Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on April 23 2013, by Matt Newman
You know, I’m a big fan of walking, especially during spring. I really am. But, every now and again, it seems more prudent to sit and absorb. And stuff your watch in your pocket.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on April 22 2013, by Ann Rafalko
Scrolling through the photos taken by my colleague Ivo this spring is a bit like eating a Parisian macaron; airy, sugary, delicate, delicious, evanescent, amazing. This spring is one of the prettiest I can remember, but unlike the finest confections, it keeps lingering on. It’s just wonderful!
Prunus ‘Accolade’ (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Posted in Photography on April 21 2013, by Ann Rafalko
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on April 20 2013, by Ann Rafalko
Magnolia Way (photo by Rafael Moricete Jr.)
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on April 15 2013, by Matt Newman
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on April 14 2013, by Matt Newman
The winter months drag by with all the monotony of reading a dictionary, yet a single week in spring changes everything.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on April 13 2013, by Matt Newman
It’s almost “go” time for the coming spring ephemerals, and the Native Plant Garden is a canvas ready for painting, so to speak. (The wait is a good kind of anxiety. Trust me.)
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Programs and Events on April 12 2013, by Matt Newman
The magnolia flowers peppering the trees outside the Library Building tell the story a bit better than this wintry rain: spring has arrived, and it’s not going anywhere! Rhododendrons perk in the Azalea Garden, the Home Gardening Center looks a little more like its old self, and keen eyes can spot the nascent greens of young leaves on the tree branches. A more telling signal for the seasonal transition is the sound of the Fountain of Life’s familiar burble.
We’re going into this weekend carrying sunny thoughts piled with excitement, not least because we’re once again on board for two more Orchid Evenings. And while this Saturday’s gathering (as well as that of April 20!) is completely sold out, there are still tickets available for an impromptu cocktail during tonight’s added event! (That would be Friday, April 12.) So have a look at our ticket page and reserve yours while there’s still room, as they’re going fast.
For daytime visitors, of course, the spring scenery is an event in its own right. Just the other day I was out enjoying the thrill of the hunt, so to speak–walking the paths in search of season’s first flowers. The daffodils, I might add, are blowing up throughout our 250 acres. But it’s even more fun sussing out the less populous arrivals, like the first tulips cropping up in the Perennial Garden. For those who’d rather have a primer of what’s happening where, our What’s Beautiful Now post puts up a pretty thorough rundown.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on April 12 2013, by Matt Newman
The wait is done, the warmth is here, and all that’s left is the coming green.
Photos by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in What's Beautiful Now on April 11 2013, by Matt Newman
It’s been a trying wait, I admit. But I seem to remember someone spouting off a line about “good things” in store for those with a little patience in hand. And after a drawn out season of waffling temperatures and flaky snowstorms–nothing at all like last year’s phoned-in winter–we’re finally seeing the rewards of all that waiting. It’s been a sleepy spring thus far, but the Garden’s now waking up to a fanfare of yellows, pinks, purples and whites!
Some spots, of course, are more alert than others. Most of the trees are still sleeping it off in the early going, but the snow-white and fragrant magnolia blossoms–thousands of them–are blooming en masse across the landscape. Narcissus crowd the lawns in dairy colors, and passersby won’t have any trouble finding hints of spring color along the Seasonal Walk, just to the side of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, where netted irises and dainty daffodils already perk up the atmosphere. Across the lawn in the Perennial Garden, orange pansies mingle with soft blue chionodoxa, spotted in between with drowsy snowdrops and a few electric tulips.
And the Ladies’ Border is no slouch, either; you’ll find the fan-favorite ‘Peggy Clarke’ plum blossom tree lighting up the branches with poodle skirt pinks; lime green ‘Honeyhill Joy’ hellebores at full attention; dense bunches of paper bush flowers; and the occasional crowd of bee-friendly Amur Adonis opening to the sky. Further back, look (or sniff) for the perfumed mahonia blossoms, right near the blushing ‘Spring’s Promise’ camellia flowers.