Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Photography on May 6 2014, by Matt Newman
Feel free to use that title as often as you’d like, in as many scenarios as you can fit it. The portmanteau will only get you dirty looks some of the time.
Magnolia cultivar in the Magnolia Collection – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on May 5 2014, by Matt Newman
The daffodils are still chugging right along, and you don’t have to look far to find them. “Just about everywhere” is a good place to start, though.
Daffodils near the Library Building – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on May 4 2014, by Matt Newman
Who else but the crabapples can stand up to the cherries’ firecracker brilliance?
Malus ‘Strawberry Parfait’ in the Donald J. Bruckmann Crabapple Collection– Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on May 3 2014, by Matt Newman
Expect to see a lot from the Perennial Garden going forward. It’s just too good to keep to ourselves.
In the Perennial Garden – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Horticulture on May 2 2014, by Stephen Scanniello
Stephen Scanniello is NYBG’s Curator of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden. The author of six books on roses, his latest is A Rose By Any Name. Stephen is the recipient of the Jane Righter Rose Medal from the Garden Club of America. He gardens in Barnegat, NJ.
Compost piles filled with blackened rose canes eclipsed the forsythia as the harbinger of this year’s rose season. Gardeners everywhere, dealing with the effects of a long cold winter followed by roller coaster spring temperatures, were left with no alternative but to prune their roses much more severely than they have in recent seasons. The Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden wasn’t immune to this situation. From modern hybrids to rugged old roses, plants were shortened, some nearly to ground level. Am I worried? No. I look at this as “tough love” for roses.
Experienced gardeners know that this is an opportunity to rejuvenate a rose plant. With sharpened secateurs, and a shot of courage, this seemingly somber situation becomes a chance for you to improve the health of the rose bush. Removing dead wood and weakened canes encourages strong basal growth. By June, this plum-colored growth will produce beautiful roses.
Posted in Photography on May 2 2014, by Matt Newman
I’m having a hard time recalling winter right now, what with all these tulips.
In the Home Gardening Center – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on May 1 2014, by Matt Newman
Tulips in the Visitor Center – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on April 30 2014, by Matt Newman
The Collections have a friendly wager going between them: who can hit spring stride the quickest? It’s quickly getting to be a neck-and-neck race.
In the Perennial Garden – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on April 29 2014, by Matt Newman
What tree but a weeping cherry could preface the Conservatory’s summer patina?
Weeping cherry near the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Horticulture on April 25 2014, by Kristin Schleiter
Kristin Schleiter is the NYBG’s Associate Vice President of Outdoor Gardens and Senior Curator. She oversees the wonderful gardening team that keeps our flowering gardens looking topnotch, curates the herbaceous gardens and collections, and manages the curator of woody plants. She lives and gardens in Fairfield, CT.
It’s daffodil time! That dreamy, delicious time of year when even the greyest day is made brilliant by masses of cheerful blooms.
I’m often asked which is my favorite daffodil. It’s like asking me which of my children I love the most! I adore the slightly green, buttery yellow trumpet ‘Pistachio’ who is so handsome next to lavender pansies. But then ‘Surfside’ just blooms so enthusiastically with her swept back white petals and her frilled cup that fades to cream. How could I not pick her? And of course ‘St. Keverne’ is marvelous too. His rich golden yellow blossoms stand tall and strong and he perennializes so fabulously!
If you have a garden, really any kind of a garden except for a very wet site, and you don’t have any daffodils in it, plant some this fall! Simply plant them 3 times as deep as the bulb is tall with the root end down. If you aren’t sure which is the root end, plant them on their side and they will find their way! When choosing a variety, look for those that are described as being good perennializers. Daffodils will perform their best in full sun in well-drained soil, but they are very forgiving. We have swathes of daffodils planted in lawns here which make such marvelous spring scenes, but you have to be sure to leave their foliage up for at least 6 weeks before you mow.
Of course, the very best way to choose what to plant in the fall is to come see them in person this spring. Our grounds are now a living catalog, so come find your favorites!