Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Trees
Posted in People on March 25 2014, by Sonia Uyterhoeven
Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG’s Gardener for Public Education.
While attending New England Grows—a regional tradeshow and educational forum that takes place in Boston each year—I was lucky enough to hear the ecologist and public spokesperson, Nalini Nadkarni, give a lecture on rain forest ecology and its importance as a biological system.
Dr. Nadkarni’s research was not conducted on the forest floor, but rather at great heights above it. She quite literally harnessed the tools of the arborist’s trade and hoisted herself and a team of researchers 100 feet up in the air to explore the biological communities that thrived in the upper layers of the rain forest’s canopy.
Up in the treetops, Nadkarni and her team found a surprising diversity. The plants they came upon were expected: orchids, bromeliads, ferns, mosses, and lichens. These epiphytic plants are an important component of tropical arboreal communities, surviving and thriving by collecting water and nutrients from rainfall trapped in their foliage. What surprised the researchers, however, was the complexity of the arboreal ecosystem.
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Posted in Photography on January 22 2014, by Ann Rafalko
It’s a black and white world.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on December 26 2013, by Ann Rafalko
Well that was quick! Time to get back to the task at hand: Preparing for the winter! Or so our furry friends would have you believe.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on December 16 2013, by Ann Rafalko
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Posted in Photography on December 13 2013, by Ann Rafalko
Did you know that dawn redwoods are deciduous?
Metasequoia glyptostroboides (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Posted in Photography on December 12 2013, by Ann Rafalko
In winter
all the singing is in
the tops of the trees …
White-Eyes ~ Mary Oliver
Posted in Photography on December 9 2013, by Ann Rafalko
When the colors fade, beauty remains.
Acer japonicum ‘Aconitifolium’ (photo by Amy Weiss)
Posted in Photography on December 4 2013, by Ann Rafalko
New Yorkers tend to look down a lot, and for good reason. It’s a busy town. So it’s important to be reminded sometimes that looking up can lead to remarkable sights!
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on November 30 2013, by Ann Rafalko
Thanksgiving generally marks the time when it becomes socially acceptable to start decking out your home for the holidays. Someone forgot to tell our trees. A few of them have been preparing for quite some time now!
Crataegus viridis ‘Winter King’
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Posted in Photography on November 13 2013, by Ann Rafalko
It just doesn’t get much better than this.
Bronx River (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
While attending New England Grows—a regional tradeshow and educational forum that takes place in Boston each year—I was lucky enough to hear the ecologist and public spokesperson, Nalini Nadkarni, give a lecture on rain forest ecology and its importance as a biological system.