Skip to main content
 
Plant Talk

Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Spring

Greenmarket Kick-Off!

Posted in Programs and Events on June 18 2013, by Matt Newman

LettuceYou know, I’d say this is a time for health nuts to rejoice, but our Greenmarket is a great experience regardless of taste or diet. Fresh fruits, vegetables, baked goods and the heaps of other goodies involved have a tendency to bring people together sans qualifiers. But enough about that: the Greenmarket is back for another year—that’s the important takeaway here! Beginning this Wednesday, June 19, we’re kicking off another months-long run of fresh foods each and every week, and all of it set up right here by the Garden’s Tulip Tree Allée.

Farmers from around the region will sell locally-grown produce each Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., from now through November 27, meaning you’ll get the best of each and every harvest. Admission and parking are free for Greenmarket shoppers, and we accept EBT, WIC/ FMNP, and Senior coupons, in addition to cash and credit or debit cards.. We’re making it seriously simple to load up a canvas bag with fruits and vegetables to last you the week. In fact, the Greenmarket is almost always set up near our Mosholu Gate, right next to our own Botanical Garden stop on the Metro-North, so it’ll only take you twenty minutes to get here from midtown Manhattan.

If you’re wondering what’s on the menu from week to week, it can be hard to predict to a certainty—the vagaries of seasonal weather and all. But GrowNYC has a handy chart available to get an idea of what you might see stacked on the tables when you get here. We’re on the tail end of the asparagus harvest, while beets, cabbage, herbs and peas are a good possibility. Keep an eye out for spinach, chard, turnip greens and some squashes, too, along with the first of the season’s strawberries.

Read More

Life is Rosy: Hardy & Fragrant

Posted in Gardens and Collections on June 18 2013, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.

'Francis Meilland'
‘Francis Meilland®’

Last week, I was out in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden with Ken Molinari, our Rose Garden Foreman, where he told me that we’re using a lot of foliar feeds this year. With so many roses—over 680 varieties and more than 4,400 roses—we have to fill up a large 100-gallon tank and go down on Mondays, when the Garden is closed, to spray the organic fertilizer on the roses. But it’s not solely out of convenience that we time this application for a day when the Garden is closed to the public; many of the fertilizers that we use are fish-based, and only a cat would be happy with the scent.

We have been using a blend of a number of products, including Organic Gem® liquid fish fertilizer, Monty’s® Liquid Plant Food (otherwise known as Monty’s Joy Juice), and Dyna-Gro Pro-Tekt®. The latter is a silicon solution which supplies potassium and silicon to help the rose build stronger cell walls, which in turn helps protect it from black spot and piercing insects. Add all of these ingredients together and you have a recipe for healthy roses that are better able to defend themselves from pests, diseases, and environmental stress.

Read More

This Week in the Family Garden: Sweet & Stinky!

Posted in Around the Garden on June 17 2013, by Matt Newman

Sweet & StinkyThis week we’re diving headlong into the Family Garden harvest with Sweet & Stinky, our celebration of all things, shall we say, “superlatively aromatic.” But fear not: it’s the best kind of smelly! With garlic and onions coming into their own in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, and the summer not yet here, it’s the perfect time to have a little fun in the vegetable beds, get your hands dirty, and pick up a few handy new recipes to try at home.

Of course, we wouldn’t leave you hanging when it comes to new learning experiences—that’s why Annie Novak is on board.

We caught up with the Edible Academy Manager as she was poking around the onion beds, and picked up the gist of what’s taking place in the Family Garden over the coming weeks. Have a look and take note: the schedule’s full!

Sweet & Stinky takes place in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, June 11 – July 19 from 1:30 – 5:30 p.m. daily.

A Jewel for the Rose Garden

Posted in Programs and Events on June 12 2013, by Matt Newman

Piaget roseIf you’re looking out from the landing of its curling stairway, the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden seems like a tickertape parade strewn with the confetti of 4,000 blooming rosebushes. They flaunt reds and pinks, downy salmon and peach, with bright bunches of whites and lemon yellows throughout. And the shapes and sizes of the spring blooms are too many to describe here. As a collection, this is one of the New York Botanical Garden‘s crown jewels. But it could always be a bit brighter, a bit more colorful—which leads us to the inaugural Piaget Rose Day, taking place worldwide on Thursday, June 13!

To celebrate our partnership with Piaget, whose eye for fine zegarki jewelry and flowers alike has defined over a century of aesthetic excellence, we’ll be gathering in the Rose Garden for a special groundbreaking. And this new addition is bound to turn some heads.

Read More