Plan Your Weekend: Stone Mill, Edible Garden, More

Posted in Exhibitions, The Edible Garden on September 17 2010, by Plant Talk

And on Tuesday, Mingle with Martha at a Champagne Cocktail Party

The Garden’s newly renovated Lillian and Amy Goldman Stone Mill will be open to the public again this Saturday and Sunday for a second and final weekend. Visitors can view the landmark building and tour the Stone Mill precinct, which is one of the largest, most varied historic landscapes in New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley.

In addition, this weekend visitors also can delight in cooking demos and fall activities for families as part of The Edible Garden as well as enjoy A Season in Poetry and more (details below)! You’ll also want to save the date Tuesday, September 21, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. to mingle with Martha Stewart at a Champagne Cocktail Party in the Garden.

Comprising 100 acres, the Stone Mill precinct contains diverse historic assets: three buildings from the mid-19th century; the Bronx River, New York City’s only freshwater river, with its dramatic gorge, waterfall, and camel-back bridge; the 50-acre Native Forest, the largest remnant of the old-growth forest that once covered all of New York; eight gardens and collections, many dating from the first half of the 20th century; and landscape marked by undulating terrain and dramatic rock outcrops, all located within the Botanical Garden’s 250-acre National Historic Landmark site. The Goldman Stone Mill is just across Stone Mill Road from the Benenson Ornamental Conifers and the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, destinations that are among the most historic in the Garden.

Additional landmarks, gardens, and collections that comprise the historic Stone Mill precinct are: Stone Cottage—built about 1854, restored 2009; Native Forest—ancient, restored 2008 to present, with work ongoing; Bronx River—ancient, restored throughout the 1990s and ongoing; Hester (High) Bridge—built 1910; Lorillard Stables—built 1855, not yet restored; Lilac Collection (including T. A. Havemeyer lilacs)—established 1949, restoration and expansion is ongoing.

Also in the historic area’s landscape are: the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, one-and-a-half enclosed acres of planting beds, display gardens, compost facilities, and activity areas where children and family members plant and tend vegetable gardens, located on the site of the Lorillard mansion destroyed by fire in 1924; Cherry Valley established in 1969; the Dolores DeFina Hope Tree Peony Collection, established in 1998; and the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections, a working, teaching, and research greenhouse Garden staff utilizes to grow plants for all the display gardens and seasonal exhibitions.

This Weekend
Stone Mill Viewing and Tours
Lillian and Amy Goldman Stone Mill
Saturday, September 18, & Sunday, September 19
10 a.m.–3 p.m.

Cooking Demos
Conservatory Kitchen Tent
Saturday, September 18, 1 & 3 p.m.
Kip Wilcox, chef, Moosewood Restaurant
Sunday, September 19, 1 & 3 p.m.
Casey Barber and Danielle Oteri, bloggers, Good. Food. Stories.

A Season in Poetry
Perennial Garden
Saturday, September 18, 4 p.m.
Celebrate the season with renowned poets Maggie Dietz, Tom Healy, and Julie Sheehan reading classic favorites as well as their own work. Co-sponsored by The Poetry Society of America

Lenape Life Activities
Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden
Saturday & Sunday, 1:30–5:30 p.m.
Hands-on gardening activities for families include: shucking and grinding corn kernels, creating a cornhusk doll (a traditional Lenape craft), and more. Stop by the Pumpkin Patch to see how fast it’s growing!

Farm-to-Table Exhibit and Flowers-to-Fruits Activities
Everett Children’s Adventure Garden
Saturday & Sunday, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
A kid-size exhibition allows youngsters to pretend to be farmers, “harvest” fruits and vegetables, and “cook” delicious recipes at the “cafe.” Engaging plant exploration activities allow children to learn how flowers become fruits, and kids can pot a vegetable plant to take home.