Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Morning Eye Candy
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography, Programs and Events on July 14 2012, by Matt Newman
Wishing a wonderful July 14 to every one of our French friends! And everyone who’s just being French for the weekend, for that matter. Don’t forget that the NYBG will be on 60th street in Manhattan for the Bastille Day NY festivities tomorrow, from 12 to 5 p.m. There won’t be any storming of fortresses to my knowledge, but I figure food, music, and celebration will suffice. Vive le 14 juillet!
Hemerocallis ‘Siloam French Doll’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on July 13 2012, by Matt Newman
After I posted the relieving conclusion of the ‘Ray Davies’ saga, commenter Gene mentioned that another pond-dweller, this time a lotus, shared its name with yet another rock star–Scottish singer Maggie Bell. For those who didn’t catch the exchange, I dove in and found what I could of Nelumbo ‘Maggie Bell Slocum’, dubbed not for a rocker, but someone far more horticultural.
‘Maggie Bell Slocum’ was so named for the second wife of prolific water lily and lotus hybridizer Perry D. Slocum, a New Yorker and a long-lived icon in the pond plant world. This one still has stage presence, though, with or without the rock pedigree.
Nelumbo ‘Maggie Belle Slocum’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography, Wildlife on July 12 2012, by Matt Newman
Peahen sighted! The subdued colors of the female aren’t so easily recognizable as the flamboyant frill of the male peacock, but the slight tinges of blue-green color (not to mention those Dr. Seuss-esque head feathers) should give her away.
What few realize is that these birds really can fly, though they’re often kept in open-air aviaries–it’s just easier to stay put than leave a reliable food source. Another fact, somewhat more hilarious: peacocks are used as “guard dogs” by some, as they have a tendency to let out deafening squawks at the approach of strangers. Just don’t expect them to tackle an intruder with any efficacy.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on July 10 2012, by Matt Newman
Quercus rubra — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on July 9 2012, by Matt Newman
Ahem. Just wanted to chime in with a small reminder: this is happening all along Daylily Walk. Right now.
Hemerocallis ‘Red Joy’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on July 8 2012, by Matt Newman
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on July 7 2012, by Matt Newman
For all the wabi-sabi of the surrounding stands of lotus, you’ll find symmetry if you catch the Water Lily Pool from just the right angle.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on July 6 2012, by Matt Newman
Finally Friday. If you couldn’t find the time to get outside on the Fourth, be sure to prepare for this weekend: sunglasses, sunscreen, a few bottles of water. And do they still make parasols? Maybe one of those, too. Not everyone has the benefit of built-in shades, butterflies excluded.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on July 5 2012, by Matt Newman
If Daylily Walk is our Yellow Brick Road, that would make the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory the Emerald City, right?
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on July 4 2012, by Matt Newman
Happy Fourth, everyone! Not only is the Garden open for regular hours today, but it’s a Wednesday, meaning free grounds admission for any and all visitors. The Greenmarket will also be going until 3 p.m., with a smorgasbord of locally-sourced fruit, vegetables, cheeses, baked goods and other tasty stuff to offer. I should probably chime in with mention of that most American of Independence Day staples, apple pie–there’ll be a bit of that, too.
From all of us here at the NYBG, here’s to a safe, happy, and delicious Independence Day. May your grill-outs be grand and your burgers brilliant. Or your tofu dogs terrific, if that’s more your style!
Rosa ‘Fourth of July’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
