So right about now you’re probably in the throes of gift-giving season, hunting down the perfect gift for that special someone, or even something to wrap up for yourself. And I know, Black Friday has already passed (I think that’s a collective sigh of relief I hear). But don’t worry—the NYBG is home to a wide variety of thoughtful gift ideas that’ll help you win genuine smiles from family and friends. And part of the proceeds will support the Garden as well!
Whether it’s a unique domed terrarium from Shop in the Garden, a Membership that offers year-round enjoyment, an exciting Adult Education course in one of a multitude of interesting subjects, or a dedicated bench on our historic landscape, there’s a gift that will both bring joy to the recipient and help carry out far-reaching education, research, and conservation efforts in our New York community and around the globe—a mission we have been committed to for more than 120 years.
Our shop is the first stop for many gift-hunting visitors, and with good reason. It offers a bevy of gifts in rich botanical textures and seasonal themes, as well as books, music, home decor, edibles, and plants for the window sill or home garden. Looking to set someone up with all the necessary gardening kit? We’ve got you covered there, too, with plenty of tools to suit the trade.
Summer bows out this weekend as we pack away our sandals, margaritas, sunscreen and park picnics and ready the scarf-and-peacoat ensembles. Officially, the first day of autumn is this Sunday. And nothing screams the merits of fall like jack-o’-lanterns, scarecrows, bugs, bats, and snakes, right? Emphasis on the “scream,” though it’s all in good fun!
Saturday is the opening day of The Haunted Pumpkin Garden, so of course we’re doing things big with spooky Halloween events and activities in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden and the Clay Family Picnic Pavilions, to start. You’re welcome to sit in on an expert carving as gourds become ghouls in the Discovery Center, or interact with some of the skittering, slithering creatures that make the holiday what it is in the pavilions.
Elsewhere in the Garden, we’re all about demos. Our gardeners for public education will be on deck in the Home Gardening Center with enlightening how-tos on the late-season, under-the-radar beauties known as salvias. And in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, we’re all about cooking demonstrations with seasonal, fresh-picked edibles twice a day on Saturday and Sunday. It should give those of you joining us for Saturday night’s Family Dinner with Mario Batali’s Chefs a tasty glimpse into the coming feast.
Toward the close of Saturday afternoon, you’ll also want to make your way toward the Perennial Garden, where poets Patricia Carlin, Adam Fitzgerald, and John Murillo will recite classic verse and original works to give these summer nights a proper send-off.
The coming months promise a cornucopia of new events and exhibitions, so stay tuned!
The Garden goes to the birds this weekend with outdoor activities geared toward the wildlife lover in all of us (you’ll get a pass if you have an ongoing feud with pigeons—that’s almost rote for any New Yorker). And because it just so happens to be migratory season for a number of bird species, the timing couldn’t be better. So bring your binoculars, your kids, and an open mind toward gardening for critters, because we’ll be making room for all three over the next couple of days.
For birders new or established, Debbie Becker is back after a brief summer hiatus with Bird Walks each Saturday at 11 a.m. Keep an eye out over the next few weeks for the colorful puffballs known as warblers that should be making pit stops in the Garden during their fall migration. In the Native Plant Garden, we’ll have experts on hand teaching home gardeners the ins and outs of attracting wildlife—such as beneficial insects—to backyard beds. And in among the vegetables of the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, kids are welcome to dig to their hearts’ content during activities that highlight the hands-on aspects of keeping a garden. Our Pollinator Pals program also highlights the importance of the bees and butterflies that pollinate our crops.
For the last few months, Wild Medicine: Healing Plants Around the World has awed thousands of visitors with its exotic medicinal specimens, ancient botanical texts, and unique tasting experiences. We’ve watched The Italian Renaissance Garden shift with the days as the species in the Conservatory have cycled through. And after dark, we’ve lit up the night with Cocktail Evenings & Summer Concerts. But even with a little under two weeks to go on the exhibition schedule, we’re still not winding down!
This being the penultimate weekend for Wild Medicine, it’s all too fitting that it lands on a holiday. So we’re stretching the weekend straight into Labor Day Monday with a packed schedule of Conservatory tours, family-friendly jaunts through the music and dance of the Renaissance, and casual home gardening demonstrations to pique your palate.
With only a short time left ahead of the September 8 curtain call, we’re also readying for our closing presentation, a long-awaited lecture by NYBG ethnobotanist and Wild Medicine curator Dr. Michael Balick. On Saturday, September 7, Dr. Balick’s Ancient Wisdom and Modern Medicine opens a door to the relationships between plants, people, and culture, a core theme of our exhibition and a study he’s pursued in locales around the world. Tickets to this exclusive event are limited, so it’s best if you register sooner rather than later.
Again, we’re opening our gates for this special holiday Monday and we’re just 20 minutes from Grand Central. Don’t miss out on the closing window to see one of the most celebrated NYC exhibitions of the summer!
Summer’s stint on the calendar may be dwindling, but if you were to spend an hour wandering our 250 acres you’d think the landscape had yet to take notice. Everything is so lush! Even in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, where our Wild Medicine exhibition is winding into its final weeks, the peak of summer’s growth is still very much in vogue. You can also thank our dedicated staff of horticulturists for that one—they haven’t missed a beat all season with their plantings in the Italian Renaissance Garden, and they’ll be keeping everything primped and perfect through the end of the show.
Soaking up as much of the season as you can before the leaves blush is a perfectly good reason to be here. And so is keeping your home gardening skills sharp! On both Saturday and Sunday, we’ll be holding demonstrations in the Home Gardening Center focusing on that ever-present challenge to your backyard’s beauty: deer. Their incorrigible appetites may seem impossible to trump, but our experts have a few tricks they’re willing to share that just might minimize the hassle.
We’ll also be holding cooking demonstrations in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, enjoying the butterflies and bees with Pollinator Pals, and just plain chilling out this weekend. Hope you’ll join us!
Got your Family Dinner tickets yet? This Sunday, August 11, we launch into the second of three top-notch culinary adventures as a new batch of Mario Batali’s finest chefs team up to treat your appetite. Top billing this round goes to Chef Andy Nusser of Tarry Lodge and Chef Anthony Sasso of Casa Mono, with a rich, varied menu of fruits, vegetables, and savory dishes that make artful use of the grill. Time is running out, and so are open spots, so make a point of visiting Priceless NY to get your tickets.
Elsewhere in the Garden, Wild Medicine is only getting better with the flush of summer’s greenery. The Italian Renaissance Garden in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory is a daily-changing landscape festooned with the therapeutic plants, trees, and flowers of Italy’s garden at Padua. In the Ross Hall, we’re spotlighting the Music and Dance of the Renaissance with the talented bards of Early Music New York and The New York Historical Dance Company. The Library is a haven for history buffs right now with The Renaissance Herbal‘s collection of centuries-old botanical tomes. And in the Home Gardening Center, we’re going practical with water-wise gardening tips and plant placement advice. Whether you’re revisiting your seaside garden with new resolve post-Sandy, or just not sure what to plant in your backyard, our horticulturists have the answers.
Water lilies are a summer staple here that you really can’t overlook. The Conservatory pools are replete with reds, yellows, purples, whites, and pinks, each bloom bobbing up from below to create a mosaic of unique hues. Surrounded by the tall (and enormous) lotus blooms bordering the pools, it’s a singular experience. But however majestic these flowers are, they’re not out of reach for the home gardener, even here in New York.
Join us this weekend at the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory for a home gardening demonstration focusing on the quirks and qualities of the water lily, discovering new varieties, container planting methods, and tips on how to keep your aquatic collection thriving.
Over in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, we’ll be hosting demonstrations of a different, slightly more palatable form—literally. Each Saturday & Sunday at 2 and 4 p.m. you can join Family Garden staff for cooking demos in the Whole Foods Market Kitchen. In summer, we’re especially fond of the sweet and stinky elements of the vegetable patch, so expect to touch on garlic and onions while you’re there. Chances are you’ll be able to follow your nose if you get lost!
Beyond our hands-on activities, you’ll find elements of our ongoing Wild Medicine exhibition woven into almost everything taking place in the Garden, whether it’s the Italian Renaissance Garden in the Conservatory, the classical music and dance in the Ross Hall, or the time-worn pages of ancient herbal manuscripts in the Library. So even if you’re just coming for a stroll in the Forest, make room in your schedule for a little bit more—you won’t regret it.
Just over one more week to go! We’re counting off the days until Mario Batali‘s first Family Dinner of the summer, with eminent chefs from both Lupa and Babbo presiding, and already our appetites are piqued. Not that it’s all too surprising—the promise of Mozzarella di Bufala, strip steak with marinated runner beans, pistachio olive oil cake and more would have the gourmand in almost anyone hopping with anticipation.
The event goes well beyond the family-style dinner, too. If you’ve got kids in tow, don’t worry about antsiness playing into it: we’ll have a bunch of hands-on gardening and craft activities to keep the little ones happy. Meanwhile, cooking demonstrations from Mario’s top chefs round out the experience in the Whole Foods Market® Family Garden Kitchen. It’s a lot to pack into one evening, but we’re not shy of saying how proud we are to host it! That said, we only have food for so many guests in the Family Garden at one time, so tickets are limited—better to register now than wait until next weekend! Check out The Edible Garden for more on this MasterCard® event, or head straight over to Priceless NY to get your tickets. Your tastebuds would thank you if they could.
For this weekend’s activities, Wild Medicine is as much the belle of the ball as ever, with horticulturists working each and every day to keep the Conservatory display at its peak. And we’re doing it one better this weekend with Saturday and Sunday gardening demonstrations geared toward the flower arrangers among you (or those who are hopeful of becoming one). Check the rest of the schedule below!
Friday, Friday, how do we love you—let me count the ways. Or the activities, at least. We’re once again toeing the weekend’s threshold here at the NYBG, and the summer blooms make for a bright lead-in to the next few days of Wild Medicine, home gardening demonstrations, and romps in the edible plots of the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden. You might want to make a point of hitting up the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, too. Talking greenhouses and summer in the same breath might be a bit redundant, but the colors under the glass dome make my point for me—between the lilies and thistles of The Italian Renaissance Garden, and the lollipop plants, passion flowers, and lotuses surrounding, these collections are unmissable.
Speaking of unmissable, 2013’s first Family Dinner with Mario Batali’s chefs is fast approaching, and tickets are still available for this summer evening in the Family Garden. We’ve even got a menu up on the main page for the July 28 event! And if Mozzarella di Bufala and Pistachio Olive Oil Cake sound like your kind of eats, you’re headed in the right direction. Check out the offerings, maybe take a peek at the restaurants involved (you won’t be disappointed in the visiting chefs’ qualifications), and register while you still can!
Just one last reminder: while most of the 2013 Summer Intensives have already started, hopeful gardeners looking to earn a certificate from one of the most prestigious horticulture schools in the world still have a day or two to sign up for our Gardening Summer Intensive. You can see what it’s all about here.
As we saunter on into summer, we’ll have more events for you, too. For now, check our weekend schedule below.
It’s Tuesday, which means it’s almost Wednesday. And Wednesday, of course, means Greenmarket goodies! Come 9 a.m. tomorrow we’ll be out along Garden Way with our visiting vendors, buying our fill of fresh-picked fruits, vegetables, and baked treats. That said, we would love some company from our visitors.
As of last week’s Greenmarket offerings, we saw heaps of fresh blueberries, grape tomatoes, cabbage, bok choy, potatoes, green beans, and beets from Gajeski Produce. From Migliorelli Farm, there was all manner of flavorful herbs, along with summer squash, zucchini, peas of different kinds, and all the kale, spinach, and collards that could possibly fit in your crisper drawer. From Red Jacket Orchards, apricots, strawberries, and cherries, along with buckets of fresh chilled fruit juices. And of course there was Meredith’s Bread, which supplied us with stacks of fresh-baked pies, breads, scones, and muffins. They even had quiche!
Chances are we’ll see similar offerings on the table tomorrow, but with so many harvests beginning and ending in July, there may be a few surprises. In the meantime, head below for a recipe from our Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden crew.
So right about now you’re probably in the throes of gift-giving season, hunting down the perfect gift for that special someone, or even something to wrap up for yourself. And I know, Black Friday has already passed (I think that’s a collective sigh of relief I hear). But don’t worry—the NYBG is home to a wide variety of thoughtful gift ideas that’ll help you win genuine smiles from family and friends. And part of the proceeds will support the Garden as well!
