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. Reserve today.
Magnolia Collection Tour
Deanna Curtis, Curator of Woody Plants and Landscape Project Manager
April 18; 11 a.m.
Magnolias’ fragrant flowers are some of the first to herald spring’s arrival. The Garden’s collection highlights 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 to discuss its history and shed some light on maintenance and upkeep.
Project W.A.S.T.E. (Water and Street Trash Elimination)
April 14; 10 a.m.–12 p.m.
Did you know that floating trash is one of the major water quality issues in New York’s waterways? Join NYBG staff in cleaning up the Bronx River, and collect data used to stop trash entering our waterways through education and policy. Since 2016, across the entire Bronx River, over three tons of trash have been removed from the river!
Rock Garden Tour
Michael Hagen, Curator of the Rock Garden and Native Plant Garden
April 19; 11 a.m.
This dramatic 2.5-acre oasis offers plenty of surprises to those unfamiliar with rock gardens, including jewel-like alpine flowers, graceful woodland plants, and a sparkling waterfall and stream flowing to a flower-rimmed pond. Learn about the construction and design of the Rock Garden, what makes a plant suitable for a rock garden, and the benefits of planting in mineral-rich soil.
LuEsther T. Mertz Library Tour
Stephen Sinon, Head of Information Services & Archives
April 26; 11 a.m.
Join Stephen Sinon, Head of Information Services & Archives, as he guides you through the LuEsther T. Mertz Library. This 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.
Burn Family Lilac Collection Tour
Deanna Curtis, Curator of Woody Plants and Landscape Project Manager
May 1; 11 a.m.
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 re-blooming 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 Tour
Claire Lyman, Assistant Curator
May 24; 11 a.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. Your guide will lead you through this beautiful assortment of white, pink, coral, and red herbaceous peonies.
Jane Watson Irwin Perennial Garden Tour
Adam Choper, Manager of Outdoor Gardens
June 14; 11 a.m.
Designed with an artist’s eye, the Perennial Garden combines a vast palette of colors, textures, flowers, and foliage into a lush, living work of art. The Ladies’ Border, redesigned in 2002 with year round interest in mind, features many plants that had not previously been grown at the Garden.