Inside The New York Botanical Garden
world record
Posted in Programs and Events on October 21 2013, by Matt Newman
After spending the day at Grand Central Terminal with Ray Villafane and his cadre of carvers, I had no doubt that his emerging work for this year’s Haunted Pumpkin Garden would be as jaw-dropping as ever. Literally. But I didn’t realize just how massively monstrous Villafane’s plans were! With fangs galore and a squadron of buggy targets for its searching tongue, the finished sculpture came together over the course of our Giant Pumpkin Carving Weekend, landing yet another notch on the team’s belt of pumpkin masterpieces. And, of course, doing the record-breaking pumpkins in attendance proud.
This ravenous plant puts even the most impressive of Venus flytraps to shame, trust me on that one!
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Posted in Around the Garden on October 16 2013, by Matt Newman
“Pumpkin King” isn’t a title tossed around lightly (that’s a long-game pun right there). Come to think of it, Danny Elfman’s probably held the honor longer than anyone. But once each year, right around the time the leaves start wandering off their branches and the Forest takes a sudden lean toward apple reds and lemon yellows, a new monarch arrives at the NYBG to wear the crown a while—and there’s always an entourage tagging along. Big, small, squat and tall, a cadre of gargantuan pumpkins are trundling into the Garden for this year’s Giant Pumpkin Carving Weekend, taking place here this weekend on October 19 and 20!
When your prized produce weighs as much as a standard sedan, no one’s going to call out your efforts for lacking heft. Still, in the hyper-competitive world of mammoth produce, every pound counts—even among the giants, one always stands above the rest, especially when the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth is involved. This year’s record-breaking pumpkin hails from Napa, California, where Tim and Susan Mathison primped and preened a young squash into a 2,032-pound behemoth that easily snatched up the world heavyweight title after a stop on the scale. Joining it at the Garden this year are two pumpkins from Dawn and Bill Northrup of New Brunswick, Canada, at 1,813 and 1,024.5 pounds, respectively; and a pair from Dave and Carol Stelts of Edinburgh, Pennsylvania, clocking in at 1,496 and 1,391.5 pounds. Just to add an extra touch of the big and bizarre, we’ll also have Chris Kent’s record-snapping, 350.5-lb. watermelon flying in from Sevierville, Tennessee; and a long gourd from Fred Ansems of Kentville, Nova Scotia, that clocks in at over 11 feet in length.
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After spending the day at Grand Central Terminal with Ray Villafane and his cadre of carvers, I had no doubt that his emerging work for this year’s Haunted Pumpkin Garden would be as jaw-dropping as ever. Literally. But I didn’t realize just how massively monstrous Villafane’s plans were! With fangs galore and a squadron of buggy targets for its searching tongue, the finished sculpture came together over the course of our Giant Pumpkin Carving Weekend, landing yet another notch on the team’s belt of pumpkin masterpieces. And, of course, doing the record-breaking pumpkins in attendance proud.