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Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Monet’s Garden

Monet’s Muse Strikes the Adventure Garden!

Posted in Exhibitions, Monet's Garden on May 24 2012, by Matt Newman

Monet’s masterpieces may be hanging safely in the Rondina/LoFaro Gallery, but the artist’s inspiration runs wild in our children’s garden! The bright flowers in their full spring glory aren’t all that far off from the confetti-colored borders of Monet’s own Giverny. Of course, the giant, googly-eyed caterpillars bursting with tiny flowers aren’t anything you’ll find in the average Impressionist’s landscape painting. But then again, why not?

At the NYBG, the artistic muse speaks early, and nowhere is it more alive than in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. Visit for the morning during Monet’s Garden and enjoy hands-on classes with your kids, or take an afternoon stroll with your toddler in tow to experience freeform creativity with our knowledgeable Explainers. Art is at its best when you let the mood take you!

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Down the Allée and Over the Bridge

Posted in Exhibitions, Monet's Garden, Programs and Events on May 18 2012, by Matt Newman

If you’re looking to experience Monet’s famed garden at Giverny this weekend, you’re weighing two options. You can either book a flight for Saturday morning–over a thousand dollars out of pocket on short notice, and an eight-hour flight to Charles De Gaulle airport–or you can throw a few bucks on your MetroCard and hop the subway to the Bronx.

I’m personally not much of a jet setter; lighting off for Europe on a whim doesn’t stir the pot of my daily routine that often, and the occasional craving for a fresh baguette seldom boils over. Maybe the local option is a better bet. The father of Impressionism is here in New York, after all!

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Behind the Scenes in Monet’s Garden

Posted in Exhibitions, Exhibitions, Monet's Garden, Video on May 15 2012, by Matt Newman

As NYBG horticulturists preen the nasturtiums and primp the poppies, we draw closer to the opening of the year’s most spectacular exhibition. Monet’s Garden goes live this weekend! And just in time for our grand opening, we’re putting the finishing accents on the scenery that makes Monet’s Giverny a destination for gardeners and art aficionados the world over.

Karen Daubmann, Director of Exhibitions and Seasonal Displays, gives us a rare peek at the behind-the-scenes efforts taking place under the glass of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. But by the time you visit the NYBG on Saturday, what you see below will have come a long way. Claude Monet’s garden has always bridged the gap between untamed art and flawless design; we think you’ll see that our homage is taking things in the right direction.

Monet’s Garden begins Saturday, May 19. Reserve your tickets now!

Delphinium: Vivid Blues

Posted in Around the Garden, Exhibitions on May 9 2012, by Matt Newman

Claude Monet may have defined his career as a painter with the iconic irises and water lilies that sprung from his palette, but his garden at Giverny offered a menagerie of color and shape that reached far beyond his most common canvas subjects. And it does to this day: over a century later, a crack staff of gardeners still tends the dazzling variety of plants that makes up the Impressionist’s living legacy. This includes a collection of vibrant indigo flowers well-known to home gardeners, cattle ranchers, and one of the 20th century’s greatest creatives.

As May makes its case for cheerful spring weather, a prime example of the Impressionist’s varied tastes blooms at the NYBG‘s Nolen Glasshouses, awaiting the opening of Monet’s Garden. And if ever an eponymous color did its namesake proud, it would be that of “delphinium blue.” There are other hues in the plant’s repertoire, of course–lavender, white, red–but each understated alternate might seem almost banal in comparison.

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Monet: Artist and Gardener

Posted in Monet's Garden on May 8 2012, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.

This year we are celebrating the life of the artist and gardener, Claude Monet. From May 19th until October 21st you will find our show houses, water lily pools, and exhibition galleries re-creating and displaying pieces of the famous Impressionist’s life.

The artist’s palette, photographs, and records of his famous garden–as well as two rarely seen paintings of irises–will be on view in our Library’s exhibition gallery. Our Ross gallery will display photographs of Giverny through the seasons, produced by an American gardener who was involved in the restoration of the legendary garden.

Our show houses and water lily pools will capture the essence of Giverny, including the iconic Japanese foot bridge and his Grand Allée. Throughout the summer we will discuss Monet as an artist and gardener, taking a look at his use of light and color in the garden and exploring some take-home lessons from his design strategies and gardening techniques.

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