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Plant Talk

Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Spring

These are a Few of My Favorite Things…

Posted in Gardening Tips on June 11 2013, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

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

Rosa 'Traviata'
‘Traviata™’

As the rain fell heavily on Friday, I found myself worried that it would do a number on the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden. It’s in its prime right now, and if I told you it was “ablaze with color” that would easily be an understatement; looking down from the top of the hill, all before you is a sea of color. Thankfully, my fears were at least somewhat unfounded—things looked a little wet, soggy, and disheveled come Saturday morning, but gardens are resilient and the roses perked up quickly without too much loss.

Every year I select a few of my favorite roses to discuss, and I thought this would be a good time to do just that considering the Rose Garden is in peak bloom. With it looking so spectacular, it wasn’t easy making my choices, but I managed to come up with a few that caught my eye.

For those with a romantic inclination, I would like to guide you to rose ‘Traviata™’—a hybrid tea from the well-known and respected French hybridizer Meilland. The rose is cherry red, the flowers are enormous and fully double, and the stem is sturdy and fit for a cut flower arrangement. Another classic in the Rose Garden is a German Kordes rose called ‘Brother’s Grimm Fairy Tale®’. It’s one of those roses that display a mélange of colors, with orange, yellow, pink, and salmon all swirled into one breathtaking concoction. This four-foot rose is a floribunda, meaning that instead of just one large flower on a sturdy stem, each stem is covered with a bouquet of blooms. ‘Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale®’ really does get smothered with blooms. The Fairy Tale series from Kordes are hybridized to look like old-fashioned roses with their fully double blooms.

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Morning Eye Candy: Nooks & Crannies

Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on June 11 2013, by Matt Newman

You can never count out the Azalea Garden. Even when we’ve moved on to more recent blooms, there’s still the spark of color to be found in the rocks of this hilly collection. (Just don’t tell the flowers I’m more enamored with the crayon green Hakone grass right now.)

Azalea Garden

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Splish, Splash

Posted in Wildlife on June 6 2013, by Matt Newman

Pat GonzalezSure, the first things you think of when hawks come to mind are probably hooked talons, beaks, and stealthy swoops on unsuspecting (and occasionally adorable) rodents. But beneath their noble profiles and well-earned heritage as the monarchs of the sky (sorry, butterflies), even our Red-tailed Hawks have moments of awkward indignation that border on the cute and fluffy. Bath time in particular—with all its flopping and splashing about—is usually cause for giggles. And lucky for us, this often takes place in the Fountain of Life just outside our offices in the Library Building.

Our resident hawk aficionado and Visitor Services Attendant, Pat Gonzalez, happened to be outside filming one of the local hawks as it fed, dodged resentful bluejays, and washed off the day’s exertions. I’ve bumped the video forward to the most comical bit, but you can catch the rest by dragging the cursor to the beginning.

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