Spring is here. For real here, as far as I’m concerned. And with daytime temps looking to be in the 60s for the rest of the week (fingers crossed), it’s a great time for our flowers to catch our flowers waking for the season. You’ll find cherry blossoms galore, fragrant magnolias, and daffodils in abundance cascading across Daffodil Hill, Liasson Valley, and elsewhere throughout the Garden. The azaleas won’t be far behind!
From the bloom of our ever-fragrant lilacs to the dainty dramatics of the Auricula Theater, spring’s progress isn’t hard to see here at NYBG. The crabapples are waking near Daffodil Hill, and the magnolias—always some of the season’s top charmers—are still trucking along with pink and white blooms. Meanwhile, the Azalea Garden is becoming a sea of color.
Kristine Paulus is NYBG’s Plant Records Manager. She is responsible for the curation of The Lionel Goldfrank III Computerized Catalog of the Living Collections. She manages nomenclature standards and the plant labels for all exhibitions, gardens, and collections, while coordinating with staff, scientists, students and the public on all garden-related plant information.
A non-horticulturist friend recently asked me “So, what do you do in winter? The Garden must closed because everything is dead, right?”
Wrong! I assured this silly weather wimp that we do not overwinter in any hibernacula and there is actually a lot to see during wintertide, which just happens to be my favorite time of year. For those with a serious aversion to the fourth season, or perhaps suffering from chionophobia, they can always take shelter in the gorgeous glasshouse that is the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. There, they will see the remarkable pageant of tropical gems that will alleviate their shivers, from our most recent exhibition, Wild Medicine in the Tropics, to The Orchid Show: Chandeliers, opening soon, as well as the permanent collection of plants.
However, as someone who particularly enjoys horticulture al fresco, I love to remind the winter naysayers that the sun is actually closer to us these months and that many of our beloved perennials require a period of vernalization in order to flower in the spring. If those fun facts fail to impress, you can (and should!) just get out and see for yourself the many cool plants the Garden’s winter landscape has to offer. Remember, you got to be cold to be cool.
The Antique Garden Furniture Fair opens to the public this weekend, with a full roster of exciting talks and booksignings! Come peruse the wares in the Conservatory Tent throughout Saturday and Sunday, including our own Specialty Plant Sale. For home decor inspiration, visit our series of fascinating Q&A sessions with visiting experts. Even better, home delivery is available for all purchases.
It is also quite a weekend for art lovers at the Garden with our Triennial exhibition, Weird, Wild, & Wonderful open to great acclaim. Prepare to be amazed by how the most talented botanical artists interpret the world’s most bizarre-looking plants in the Ross Gallery.
There are still plenty of ways for children to enjoy the Garden this weekend as well. Mario Batali’s Kitchen Gardens will use the growing season to guide kids through an exploration of Italian heirloom vegetables to encourage healthy and delicious eating. Dig! Plant! Grow! returns with a new program, too, investigating Wild Wiggly Worms and how they help gardens flourish.
The grounds are enjoying a truly spectacular blooming season. The magnolia and cherry trees are flowering at the same time, blanketing the Garden in white and pink. Click through for our weekend programs, including the Antique Garden Furniture Fair!
”Saw this rare yellow magnolia in bloom last weekend at the NY Botanical Garden” @OliverSacks
Recently the eminent neurologist, author, and friend of the GardenDr. Oliver Sackstweeted a picture of himself with one of NYBG‘s yellow magnolias. “Saw this rare yellow magnolia in bloom last weekend at the NY Botanical Garden,” Dr. Sacks said. This resulted in a series of questions about yellow magnolias, most of which I could not answer. So I turned to someone who could, the Garden’s Manager of Plant Records, Jon Peter.
One of the biggest questions was as to whether or not the magnolia pictured, Magnolia ‘Butterflies’, is in fact yellow. “Yes it is really yellow, although a pale yellow,” Jon Peter assured me. This is one of the problems with digital plant pictures, everyone’s screen is slightly different, so hues can appear different to different people. But you can trust me, Dr. Sacks, and Jon Peter—this beautiful tree is truly yellow. It has a creamy, buttery color, with just a touch of chartreuse shot through. It is especially spectacular when set against more traditional blossoming tree colors like pink and white.
Sometimes, two photographs end up next to each other in our photo database, and all I can think is, “I wish I had a wardrobe made exclusively from these color palettes and shapes.” Such is the case with these two.
Magnolia x wieseneri (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Shrub Rose ‘Lady of Shalott’ (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Things are moving fast here at the Garden; each day brings word of another extraordinarily beautiful plant that has burst into bloom. So, while we’re closed today (but we’ll be open next Monday, April 25), we thought we would share with you some of the amazing flowering trees that are in bloom around our 250-acres. Of course, just as plants burst into flower, they also stop flowering, too, so we cannot guarantee that all of these will still be in bloom when you visit. So, be sure to follow us on Twitter or “like” us on Facebook and get up to the minute updates on what’s beautiful now at the Garden (keeping an eye on the NYBG Blog, Plant Talk can’t hurt either). And if you’ve got a question about whether a specific plant is in bloom, feel free to ask us! We’ll dispatch a plant-porter out into the Garden and get back to you.
Willow-Leaf Magnolia SalicifoliaCherry BlossomsIn the MistForsythia along the Bronx RiverMagnolia 'Columbia'Cherry BlossomsStar Magnolia in front of the LibraryWeeping CherryNear the LibraryMagnolia stellata
