Picking up from last week’s weird weather exposé, I would like to take time today to reflect on the unexpected snow storm that hit New York and New England on October 29th. While the damage from hurricane Irene was devastating for many areas, the damage from the snow storm was far worse for the Metropolitan New York area. There wasn’t a tree that was safe from its perils.
The aftermath of the snow storm resulted in one of the most extensive clean-up operations I have experienced in my seven-year tenure at The New York Botanical Garden, and it is still ongoing. Large sections of the grounds were closed off until they were deemed safe. The public came in hordes to see both the unexpected winter wonderland and the magnificent scale of destruction. If the power and fury of nature evokes awe, she was in fine form that day.
With 2011 rounded out, we look back on a month of whirlwind activity and holiday charm the likes of which you seldom see elsewhere in the city. It’s downright busy here. And with the string lights bright and families strolling all about the grounds, we ring in the new year with one last look back.
Not just for kids, we invited guests throughout December to join us for a viewing of the Holiday Train Show with a pair of slightly more grown-up themes. Shopping and Champagne and Bar Car Nights were a hit with our adult crowds, offering a chance to leave the rest of the family at home and enjoy the night with a glass of champagne or a cocktail.
After October’s storm and the following clean-up period, we hopped right into November’s seasonal preparations with the Holiday Train Show. Our kiku bid a fond “adieu” as they made room in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory for New York’s most cherished winter tradition. And did I mention the leaves on the trees? Fall had arrived–loud, clear, and bursting with the warmest hues.
Paul Busse and his team at Applied Imagination are nothing if they’re not diligent (and brilliantly creative). Setting up the Holiday Train Show takes no small amount of time or ingenuity, and for the last 20 years they have continued to produce one of New York’s most delightful holiday experiences. This year, we set up a time-lapse camera in the Conservatory so our readers could get a better idea of just how the whole process goes down.
October was a hectic month of stunning Japanese floral displays, pumpkin zombies, changing foliage and a holiday weekend punctuated by tragedy. But if we’re pros at anything, it’s picking ourselves up by the bootstraps! Horticulture can–after all–be an unpredictable business.
After many long months of preparation, the NYBG‘s Fall Flowers of Japan exhibition continued throughout October with a focus on kiku, a centuries-old chrysanthemum tradition requiring patience, skill, and an eye for aesthetic. Our very own Ann Rafalko even took it upon herself to explain just how the talented horticulturists behind these artful blooms do it!
In September, The New York Botanical Garden welcomed back much-loved chef and champion of orange Crocs, Mario Batali, for the rewards of his Edible Gardenplanted back in April. Mario’s recipes went up on Plant Talk throughout the following weeks, proving a delectable success!
Joyce H. Newman is the editor of Consumer Reports GreenerChoices.org, and has been a Garden Tour Guide with The New York Botanical Garden for the past six years.
An arrangement of Andromeda, paper whites, orange ranunculus and other careful selections
Fresh off her exciting holiday decor project for the First Family, floral designer Emily Thompson will be making time in 2012 to stop by The New York Botanical Garden and share some of her creative talents.
Thompson’s work is best known for its sculptural and naturalistic elements as inspired by her native Vermont. Her clients are not only among the internationally famous, such as the Obamas, but include her local Brooklyn friends and restaurants as well. Having studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and earned an MFA in sculpture at UCLA, Thompson eventually moved to New York, where she set up her shop–Emily Thompson Flowers–on Jay Street in Brooklyn’s DUMBO district, one of the city’s premier art havens.
The other day in Manhattan I passed a man wearing a t-shirt. It has been unseasonably warm this year and this was the confirmation. Throughout the fall and winter, The New York Botanical Garden has been showing similar signs of seasonal displacement and confusion. I would like to spend the next few weeks reflecting on some of the oddities that we experienced in the Garden over the past few months.
When I was teaching in our newly-restored Forest last month, part of my tour included a flowering Carolina rhododendron (Rhododendron carolinianum). It wasn’t in full flower, however there were several open blossoms scattered throughout the plant.
After putting together my story on poinsettia the other day, I realized that there’s more to seasonal decor than a few colorful leaves. There are quite obviously berries, too–red and white–and boughs of pine woven into wreaths and garland. Of course there’s the classic Christmas tree. Frankincense, myrrh. Growing things have made their way into every nook and cranny of this decidedly green and red season.
But as with every decoration, every tradition, there’s a backstory to be dug up. I decided to tackle a few of these plants topically with the “poinsettia treatment,” and came up with some interesting results.
Can you believe the Christmas weekend is already at our doorstep, and Hanukkah well underway? Before you can bat an eye, you’ll be up to your ears in New Year’s party planning while trying to decide on your resolutions for 2012 (as shaky as they always turn out in practice).
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves! If you’re in search of a way to entertain the in-laws and maybe a place to knock out those last few items on your all-too-lengthy gift list (nothing to be ashamed of; I’m so far behind on my shopping I’m thinking of giving everyone scratch-offs), there are still a few chances to catch the Holiday Train Show before Sunday.
Picking up from last week’s weird weather exposé, I would like to take time today to reflect on the unexpected snow storm that hit New York and New England on October 29th. While the damage from hurricane Irene was devastating for many areas, the damage from the snow storm was far worse for the Metropolitan New York area. There wasn’t a tree that was safe from its perils.
