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Inside The New York Botanical Garden

The New York Botanical Garden

Meet Peter Kukielski, Curator of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden This Sunday

Posted in Shop/Book Reviews on June 6 2011, by Ann Rafalko

Peter Kukielski is on a mission to rescue the rose’s reputation.

Peter Kukielski, Curator of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, in the Rose Garden

In transforming the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden into one of the world’s most sustainable and beautiful showcases for America’s flower, Peter is preaching a new rose gospel: Roses don’t need to be bathed in chemicals, they don’t need tons of water, and they can smell as beautiful as they look. The Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden in Full Bloom

Meet Peter this Sunday, June 12, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Shop in the Garden,  where he will be signing copies of The Sustainable Rose Garden, a volume of essays he co-edited with Pat Shanley and Gene Waering.

Peter is a wonderful evangelist for this misunderstood flower; he’s full of knowledge and always willing to share it. Stop by the Shop to meet Peter and pick-up your copy of this essential volume, then head to the Rose Garden to gain inspiration for your own home. Copy this list of all the garden’s roses onto your phone or iPad (try Evernote or print it out if you must), and mark your favorites. When your head is full of rose-scented dreams, head home, and with Peter’s wonderful book, turn your garden into your own rose-tinted paradise.

 

Morning Eye Candy: A Rose is a Rose

Posted in Photography on June 5 2011, by Ann Rafalko

Does anyone actually believe that a rose is a rose is a rose? If you know someone who is laboring under this grand misconception, please get them to the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, stat! This award-winning, aromatic, sustainable wonder is in full bloom right now. The Rose Garden is always amazing in June, but this year it seems even more spectacular. Visit it while it’s in its peak!

Rosa 'Reine Victoria'

Rosa ‘Reine Victoria’ (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)

Birding at the Garden

Posted in Video, Wildlife on June 3 2011, by Rustin Dwyer

The Garden is an oasis for birds and birders alike.

We talked to some visitors and staff about their favorite birds and why they love birding at the Garden. Take a look, and then tell us (by leaving a comment): What is your favorite bird? Have you had a great birding experience at the Garden?

Want to learn more about birding at the Garden? Then join Debbie Becker for one of her free, weekly Saturday bird walks! To join the walk, meet at the Reflecting Pool near the Leon Levy Visitor Center before 11 a.m.

Morning Eye Candy: The Sunny Van

Posted in Photography on June 3 2011, by Ann Rafalko

Have you noticed this awesome little security van tooling around the Garden? It’s powered entirely by the solar panels you can see on the roof. Also, it’s adorable!

Solar-Powered Van

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Geographic Diversity in the Azalea Garden: Arisaema, Disporum, and Podophyllum

Posted in Gardening Tips on June 2 2011, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Arusaema Sikokianum
Arusaema Sikokianum

As you stroll through the Azalea Garden you will see a large number of North American native species and their closely related Asian cousins. Many of these plants share a genus, but have different species names. For example, the garden contains many interesting Asian Arisaema commonly known as Jack-in-the-pulpits.

In botanical nomenclature, plants are identified by a two-part, or binomial, name. A plant’s genus denotes that it belongs to one group, while the species name marks it as a member of a sub-group of the genus. There are many Arisaema in the world, yet Arisaema triphyllum refers solely to a specific Jack-in-the-pulpit, one of North America’s native Arisaema.

Why are there so many closely related species on two continents separated by a large ocean? Many of these Asian/North American counterparts come from a common genetic pool. It is possible to imagine that over time seeds have been dispersed by glaciers, wind, birds, or other animals. While this certainly has occurred it would be more likely to have happened on a contiguous landmass.

The most compelling theory for why these closely related floras are found on the opposite sides of an ocean comes from the scientific theory of continental drift, the process by which the continents have moved apart over millions of years. About 250 million to 65 million years ago, during the Mesozoic era, the landmass Pangaea began to split apart; the northern part of the supercontinent broke off into Laurasia (North America and Eurasia). As Asia and North America drifted away from each other, the plants that had been one genus began to evolve. Time, combined with changes in climate, and range fragmentation helped these once related plants to diversify and evolve into new species. Why are there so many Asian Arisaema compared with only two Arisaema native to North America? During the last ice age, parts of eastern Asia remained ice-free. This resulted in a greater diversity in the flora there.

How do botanists know that these plants are closely related? Just looking at the plants can be deceptive, so they also collect evidence from the fossil record and analyze the plants’ genes in order to determine relationships.

In this video Kristen Schleiter, Curator of Outdoor Gardens and Woody Plants, discusses many of the Azalea Garden’s geographically diverse perennials.

 

Here's a closer look at some of the plants in the Azalea Garden.

First Monthly IGPOTY Contest Begins Today: Picturing Summer at the Garden

Posted in Photography on June 1 2011, by Ann Rafalko

Big TreeSummer, regardless of whether or not the calendar says so, is here. So let’s make “Picturing Summer at the Garden” the theme for this inaugural monthly NYBG-IGPOTY contest on Flickr!

But first, let’s set some ground rules:

1.Photos must be taken at The New York Botanical Garden, but needn’t be from this month, year, or even decade. Please make sure they adhere to the theme and that you own the copyright to them.

2. Please enter only one photo per calendar week. That means in June you can enter up to five (5) photos, but please submit them a week apart. The weeks of June are defined as: Week 1, 6/1 – 6/4; Week 2, 6/5 – 6/11; Week 3, 6/12 – 6/18; Week 4, 6/19 – 6/25; and Week 5, 6/26 – 6/30.

3. For your photograph to be considered, it must be placed into the NYBG Group Pool and be tagged with the term NYBGIGPOTY.

4. The NYBG Flickr Pool is moderated by NYBG staff. While we work a lot, we tend to not work in the evenings and on weekends, so if your photo does not immediately show up in the pool, that is why; it just hasn’t been approved yet. If several days go by, or if Monday afternoon comes around and your photo still hasn’t shown up in the pool, please let us know.

5. In the spirit of IGPOTY, please feel free to comment on each others photos (nicely, please) and to share tips, tricks, techniques, and stories.

The Herb Garden6. One monthly winner and one or two runner’s up will be chosen by a panel of NYBG staff and friends of the Garden. We’re hoping to get commentary on the photos from IGPOTY’s staff as well!

7. The winner will receive a small prize from us, but we haven’t figured out what that will be yet. Stay tuned!

8. Entering the monthly NYBG-IGPOTY contest does not mean that you have been entered into the official International Garden Photographer of the Year contest. Click here to enter.

As a reminder of what IGPOTY is all about: It’s an international garden photography competition run out of the U.K. in conjunction with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.  2011 is the first year that The New York Botanical Garden is participating as the exclusive U.S. partner. IGPOTY is hosting a special commendation for a photo taken here at the Garden in honor of our 120th Anniversary. The winner will receive a year’s Membership to the Garden. The winner of the overall IGPOTY contest will win around $8,000 (depending on the exchange rate). All winners will be published in a book, and will be featured in an exhibition at Kew, and soon at the Garden as well. Everyone who enters the contest may request a written critique of their photographs from IGPOTY’s wonderful panel of judges.

Please let us know if you have any questions by leaving us a comment below. Good luck, and happy shooting!

Photos by Ivo M. Vermeulen, who, like all NYBG Marketing department employees, is not eligible for these monthly Flickr contests.