Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Key West Contemporary

This Weekend: Departing Key West, Beginning Earth Week

Posted in Programs and Events on April 18 2014, by Lansing Moore

The Orchid Show Key West ContemporaryOn April 21, the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory ends its journey through the Florida Keys. This weekend is your last chance to enjoy the modernist pergolas and reflecting pools of landscape architect Raymond Jungles! There are also plenty of programs this weekend to maximize your visit to The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary before it closes. Better yet, the Garden will also be open on Easter Sunday and Monday, April 21, for the final day of The Orchid Show.

While activity may be winding down in the Conservatory, the party is just getting started on grounds. Spring was difficult to think of during the long winter, but now the magnolias, daffodils, and cherry blossoms are returning the Garden to its due brilliance. In advance of Earth Day at the Garden on Tuesday, visitors are invited to kick off Earth Week at Sunday’s Terrace Talk! This Science Program will include a special botany-inspired cocktail tasting, and an exciting look into the work of the Pfizer Lab. If you missed out on Orchid Evenings, this is your chance to enjoy the the Garden in style while getting an exclusive peek at its inner workings.

The Culinary Kids Food Festival also ends April 21, so this weekend is the perfect time to bring the kids on a delicious journey! Read on for the rest of this weekend’s activities at the Garden!

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This Weekend: Island Hopping for Orchids

Posted in Programs and Events on April 11 2014, by Lansing Moore

yellow orchidOnly ten days left to visit The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary, but this weekend there are many ways to get the most out of your visit to the Garden. While this year’s Orchid Show focuses on the Florida Keys, hundreds more varieties of this lovely flower grow throughout the tropics. This Sunday we are pleased to present Island Hopping for Caribbean Orchids in conjunction with the Torrey Botanical Society. Dr. James Ackerman Jr. will read from—and sign copies of—his latest book on the orchids of the Greater Antilles, a peek into one of the most beautiful and biologically diverse regions of the globe as seen through their most stunning flora.

While April 12’s Orchid Evening has already sold out, the good news is that tickets are still available for both Orchid Evenings taking place next weekend, April 18 and 19. That’s right, for the closing weekend of The Orchid Show, there will be an after dark event on both Friday and Saturday, with a different DJ and signature cocktail each night! But it’s your last chance to experience this flamboyant exhibition at night, so get your tickets soon.

Next week The Culinary Kids Food Festival returns April 14 with all new Activity Stations for hands-on learning of the science behind your family’s favorite treats! See what we have in store for the spring edition of one of our most popular family programs here. Or read on to see what’s in store at the Garden this beautiful April weekend!

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Poetry of Paradise

Posted in The Orchid Show on April 1 2014, by Matt Newman

The Orchid Show: Key West ContemporaryJust beyond the glass of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, where clouds of tropical orchids form a colorful interpretation of Key West’s wholly original island atmosphere, you’ll enter a world of poetry. More than a canvas for some of spring’s earliest blooms, the Perennial Garden is also home to the Orchid Show‘s written verse (because the flowers speak so eloquently for themselves). There you’ll find placards displaying some of the finest writing to come out of the Florida Keys, from expatriate poets as diverse as James Merrill, Richard Wilbur, and Elizabeth Bishop—all of whom found a second home near the Southernmost Point.

Not content to let these works stand alone, we enlisted some of the country’s brightest modern poets to lend their voices to their predecessors’ pens. This Sunday, April 6, join us for our once-only Key West Poetry Reading as these published writers recite the lyrical legacy of warmer climates. And if you haven’t already paid a visit to The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary, now is as good a time as any!

Our cadre of visiting poets certainly doesn’t lack for skill or accomplishments, as you’ll see below.

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Morning Eye Candy: Chipping Away

Posted in Photography on March 27 2014, by Matt Newman

I like to think we’re slowly chipping away at this stubborn winter cold with the power of the sunniest yellows. Cocktails don’t hurt the effort, either. This Saturday, March 29, we’re launching into our next Orchid Evening with one of my own spirits of choice, Four Roses bourbon. Mixed with punchy citrus, honey syrup, and those all-important bitters, it’ll remind you that spring really is in swing. But tickets have been selling out, so don’t wait too long to snag yours. And if you’re looking to make a full night of it, hit up our Priceless NY champagne pre-party for a bit of bubbly in the Shop in the Garden.

The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary

The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

This Weekend: Fragrant Orchids & Members Day!

Posted in Programs and Events on March 14 2014, by Lansing Moore

0314-Red-Orchid-250x280There are many ways to explore the Garden this weekend, whether on the brisk, sunny grounds or in the enchanting warmth of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, where The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary is in full bloom. Among our exciting programs this week are our regular Orchid Demonstrations. This weekend our experts will focus on fragrant orchids. While these gorgeous flowers brighten up any home, you can also explore which orchids have the best scent. You can treat all your senses this weekend with a specialty cocktail at Saturday’s Orchid Evening. Tomorrow’s brand new recipe is called “The Desert Flower”—read on to find out its delicious ingredients!

Don’t forget that this Saturday is also a Members Day in celebration of The Orchid Show! Members of the Garden will enjoy free parking and special discounts at the Dining Pavilion and Shop in the Garden—not to mention half-off admission for their friends and family! It has never been a better time to join, and if you are already a member this is the weekend to bring your loved ones on an excursion to the Garden. You can learn more about Members Day and the benefits of membership at nybg.org/membership.

Click through for the full weekend schedule of adult and children’s programs!

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Garden News at The Orchid Show

Posted in The Orchid Show on March 13 2014, by Lansing Moore

orchids nybgFor about a week now the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory has been plunged in the colorful escape of The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary. Our first Orchid Evening already took place last Saturday, and visitors have been pouring in to see the many varieties of orchids on display since the exhibit opened on March 1.

The day before it opened to the public, Kevin Character stopped by Members Day, where Garden Members were enjoying an exclusive preview of The Orchid Show. Early reviews were very encouraging. Some members called it the best Orchid Show yet, and they should know! Click through for this exclusive video tour of the unique design concept and varied special programs surrounding The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary.

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The Orchid Show: First Look!

Posted in The Orchid Show on March 10 2014, by Lansing Moore

pink orchids at The Orchid Show: Key West Conteporary at The New York Botanical GardenWe wrapped up our first week of The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary over the weekend, and we already have the first Orchid Evening event under our belts. The Orchid Show this year takes its inspiration from a garden designed by Raymond Jungles for an estate garden in Key West, whisking us away to Florida’s tropical climate. We bedecked the geometric reflecting pools, soaring angular pergolas, and sleek benches of this modern residence with hundreds of orchids! With so many varieties on view, the final effect is dazzling. For a burst of color on this March afternoon, click through for a look at The Orchid Show in all its glory.

There are an estimated 30,000 naturally occurring orchid species and tens of thousands of artificially created hybrids. We couldn’t possibly have room for all of them, but there is a stunning array on display at the Conservatory, and thousands of types in the Garden’s permanent collection.

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