Member Programs
Gallery Talks and Curator-Led Tours are a great way to learn behind-the-scenes details about the Garden from curators, managers, and scientists. To ensure all Members get a chance to participate, Members are permitted to attend one tour per month. Reservations are required. To sign up, email membership@nybg.org or call 718.817.8703.
Members Clean-Up Day
April 5, May 6, June 7, July 5, August 2; 10 a.m.–12 p.m.
Volunteer and assist our forest team with invasive species management and removal, restoration planting, trail maintenance, and trash sweeps. On Saturday, May 6 join the Forest staff in participating in a Bronx River wide clean-up. That will involve spring cleaning trash along the river inside the Garden. We will be one of many groups working to clean up the entire 23 miles of the Bronx River. This full event is being organized by the Bronx River Alliance and Riverkeeper. Please wear sun protection as well as appropriate and comfortable gardening attire. Water is provided. To sign up e-mail membership@nybg.org or call 718.817.8703. Please note that all attendees must be 16 years or older.
Magnolia Collection
Thursday, April 13, 11 a.m.–12 p.m.
Magnolias’ fragrant flowers are some of the first to herald spring’s arrival. The Garden’s collection showcases the many diverse shapes and lovely shades of these sweet-scented blooms. Tour these graceful trees blooming in an array of pastel colors, from luscious whites to pale yellows to deep pink and purple hues. Deanna Curtis will guide you through our beautiful collection in early spring. She will discuss the history of the trees and shed some light on their maintenance and upkeep.
Daffodil Collection
Thursday, April 20, 11 a.m.–12p.m.
Each year the Garden springs to life with tens of thousands of daffodils. Find new favorites among the latest hybrids on Daylily/Daffodil Walk, when the collection is a sea of yellow and white, including many antique cultivars planted in the early 20th century. Your guide on this tour, Kristin Schleiter, will discuss the extensive work that goes into planting daffodil bulbs, including the expansion of the Million Daffodil project.
Lilac Collection
Tuesday, May 2, 11 a.m.–12 p.m.
Lilac lovers have flocked to the Garden to see and smell these charming flowers since 1896. Deanna Curtis will be your guide to this historic collection that showcases antique specimens as well as new disease-resistant lilacs, tall tree lilacs and dwarf lilacs, and includes flowers that smell sweet and others that smell spicy. Early, late, and even reblooming lilacs and specimens selected for their autumn color ensure that this garden boasts interesting sights and smells long after its initial spring blooms.
Matelich Anniversary Peony Collection
Thursday, May 25, 11 a.m.–12 p.m.
Along Perennial Garden Way, more than 150 herbaceous peonies reach their peak in mid-May. The collection was recently expanded to feature dozens of new late-blooming varieties, extending the flowering season and delighting visitors with more blooms than ever before. Kristin M. Schleiter, Assistant Vice President of Outdoor Gardens and Sr. Curator, will lead us through this beautiful assortment of white, pink, coral and red, herbaceous peonies.
LuEsther T. Mertz Library Tour
Thursday, June 15; 11 a.m.–12 p.m.
Join Stephen Sinon as he provides and insider’s look at the renown LuEsther T. Mertz Library. The Library is one of the world’s largest and most important botanical and horticultural research libraries, with over one million accessioned items and over 4,800 feet of archival materials. This tour covers its historical significance and provides an in-depth look within the rare books collection.