Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on June 29 2013, by Matt Newman
Her expression suggests she’s not too fond of the wildlife paparazzo, wouldn’t you say?
Today, Debbie Becker leads one last Saturday Bird Walk before putting these popular group binocular outings on hiatus until September 7. Join her at 11 a.m. near the Reflecting Pool of the Leon Levy Visitor Center!
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Programs and Events on June 28 2013, by Matt Newman
Weekends start on Friday! Everyone knows that. And as soon as you get out of work later today, we’ll have something for you to dive into before heading out for the evening. Thanks to Thirteen NY and Treasures of New York, their in-depth examination of all things Big Apple, the New York Botanical Garden has been getting the star treatment all week. In fact, our special feature on Treasures hit the airwaves for a premiere this past Tuesday. But for anyone who missed out, or anyone who’s just looking for the inside scoop on how and why we do things at the Garden, there’s another chance coming up!
We’ll be taking part in an OVEE screening of the special at 5:30 p.m. today on this site, where we’ll have Todd Forrest, VP of Horticulture and Living Collections, and the Treasures of New York producer on hand to answer your questions in a friendly chat. It’s certainly not an everyday opportunity, and you don’t even need a TV remote, so don’t miss out.
Another ship passing in the night this weekend is the Saturday Bird Walk, which—contrary to popular belief—is not an indefinite affair. Sometimes even the birds need a break! Whether or not you have a pair of binoculars of your own (we’ve got some loaner pairs at the Visitor Center), meet Debbie Becker for one last stroll around our 250 acres before the summer hiatus; she’ll be back for more hawk-spotting this September 7.
The hydrangeas are bright, the lotuses are blooming, Wild Medicine is better than ever, and summer’s kaleidoscope is focused squarely on the NYBG. Head below for more.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on June 28 2013, by Matt Newman
“Then it was that the monstered moth
Which had lain folded against the blue
And the colored purple of the lazy sea,
And which had drowsed along the bony shores,
Shut to the blather that the water made,
Rose up besprent and sought the flaming red
Dabbled with yellow pollen—red as red
As the flag above the old cafe——”
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on June 27 2013, by Matt Newman
No swimming in the Rock Garden cascade, please! Admiring, daydreaming, basking in the hint of a breeze cast off by the flow of the water—yeah, those are okay.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Programs and Events on June 26 2013, by Matt Newman
Don’t let your sweltering New York City apartment define your summer experience—even if you love a good sit in a banya, spending every night in one is probably pushing the boundaries of good sense. Instead, I’ve got a few words that might distract you from your wheezy air conditioner and all the half moments lingering in front of the open freezer: gin, cucumber, violet liqueur.
Cocktail Evenings & Summer Concerts are back, swinging, and set to take the edge off the city’s muggy summer nights—and we’re not skimping on the “cocktail” bit. This Thursday, June 27, from 6 – 9 p.m., we slip into our latest after-dark series with the help of a liqueur appropriate to the quiet viewing of Wild Medicine you’ll get with your ticket. Crème Yvette blends mûre, framboise, cassis, and fraise sauvage berries with the dried violet petals of Provence, leaving no question as to its plant pedigree. And our first featured cocktail, the Yvette Cup, doesn’t waste the flavor, mixing gin, cucumber, lime, ginger, and mint for a bracing sip that’ll put the drawbacks of summer in your rear view.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on June 26 2013, by Matt Newman
Eschscholzia californica — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Programs and Events on June 25 2013, by Matt Newman
Food fans! (That’s all of you, I imagine.) On site this Wednesday, the Garden offers even more than just-picked fruits and vegetables thanks to our friends at Whole Foods Market. If a $50 gift card in your pocket and a little summer grilling know-how sound like your cup of tea, we’ve got you covered and then some!
From 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 26, Whole Foods Market Culinary Demonstration Specialists will set up at the Reflecting Pool for tastings and cooking demos featuring the season’s freshest picks at The Peak Pick. This week’s spotlight lands on summer squash, which we expect to see stacked high during the Greenmarket, now here each Wednesday. Better yet, our visiting specialists will be making light, irresistible grilled squash and brie sandwiches with them, tailor-made for backyard cook outs and Sunday brunch.
As the icing on the cake (or the sprouts on the sandwich), there’s a $50 Whole Foods gift card up for grabs if you’re a Twitter user! Just snap a picture of the cooking demonstration in action while you’re visiting, tweet it @nybg with the hashtag #nybgwfm, and you’ll be entered to win! As soon as our one lucky winner is selected, we’ll be in touch via Twitter to get you your prize.
While you’re here, be sure to stop by the Greenmarket to pick up your week’s supply of fresh, delicious, and varied local products—not to mention baked goods. For a little more on what the Greenmarket‘s about (and what you’re missing if you skip it), watch the video below.
Posted in Around the Garden on June 25 2013, by Sonia Uyterhoeven
Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.
This past weekend, we were out in the Louise Loeb Vegetable Garden in the Home Gardening Center covering vegetable gardening basics. Knowing how to plant and grow vegetables is one thing, but the love and the labor means nothing if you don’t know what to do with the harvest. Bearing that in mind, I made the visitors a simple tomato and bread salad that was loaded with fresh herbs. Traditionally it is an old Tuscan recipe made from left-over (read: stale) bread. It is a quick and easy recipe that adds life to everyday meals.
The ingredients for the recipe toss together the most basic herbs and vegetables from the home garden:
– 4 ripe tomatoes cut into ½-inch cubes
– 3 small Persian cucumbers cut into ½-inch cubes (or one small regular cucumber, deseeded)
– Handful of basil (approx. 2 tablespoons)
– Handful of parsley (approx. 2 tablespoons)
– Small handful of oregano (approx. 1 tablespoon)
– 4 scallions chopped into small pieces
– 1-2 garlic cloves minced (optional)
– 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (optional: tear a few basil leaves and soak them in vinegar for a few hours overnight to give the vinegar more flavor)
– ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
– 2 cups few-days-old Italian or French bread cut into small cubes (optional: toast the bread lightly in the oven)
– Salt and pepper to taste
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on June 25 2013, by Matt Newman
We’re glad summer waited until its allotted solstice to get here, but wow, did it ever arrive. It’s warm out this week, and the flowers are basking accordingly!
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on June 24 2013, by Matt Newman
Trying to remind myself that I’m limited to only one criminally bad pun per month, if I can help it.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen