Morning Eye Candy: Such a Tease
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on February 19 2013, by Matt Newman
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Inside The New York Botanical Garden
orchid show
Morning Eye Candy: Small Wonder
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on February 5 2013, by Matt Newman
Tiny tropical treats flourish in the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections, primped and preened as they wait for their moment to take over the Conservatory.
Pleurothallis cardiothallis — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
This Weekend: Ditch Your Winter Woes!
Posted in Programs and Events on February 1 2013, by Matt Newman
Try not to think of February as the grim side of winter. It’s self-defeating! Instead, turn it into your warm-up to spring, a time to prepare for sunnier months–whether that’s daydreaming away the cold, getting back in shape, or shuffling your bathing suits to an easy-to-reach spot in the closet. In some sense, that’s been the regimen here at the NYBG since the holidays passed, where we’re readying ourselves for the triumphant return of the green by reveling in all things palm-trees-and-coconuts. If you haven’t been to see Tropical Paradise yet, you can’t say you’ve relaxed this season!
Under the glass of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, where the snow and the sleet are stopped at the velvet rope, we’re celebrating our permanent collection–the towering tropical trees and broad-leaved beauties that transform our little corner of New York City into a living rain forest. And in between the tours through our misty cloud forest houses and the rare, exotic species growing within, we’re filling in all the little gaps with tropical music, art, and more. Whether you come for the Caribbean tunes, the ongoing photography events, or the simple opportunity to stuff your gloves in your pocket and breathe, you’ve got until February 24 to make it happen! After that, we’re not losing momentum–you’ll be saying hello to the Orchid Show before you can say “strawberry daiquiri.”
The Orchid Show: Echoing Nature
Posted in The Orchid Show on January 31 2013, by Matt Newman
Sorbet purples flush the vandas, cymbidiums pop with lime-green bursts; nearby, a moth orchid flaunts its wedding whites. On the whole, orchids are a lot like Carnaval, vibrant and loud and rambunctiously elegant. But as one of the largest flowering plant families on Earth, how do you go about honoring the essence of that variety? It’s simple, really: just look to nature!
Now in its second decade, the NYBG has captured New York City’s imagination with its annual Orchid Show, celebrating what can arguably be called the world’s most beloved flower. This year, we keep the tradition steaming ahead with a new exhibition highlighting the sheer spectrum of orchids found the world over, diving–genus by genus–into every color of this iconic beauty.
In the hands of our Vice President for Glasshouses and Exhibitions, Francisca Coelho, the heights of the Orchidaceae family inspire the city’s most magnificent collection of blossoms under one glass roof, each display an homage to nature’s wild palette.
Morning Eye Candy: Green on Green
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on January 14 2013, by Matt Newman
Green on green is nothing special in the plant world, at least up until you find a flower of such description. At that moment, things sway into the realm of magical. It all begins March 3rd–mark your calendars!
Paph. venustum — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
What’s Beautiful Now: Orchids Obscured
Posted in What's Beautiful Now on December 3 2012, by Matt Newman
This post is a bit of an anomaly for our “What’s Beautiful Now” series. Usually, we cobble these together to show our fans and visitors what’s worth slipping into the agenda during a trip to the NYBG; each post is a rundown of what you should go and enjoy at its peak flower or aroma, depending on the season. But some of the collections we have growing here at the Garden aren’t always open for public consumption–not yet, anyway. They’re too early in their growth, or still being primped for coming exhibitions. And most of these plants fall within the purview of the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections, where preparation begins for coming events many months (if not years) before opening day rolls around.
Seeing as I already teased you this past weekend with some of the jungle jewels sprouting up under the glass of the Nolen Greenhouses, I figure there’s no reason to keep the rest of Ivo’s recent photo shoot cooped up in our files. Standouts among the photos taken are easily the orchids, a few of which we expect to steal the spotlight in 2013’s spring Orchid Show. And while we can’t spill the entire layout of the exhibition just yet, I’m all too happy to pass along a gallery of eye candy in the meantime.
A Blooming Great Weekend to Visit!
Posted in Around the Garden on April 20 2012, by Matt Newman
It’s been a whirlwind of excitement for the past two months, but the Orchid Show is soon to bid adieu to another successful year. More than successful, really–the tenth anniversary exhibition is being called one of the most triumphant showings our orchids have had to date, thanks in no small measure to the transcendent designs of botanist Patrick Blanc.
For any of our fans who spent the past few weeks bickering with themselves over the choice to take a day in the Bronx, now is absolutely your last chance to experience the vivid verticality of “The Green Man’s” living walls in person. And I can tell you without the shadow of a doubt that there’s plenty for you to see alongside the exhibition–as if the otherworldly flowers of several thousand orchids weren’t enough to get you on your feet and out the front door.
Morning Eye Candy: Bon Voyage
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on April 20 2012, by Matt Newman
We now enter the final weekend of 2012’s Orchid Show. What will you be doing with your off days?
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Earth Day the Right Way
Posted in Around the Garden, Programs and Events on April 18 2012, by Matt Newman
We think everyone should treat each and every square on the calendar like it’s Earth Day; we’re loud proponents of keeping the environment healthy and ship-shape. But on the celebratory front, we like to pile our events into one spectacular week of sunny spring days. So if you’re searching for a way to show the planet that you appreciate all it’s done for you, and you want to give back, we have just the thing. Read on for all that’s going down with The New York Botanical Garden and its partners, here and around New York City!
One Last Week of Orchids in Spring
Posted in Around the Garden, Programs and Events on April 13 2012, by Matt Newman
This weekend we enter the home stretch of the Orchid Show balanced on a bittersweet note. Thousands of visitors have had the opportunity to experience Patrick Blanc’s inspiring vertical architecture, stepping under, around, and between the reaching walls of tropical foliage and luxuriant orchid flowers. This year’s spring display is a masterwork only “The Green Man” could have conjured.
Going into the final week of our tenth anniversary exhibition, we encourage everyone who hasn’t yet made the short trip to the Bronx to put on some comfortable shoes and step out for a day at the Garden. Between the sunlit brilliance of these spring afternoons and the rare form of the Orchid Show, there are few excuses for missing out.