Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on July 3 2012, by Matt Newman
Nymphaea ‘Arc-en-Ciel’, not to be confused with long-running Japanese rock group L’Arc-en-Ciel. Each seems to have liked the French translation of “The Rainbow” enough to claim it as a name.
How many other musical connections can we make between our water lilies, I wonder?
Nymphaea ‘Arc-en-Ciel’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on July 2 2012, by Matt Newman
Sorry for the blatant tease. Just wanted to pass along a reminder that the gem-like fruits and vegetables of our Greenmarket will be back on Wednesday (and every Wednesday from now through November). Okay, I’m not really sorry–I’m suffering the pangs of raspberry desire just like you are.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on July 1 2012, by Matt Newman
My kingdom for a canoe. I wonder if we’ll see boats on the Bronx River return in the fall.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on June 30 2012, by Matt Newman
Echinacea may be synonymous with the health supplement aisle in your local organic market, but it gets its name from a far older comparison: the Greek word echino, which means “sea urchin.” That spiny head is a dead giveaway.
Echinacea purpurea ‘Rubinstern’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on June 29 2012, by Matt Newman
Daffodil Hill heads into summer with an air of Little House on the Prairie, I think. But no running through the fields, please–not even with overalls on.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on June 28 2012, by Matt Newman
Sea anemone, jellyfish, urchin or octopus? The passion flower is great for anyone with an imagination prone to bouncing in all directions.
Passiflora ‘Purple Tiger’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on June 27 2012, by Matt Newman
The hydrangeas are emerging as this month’s Best in Show, so to speak. They’re looking almost candy-coated in the Home Gardening Center.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on June 26 2012, by Matt Newman
A spot of lily color (with a cultivar name I first mistook for ‘Pink Twinkie’) to distract you from the reality of a long week still ahead. This one’s chilling out in the Perennial Garden (also a decent place to escape workday doldrums).
Lilium ‘Pink Twinkle’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on June 25 2012, by Matt Newman
Care to guess this edible? Er, soon-to-be edible. The species in question is native to China, and directly related to something many countries eat (or the song suggests we eat) during the holidays.
Give up? It’s the Chinese chestnut tree. In the U.S., American chestnuts (Castanea dentata) were devastated by the chestnut blight when it arrived from Asia, but this species evolved alongside the blight to be highly resistant to its effects. Now, scientists are making every effort to breed a deliberate hybrid with the tree size and nut qualities of the American species, and the resistance of the Chinese species.
And that whole thing about roasting chestnuts on an open fire? Mel Tormé wrote “The Christmas Song” in 1944, after finding his music partner’s scribblings of winter scenery on a spiral notebook. It was the middle of a miserably hot summer, and said partner had been trying to cool off by thinking of chilly weather. Might not hurt to try it now.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on June 24 2012, by Matt Newman
We can’t tell you how grateful we are to have this running through the NYBG. Sometimes, just lazing on the bridge over the Bronx River is a good way to take the edge off the afternoon heat.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen