Ed. note: We offer many classes here at the Garden in a plethora of disciplines and at many levels, from “just for fun” to professional (see a pdf of the catalog here). But no matter how appealing the subject, the classes would be nothing without the instructors. On Plant Talk, we’ll introduce you to them, and their stories.
David Dew Bruner, Instructor, Landscape Design
My grandparents were great plant people. My grandfather bred Camillias under high-canopied pine trees in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Walking under those pines was transcendental for me. As I grew older, the pine forest experience would happen under many other trees, in may other places. I would build little house-like structures and fountains and pretend I was somewhere else.
Wanting to continue experiencing that transcendental pine forest feeling in new places, off to landscape design school I went. I knew very little about the subject and didn’t even know how to draw; I was scared I would be kicked out. Having only used a pencil for math problems, I tumbled into the world of art and design like Alice down the rabbit hole and immersed myself in this new world. (Do not fear new students; you, too, can learn to draw as I did. It’s about practice!)
This slowly acquired love of art and design has shaped me to this very day. I now have an antique store and art gallery where every week something new and beautiful comes into my life to keep me humble and inspired. For similar reasons I feel lucky to teach at The New York Botanical Garden, for every new class of students filled with potential and wonder is for me like discovering an unknown painting and falling in love with it. The simple, direct questions new designers ask make me dig deep into myself for logical, honest answers.
Each day had its findings. Each day came with at least one amazing plant that brought all work to a stop. That plant could be one we thought was special because of its rarity (restricted geographic distribution), or one that locals use in some interesting way; sometimes a plant could be deemed special just because it is simply too beautiful. We have selected some of our favorite plants to share them with you.
A pair of Great-Horned Owls make the Forest their home. Currently, the female is sitting on her nest inside of an old, dead tree. We can’t see if she has any eggs, but we can see the male, everyday, silently standing sentry over her. Isn’t he spectacular?
So what exactly does a botanist do in the field? In the field we look for plants that are in reproductive state, those bearing flowers or/and fruits. Reproductive structures are necessary to differentiate between closely looking species. For each species, we collect flowers, fruits, and leaves; these samples are processed and later dried for future study. The dried and mounted plant samples are called herbarium specimens and they are known to last for hundreds of years.
In honor of opening week at The Orchid Show: On Broadway, we are using “Morning Eye Candy” as an opportunity to introduce you to the cast of characters that play both the starring roles and the bit parts in the Garden‘s ode to all things orchid and Broadway.
(photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Previously Featured Cast Members of The Orchid Show: On Broadway:
Las Orquídeas National Park is tucked into the westernmost mountain chain of Colombia, a part of the great Andean Cordillera. In the park the terrain is steep and rough and is crossed by many rivers and streams that originate in the upper part of the mountains. The constant presence of water makes these humid forests a source of abudant epiphytic plants. Epiphytes, like many bromeliads and orchids, are plants that grow on other plants without killing them. Epiphytes root in the humid mixture of mosses and decaying matter that cover the branches of the trees; they are a forest on top of the forest.
In honor of opening week at The Orchid Show: On Broadway, we are using “Morning Eye Candy” as an opportunity to introduce you to the cast of characters that play both the starring roles and the bit parts in the Garden‘s ode to all things orchid and Broadway.
(photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Previously Featured Cast Members of The Orchid Show: On Broadway:
The Andes mountain chain, which crosses South America from north to south, is the longest in the world. The Andean forests of the northern range (Tropical Andes hotspot) are home to a level of plant diversity that is without match anywhere else in the world; they are also subject to high rates of deforestation, thus these forests are considered a top priority for conservation. Unfortunately, Andean forests remain insufficiently studied and protected. This lack of baseline information is often times the first impediment to effective conservation: It is impossible to efficiently protect what we do not know or understand.
Clean and fresh travelers. First day, at La Encarnación. Top row: Alirio Montoya, Hector Velásquez, Javier Serna, Arley Duque, María Fernanda González, Camila González, Giovanny Giraldo, Fredy Gómez. Lower row: Felix Escobar, Julio Betancur, Paola Pedraza-Peñalosa.
After 14 days collecting plants in the field, we returned to Bogotá, Colombia’s capital with nearly 700 plant collections, and more than 10,000 photographs. Behind us we left Las Orquídeas National Park‘s 32 thousand hectares of rare and endangered tropical and montane forests, which make it part of one of the most biologically rich ecosystems of the world: the Andean and Chocó forests. We left behind more than 2,000 species of vascular plants, some of them still unknown to the science and probably not found anywhere else.
In honor of opening week at The Orchid Show: On Broadway, we are using “Morning Eye Candy” as an opportunity to introduce you to the cast of characters that play both the starring roles and the bit parts in the Garden‘s ode to all things orchid and Broadway.
(photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Previously Featured Cast Members of The Orchid Show: On Broadway:
David Dew Bruner, Instructor, Landscape Design
