Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in What's Beautiful Now on August 9 2019, by Matt Newman
The beauty of summer’s water lilies is both a vertical and horizontal experience, painting the surface of the Conservatory Courtyard Pools with purple and neon green lily pads while the flowers—in white, purple, blue, and pink—rise up and reflect on the water. The koi fish that take shelter among their stems are an added bonus.
[Not a valid template]Posted in Horticulture on August 1 2014, by Marc Hachadourian
Marc Hachadourian is the Director of The New York Botanical Garden’s Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections.
In the dog days of summer, when many plants are looking tired from the heat and humidity, there is one group of plants that is at its absolute peak of perfection with a non-stop display of color and fragrance in the courtyards of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. The Water Lily Pools are dotted with outrageous blooms of intense color and fragrance. From the prehistoric-looking, platter-like leaves of the Victoria cruziana to the vibrant hues of the tropical water lilies, they never fail to put on a spectacular performance.
Sometimes overshadowed by their tropical cousins, the hardy water lilies have a more subtle beauty. Perhaps one of my all-time favorite hardy water lily hybrids is Nymphaea ‘James Brydon’. It has exquisite six-inch, cup-shaped blooms in deep rose that rest just on the surface of the water amongst the dark green foliage.
Posted in Gardening Tips, Gardens and Collections on August 13 2013, by Sonia Uyterhoeven
Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.
Last week we discussed how to plant your water lilies. This week we will focus on the bloom. Water lilies flower for 3 – 5 days, with the bloom emerging from the murky depths on the first day, opening, and standing erect. On the second day, the flower starts to bend slightly, slouching more on the third day and falling back into the water by the fifth.
Once the bloom disappears back into the water, it is a good idea to take your hand and run it down the stem until you get close to the base, then either snap or cut it off. The water lily stem will start to get mushy as it ages, and sometimes a good tug is all you need.
In a pond situation, the flower head forms seeds that eventually find their home on the muddy floor of the pond. As a homeowner, however, you are probably interested in maximizing your bloom. Seed production takes energy away from flowering, so try to remove old flowers and foliage once a week to keep your water lily tidy and focused on producing flowers.
Posted in Gardening Tips on August 6 2013, by Sonia Uyterhoeven
Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education
Last weekend I spent my Saturday and Sunday in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory teaching water lilies. We have two pools located in the side courtyards of the Conservatory. The pool on the right contains hardy water lilies while the pool on the left contains tropical water lilies. These pools mirror the structure inside the Conservatory, where the temperate houses are on the right and the tropical houses are located on the left.
The concrete pools are surrounded by glazed bricks, and the interior mechanics are made up of more bricks and cinderblocks used to elevate the water lily containers. A pump oxygenates the water and maintains a slight circulation to help deter mosquitoes, while the koi join in to help keep the water features bug free.
Water lilies prefer their pots to be wide rather than deep to accommodate maximum growth. Containers specifically designed for water lilies are generally 12-20 inches in diameter and 8-10 inches deep, as the size of the pot can have an influence on the size of the water lily. A smaller pot will restrict the growth of the water lily (in small pond situations this might be an asset) and a larger pot will give it more space to grow.
Posted in Programs and Events on August 2 2013, by Matt Newman
Water lilies are a summer staple here that you really can’t overlook. The Conservatory pools are replete with reds, yellows, purples, whites, and pinks, each bloom bobbing up from below to create a mosaic of unique hues. Surrounded by the tall (and enormous) lotus blooms bordering the pools, it’s a singular experience. But however majestic these flowers are, they’re not out of reach for the home gardener, even here in New York.
Join us this weekend at the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory for a home gardening demonstration focusing on the quirks and qualities of the water lily, discovering new varieties, container planting methods, and tips on how to keep your aquatic collection thriving.
Over in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, we’ll be hosting demonstrations of a different, slightly more palatable form—literally. Each Saturday & Sunday at 2 and 4 p.m. you can join Family Garden staff for cooking demos in the Whole Foods Market Kitchen. In summer, we’re especially fond of the sweet and stinky elements of the vegetable patch, so expect to touch on garlic and onions while you’re there. Chances are you’ll be able to follow your nose if you get lost!
Beyond our hands-on activities, you’ll find elements of our ongoing Wild Medicine exhibition woven into almost everything taking place in the Garden, whether it’s the Italian Renaissance Garden in the Conservatory, the classical music and dance in the Ross Hall, or the time-worn pages of ancient herbal manuscripts in the Library. So even if you’re just coming for a stroll in the Forest, make room in your schedule for a little bit more—you won’t regret it.
Posted in Around the Garden, Gardens and Collections on August 14 2012, by Matt Newman
In late summer, the NYBG‘s Enid A. Haupt Conservatory becomes the home of a botanical behemoth, one of the largest leaved plants in the world. And each year, visitors find themselves caught off guard by the delightful weirdness of this tropical oddity: Victoria amazonica. Originally from the Amazon River basin, it’s long since become an iconic display in our tropical water lily pond.
Named for Britain’s Queen Victoria in the nineteenth century, the structure of the largest of water lilies is a bit like a kiddie pool (and often as big as one). Its broad, smooth leaves can stretch to nearly ten feet in diameter, forming expansive discs with sharply upturned edges that, again, make it look as though you could drop one in your backyard with a few gallons of water and a pool noodle. At maturity, their short-lived flowers can reach 15 inches across, opening white on the first evening as females, and pink on the second as males. It’s a brief display; the flowers (hopefully) attract pollinating beetles to do nature’s work, then sink below the water’s surface almost as abruptly as they emerged.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on August 11 2012, by Matt Newman
The tropical water lily pool is filling in nicely with what look like enormous green bottle caps, capsized and floating about. The Victoria lily pads are nothing if they’re not attention getters.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on August 3 2012, by Matt Newman
Most weekend green thumbs can handle the odd tray of garden center perennials, and some might even tackle the challenge of the more finicky roses. But when it comes to raising Nymphaea, the leap from yard to pond can be intimidating! We understand the hesitance. This weekend, the NYBG‘s horticultural staff aims to dispel that air of mystery just long enough to help our visitors understand the rewards of growing water lilies at home. With a dash of confidence and the right planting, even New Yorkers can spice up their summer displays with these exotic eye catchers.
For the uninitiated, this is your cue to visit the Garden’s own hardy and tropical water lily ponds in the Conservatory Courtyard, where Nymphaea and Nelumbo, the lotus, are firmly planted in the Monet’s Garden spotlight. It’s where we’re featuring a few of the artist’s favorite cultivars, along with a number of newer creations from the Latour-Marliac Nursery, Monet’s go-to supplier for much of his life at Giverny. Once you’ve experienced these aquatic icons as they’re meant to be seen, and picked up a few pointers on their upkeep, make your way to the Shop in the Garden for the supplies you’ll need to grow water lilies at home!
Posted in Around the Garden on July 7 2012, by Matt Newman
For all the wabi-sabi of the surrounding stands of lotus, you’ll find symmetry if you catch the Water Lily Pool from just the right angle.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Gardens and Collections, Monet's Garden on July 5 2012, by Matt Newman
You could call our spotlight on the lotus blossoms an opening act. The true marquee headliners of Monet’s Garden–the prima donnas of our current collection–are without a doubt their nearby neighbors, the water lilies. There is no other flower in the landscape of spring, summer, or fall that so thoroughly represents the oeuvre of master Impressionist Claude Monet.
In the closing years of his life, the genus Nymphaea would come to define Monet’s obsession. He pulled dozens and dozens of scenes from that iconic spot by Giverny’s Japanese bridge, bringing concept to canvas with a verve few painters could match, then or now. Today, his water lily series stands as the ostensible height of his contribution to the history of art.
“It took me time to understand my water lilies,” Monet once wrote. “I had planted them for the pleasure of it; I grew them without ever thinking of painting them.”