012.
Of course, thousands of people have already taken advantage of the stretched holiday schedule at the Garden, and there are still a couple of days for you to do so! We’ll be running our normal Conservatory schedule throughout Saturday and Sunday, with one last Train Show tour on Saturday at 2:30. You’ll also catch Thomas & Friends™ continuing throughout the weekend (though we hope you bought your tickets already, most shows are sold out). That event happens to keep the pace until January 27, so even if you can’t make it this time, there are still plenty of opportunities waiting for you.
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Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 8 2013, by Matt Newman
No worries! The Holiday Train Show is still chugging merrily along in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, and it will continue to do so through this coming Sunday–January 13. But after that, we’re moving on to other things. Make time while you still can!
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Holiday Train Show on January 2 2013, by Matt Newman
So, most of the kids are trudging back to school on Wednesday, January 2. It’s great for the frazzled parent, but it doesn’t mean the family has to call it quits on group adventures. For those with younger ones in tow, the Holiday Train Show is keeping its engine running through January 13, giving everyone a chance to pop in and see our timeless miniatures now that much of the seasonal madness has died down. But the trains found in our Conservatory aren’t the only locomotives keeping up that head of steam.
Thanks to the thoughtful cast of All Aboard with Thomas and Friends™, kids who haven’t had the opportunity to chug along with Thomas and his companion, Driver Sam, will now have almost the entire month of January to take part. That’s from now until January 27, at varying times in the NYBG‘s Ross Gallery. And to make these holiday memories last, know that this is no simple puppet show–the cast will need your kids’ help in guiding the wayward Thomas all the way to Brendam Docks, with crowd interaction, singalongs, and more.
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Posted in Around the Garden on December 28 2012, by Matt Newman
My New Year’s resolution for 2013 is to finish up my holiday shopping before the holidays come and go, rather than after; it’s one I can never seem to stick to. For the rest of you, here’s hoping that this weekend will be a relaxing one. If you’re not working on Monday, I might also suggest you preface your fireworks and champagne with a stop at the NYBG, where the Holiday Train Show continues to run through mid-January alongside many of our other December activities. At the very least, I can promise you the open spaces and fresh air of the Garden will offer a little calm before you squeeze your way into Times Square.
However, if you’re still in retail mode, you’ll want to make a pit stop at our Shop in the Garden. We’re offering plenty of great gifts for the gardeners on your list that you may have overlooked, and much of what remains of our holiday stock is now 50% off! So if you’re the type of person who likes to plan well ahead when it comes to Christmas ornaments a wintry decor, now is your chance to load up.
For the Saturday crowd, the weather report promises a belatedly white Christmas in the Garden, something best experienced while wandering among the Benenson Ornamental Conifers. There’s something about snow-laden evergreens that flips all the right nostalgia switches, at least in my experience. And I probably don’t have to say it, but winter weather makes enjoying our toy trains and miniatures that much more iconic when snowflakes are brushing over the Conservatory glass.
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Posted in Around the Garden on December 21 2012, by Matt Newman
This morning’s raincoat weather hasn’t had us whistling “White Christmas.” Not yet, anyway. But just in time for the winter solstice, it looks like the clouds should be clearing up ahead of a dipping thermometer through the weekend! While we’re not going to see any snowflakes floating on the breeze just yet, it’s safe to say you should be breaking out the knit hats and scarves for any and all pre-holiday adventures in the NYBG this weekend. It’s time to say goodbye to fall, and transition into something a little frostier by comparison.
Bar Car Nights have once again proven a massive success, and it’s just about time to say goodbye for another year. Saturday, December 22, marks the final party under the lights of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory–at least for the 2012 holiday season. And if you’re quick about it, you’ll still have the opportunity to snag a ticket or two for our last few hours of casual cocktails. Seeing as our guest list has filled to capacity for each of the past evening events, this is your cue to be hasty with registration–don’t dawdle! We expect to have a full house once again, especially with this being the last chance for an adults-only Holiday Train Show viewing before Christmas.
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Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on December 21 2012, by Matt Newman
Van Cortlandt Manor was the first Holiday Train Show miniature that I saw, not long after I started working at the Garden. It’s still at the top of my list, I suppose–I’m a sucker for wraparound porches.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on December 19 2012, by Matt Newman
This week, we’re back with Kevin Character to recap a few of the holiday events taking place at the NYBG through this weekend and beyond, including the very last of this year’s Bar Car Nights. The turnout this year has been massive, and while that makes for a top notch party, it also means that tickets to these special evening engagements are becoming scarce. If procrastination has been your status quo for the first two Bar Car Nights, now is the time to get jump on the opportunity! Register your tickets online to be sure you get a spot for December 22’s night of cocktails, elegance, and the glow of the Holiday Train Show–one of New York’s most beloved seasonal traditions.
In other major news, the Garden’s ongoing events are drawing such impressive crowds that we have decided to free up our schedule, opening the gates on Mondays through the end of the year to accommodate all of our visitors. That means you can join us a full seven days a week, at least up until the Holiday Train Show packs it in for the season.
Of course, Kevin’s rounds don’t limit him to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, much as our Plant Talk fans love to catch him there. Over in the Shop in the Garden, he joins Maria Colletti for an introduction to our terrarium selection, something home horticulturists and gift givers alike are welcome to take advantage of. If you’re interested in piecing together your own plant world under glass, but can’t make it to the Shop to consult our experts, Conservatory Manager Christian Primeau is more than glad to get you caught up in this video.
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Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on December 18 2012, by Matt Newman
Coney Island may be a New York affair, but Michael Shannon saw no reason to let that stymie his homage in Colorado. The Coney Island hot dog stand, now a national landmark, was built in Denver in 1966. It currently stands in Bailey, Colorado. Of course, our miniature homage to the homage stands in the Holiday Train Show Artist’s Studio, alongside a number of famous landmarks from around the country–and the world.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on December 16 2012, by Matt Newman
Hello to our Bostonian friends! Our baseball teams don’t get along, but I see no reason why that should keep majestic landmarks out of our Holiday Train Show Artist’s Studio.
Boston Harbor Light House — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on December 14 2012, by Matt Newman
It’s the proverbial belle of the ball, the jewel on the crown, that once-in-a-blue-moon event that our visitors (and employees, honestly) can’t help but get excited for. Well, technically it’s thrice in a blue moon–Bar Car Nights are back this year, and this Saturday evening marks the second of three events for the closing of 2012. Of course, tickets have been selling out faster than we can advertise them, and this week is no exception–tickets are sold out for Saturday, December 15. But there are still a few left for next Saturday, December 22! So join us as we pause the family fun for a few hours of relaxation in the Conservatory turned cocktail lounge, aperitifs in hand and seasonal tunes in the air.
Afterward, head over to Arthur Avenue for some of the finest Italian dining in New York City, made that much better by a discount for Bar Car Nights ticket holders.
If themed drinks under the glow of the Conservatory lights aren’t your style, everything else that makes the season great at the Garden will be running throughout the weekend, including a few special one-off events for those who love the outdoors as much as we do. After Debbie Becker’s weekly Saturday morning Bird Walk, you’re welcome to join one of our experts for a tour of my favorite NYBG collection: the Ross Conifer Arboretum. Seeing as Christmas trees are popping up everywhere you look, now seems as good a time as any to learn about these evergreens while they’re still planted and thriving.
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