It’s little more than a week ’til we throw the spotlight on The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary. The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory is a flurry of activity. New installations—of display architecture, of flowers in bunches and bundles—are going up daily, and while Tropical Paradise continues through this Sunday, February 23, you can be sure you’ll see hints of the exhibition to come if you visit our famed glasshouse now. You might not catch any Hemingway lookalikes riding by on scooters just yet, but make no mistake: the Florida Keys are coming to New York on March 1!
Karen Daubmann, our Associate Vice President for Exhibitions, joined us in the Conservatory not long ago to catch us up on the show’s progress. She also gave us a little peek into the inspirations behind this year’s exhibition, including the reflecting pools and modernist pergolas of the Susan Henshaw Jones Garden down in Key West. We’ll have more “Making Of” videos like this one in the coming weeks, so have a look to get a taste of what’s on the horizon.
Something tells me we’ve all had our fill and then some of polar vortices, luge-like sidewalks, and the inevitable, near-weekly session with the snow shovel. And winter fashion is fun, but let’s be real: donning four layers to hit the corner bodega is getting to be a headache. Thankfully, whether or not Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, there’s hope on the horizon. And it’s bringing orchids.
As I write this, our winter sanctuary—Tropical Paradise in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory—is shedding its late-season colors for the vibrant return of the year’s most flamboyant exhibition. Thousands of orchids in fuchsia, chartreuse, and vivid purple are warming up in the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections, readying for the main act under the dome of our famed glasshouse. This year’s theme is a memorable one, too, especially if you’re prone to bouts of lazing in hammocks, sipping salt-rimmed margaritas in the shade of a coconut palm.
Another day, another blizzard. All this snowfall has been inconvenient for a lot of people, and it’s easy to forget winter’s beautiful side. The Garden is certainly dazzling today, so why not enjoy a brief tour by Kristin Schleiter, Associate Vice President for Outdoor Spaces and Senior Curator, of what makes winter at the Garden so special?
Even while the flowers are slumbering, waiting for spring, Kristin reminds us that there is much to admire, especially in the Native Plant Garden. After all, native plants are used to this climate, and winter reveals just another aspect of their beauty. Kristin points out the intricate structures of mountain mint as just one of the lovely details visitors can observe this time of year.
Our Tropical Paradise exhibition is in full swing under the glass of the Conservatory, offering up all the summer warmth and escapism you could need during this winter of frigid polar vortexes. But it’s more than just bright rain forest flowers and a place to ditch your gloves and galoshes. Believe it or not, this highlight of our permanent tropical collection is also a test of skill! Though not to worry—there’s minimal exercise involved beyond working your shutter finger.
This year’s photography contest is all-inclusive. By that, I mean you’re all welcome regardless of gear or skill level. Are you a novice with an iPhone in tow, hoping to get a few pics for your Twitter account? You’re in. Canon-toting DSLR superstar with a years-deep portfolio? Also more than welcome! (Though you’ll have to leave the tripods and monopods at home—sorry!) If you’re rocking an ancient Polaroid SX-70 with disposable flash bars, we want to see your photos. So don’t shy away. As long as you’ve got a Flickr account (and they’re incredibly easy to make), you’ve got a chance at winning our grand prize: a certificate for a free NYBG Adult Education class of your choice.
If you’re not sure what to expect, just lend Kevin Character your eyes and ears for a moment and he’ll set everything straight. He’s got a knack for this sort of thing.
For the last few months, Wild Medicine: Healing Plants Around the World has awed thousands of visitors with its exotic medicinal specimens, ancient botanical texts, and unique tasting experiences. We’ve watched The Italian Renaissance Garden shift with the days as the species in the Conservatory have cycled through. And after dark, we’ve lit up the night with Cocktail Evenings & Summer Concerts. But even with a little under two weeks to go on the exhibition schedule, we’re still not winding down!
This being the penultimate weekend for Wild Medicine, it’s all too fitting that it lands on a holiday. So we’re stretching the weekend straight into Labor Day Monday with a packed schedule of Conservatory tours, family-friendly jaunts through the music and dance of the Renaissance, and casual home gardening demonstrations to pique your palate.
With only a short time left ahead of the September 8 curtain call, we’re also readying for our closing presentation, a long-awaited lecture by NYBG ethnobotanist and Wild Medicine curator Dr. Michael Balick. On Saturday, September 7, Dr. Balick’s Ancient Wisdom and Modern Medicine opens a door to the relationships between plants, people, and culture, a core theme of our exhibition and a study he’s pursued in locales around the world. Tickets to this exclusive event are limited, so it’s best if you register sooner rather than later.
Again, we’re opening our gates for this special holiday Monday and we’re just 20 minutes from Grand Central. Don’t miss out on the closing window to see one of the most celebrated NYC exhibitions of the summer!
Pat Gonzalez is back this week with a fresh highlight feel from her adventures in the Garden, something I always eat up. As both a guest and a Visitor Services Attendant with the NYBG, Pat has spent the past five years documenting the lives of our raptor residents through the lens of her camera, creating a timeline of activity among the Great-horned Owls, Red-tailed Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks, Kestrels, and other winged wildlife that crosses her path. While I’m sure she’ll laugh off the comparison, I like to think of her as our very own Jane Goodall of the bird world.
Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” is a nice touch, I think, that highlights the streamlined elegance of these birds. Though a brief look back into Pat’s Plant Talk postings will show you just how well it belies their hilarious clumsiness at times. There’s something about seeing a young hawk divebomb a park bench in its efforts to figure out hunting that I can’t help but laugh over.
For the birders and animal lovers out there, Debbie Becker’s long-running Bird Walk returns from its summer hiatus on Saturday, September 7, giving you ample time to prep your notebooks, binoculars, and cameras for some time wandering the Garden. It’ll go a long way toward helping you understand the joy that Pat feels each time she happens across one of her feathered friends.
I’ve done a lot of talking about the sensational culinary experiences to be had during this summer’s Family Dinners with Mario Batali’s Chefs, but until now I had few ways of showing you first-hand just what goes on in the garden, behind the grills, and at the table. Thankfully, Kevin Character was on hand during last week’s evening event to take a spin around the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden and talk to some of the talent in attendance.
In talking with Andy Nusser, Executive Chef at Tarry Lodge, it’s clear that this hefty undertaking is nonetheless carried out with all the care and attention to detail that have made Mario Batali‘s restaurants havens for modern gourmands. There’s definitely more to come during this ongoing MasterCard Priceless series, but for now, have a look at how we’re doing things during the summer harvest. It might pique your palate!
Our next Family Dinner events take place on September 21 and 29, so there’s plenty of time to pick your date. But keep in mind that tickets have been going quickly, and we expect the trend to continue. MasterCard holders can visit Priceless NY for more information or to register for the events. We’ll have more on upcoming menus as we get closer to September, so stay tuned!
The come-and-go summer heat may be a bummer for some of us here in the city, but not so in the Native Plant Garden‘s flourishing meadow, where spikes of purple blazing stars and sunflowers of all sorts bask day in, day out with the bees, dragonflies, and birds that come to visit. The effect is one of a brightly-colored painting with a lot of air traffic. But foot traffic is welcome, too! Now is the ideal time to see the Native Plant Garden’s swaying grasses and flowers in peak summer form.
Kevin Character recently stopped in to chat with Kristin Schleiter, our Assistant Vice President for Landscape Gardens and Living Collections, where she got us caught up on the two-year process behind the meadow’s planting—from its start as a meandering collection of scrappy sprouts to the elegant sea of green that it displays today.
While there’s certainly a wild quality to the Native Plant Garden, trust me when I say that everything planted there was carefully chosen to demonstrate local flora, native planting techniques, and a year-round beauty that shines through whether you’re here in July or November. Still, missing the meadow in such rare form would be a shame!
I don’t think this compilation of critters needs much chatter to introduce. Pat Gonzalez was with the New York Botanical Garden long before becoming a Visitor Services Attendant—as a child growing up in New York City, and a burgeoning photographer, and a wildlife enthusiast. She’s put countless hours into capturing the lives of our furry, scaled, and feathered residents, and continues to do so with an enviable passion.
She put together this compilation of video footage shot at the Garden between 2009 and 2013, and thought you all might like to have a look. I’m of the same opinion.
This week we’re diving headlong into the Family Garden harvest with Sweet & Stinky, our celebration of all things, shall we say, “superlatively aromatic.” But fear not: it’s the best kind of smelly! With garlic and onions coming into their own in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, and the summer not yet here, it’s the perfect time to have a little fun in the vegetable beds, get your hands dirty, and pick up a few handy new recipes to try at home.
Of course, we wouldn’t leave you hanging when it comes to new learning experiences—that’s why Annie Novak is on board.
We caught up with the Edible Academy Manager as she was poking around the onion beds, and picked up the gist of what’s taking place in the Family Garden over the coming weeks. Have a look and take note: the schedule’s full!
Sweet & Stinky takes place in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, June 11 – July 19 from 1:30 – 5:30 p.m. daily.
It’s little more than a week ’til we throw the spotlight on The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary. The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory is a flurry of activity. New installations—of display architecture, of flowers in bunches and bundles—are going up daily, and while Tropical Paradise continues through this Sunday, February 23, you can be sure you’ll see hints of the exhibition to come if you visit our famed glasshouse now. You might not catch any Hemingway lookalikes riding by on scooters just yet, but make no mistake: the Florida Keys are coming to New York on March 1!
Something tells me we’ve all had our fill and then some of polar vortices, luge-like sidewalks, and the inevitable, near-weekly session with the snow shovel. And winter fashion is fun, but let’s be real: donning four layers to hit the corner bodega is getting to be a headache. Thankfully, whether or not Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, there’s hope on the horizon. And it’s bringing orchids.
Another day, another blizzard. All this snowfall has been inconvenient for a lot of people, and it’s easy to forget winter’s beautiful side. The Garden is certainly dazzling today, so why not enjoy a brief tour by Kristin Schleiter, Associate Vice President for Outdoor Spaces and Senior Curator, of what makes winter at the Garden so special?
