A Rosy Summer Weekend

Posted in Around the Garden on June 8 2012, by Matt Newman

We’re looking at early summer days in the Garden this weekend! Already we’re seeing warmer temperatures, welcome afternoon showers, and the flushed, vivid shade of green that comes with the hotter months. But bring on the sunglasses and short sleeves; they’re all the better for a picnic.

There’s just about two weeks left in the season, officially, meaning you still have time to catch the early color of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden with an expert-led tour. Afterward, jump right into a session with our Gardener for Public Education, Sonia Uyterhoeven, whose top-notch rosarian wisdom will set you on the path to tending New Dawns and Mr. Lincolns of your own. (It’s okay to be the envy of the Home Owner’s Association, suburbanites.)

Catch the tram back to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and set about wandering our constantly changing homage to Giverny as part of Monet’s Garden. Since visiting it just yesterday morning, I’m of the opinion that the newly-settled Canterbury Bells are the week’s standouts with their dainty, cupped blossoms. But I wouldn’t count out the water lilies, either: they’re only just this week opening their colossal flowers–a salute to Monet’s iconic paintings, no doubt. Tour finished, you can step just outside to the Perennial Garden for the lyrical verse of Arthur Rimbaud, a Monet contemporary whose oeuvre will be sampled aloud by some of our finest living American poets.

Of course, words alone can’t do the sights, smells, and sounds justice. Find your way up to the Bronx for the weekend, and leave the frantic pace of the city at home for a couple of days!

Saturday, June 9

Bird Walk – 11 a.m.
Meet at the Reflecting Pool

The diverse habitats of the Botanical Garden offer visitors a chance to see dozens of species of birds throughout the year. Bring your binoculars and walk the Garden grounds with our expert, Debbie Becker, searching for the birds of the season and learning about bird-friendly plants that provide food, shelter, and nesting sites. Come this weekend and you might even catch a glimpse of the Pileated Woodpecker, a species that only just made its return to The New York Botanical Garden after over 70 years.

Rose Garden Tour – 12:30 p.m.
Meet at the entrance to the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden

Immerse yourself in the fragrance, color, and beauty of the award-winning Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden on a tour with a Garden docent. Learn the differences between Heritage and Modern roses and between floribundas and hybrid teas, as well as facts about rose history, cultivation, and folklore. Our Rose Garden only just peaked in the last couple of weeks, making now the time to catch the spring display.

Film Screening: Monet Double Feature
In the Ross Hall

The Impressionists: Monet – 1 p.m.
This film is a look at the life and art of Claude Monet, the originator of “Impressionism.” Examine several paintings, location footage, and expert analysis. Also featured is footage from L’Orangerie and from Monet’s house and gardens at Giverny, plus special film shot at London’s Savoy Hotel, where Monet painted his famous views of London.

Monet’s Palate – 3 p.m.
Embark on a culinary tour of Claude Monet’s beloved Normandy, a region of France just north of Paris along the Seine River. This region inspired Monet’s passion for art and his passion for fine cuisine. Both Monet’s palette and his palate met at this home in Giverny, surrounded by his beautiful gardens. This film, connecting the painter’s love of art, gardens, and his profound appreciation for food, is introduced by Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep and features commentary from Alice Waters, Daniel Boulud, Michel Richard, and other renowned chefs. Screening of Monet’s Palate made possible by MonetsPalate.com.

Home Gardening Demonstration: Life is Rosy – 2 p.m.
In the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden

Join Gardener for Public Education Sonia Uyterhoeven as she takes you on a tour of the sumptuous, award-winning Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden. She will cover standard rose care practice from fertilizing to pruning.

Monet’s Garden Tour – 2:30 p.m.
Meet at the entrance to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory

Join one of the Garden’s docents for a tour inside the galleries of the historic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, where horticulturists of The New York Botanical Garden bring to life stunning re-creations of Monet’s most iconic gardens at Giverny. In the Conservatory Courtyard, the focus on the artistry of the great Impressionist continues with a display of water lilies.

Salon Series: Monet to Mallarme – 4 p.m.
In the Perennial Garden

Hear American poets reading their favorite French poets including Stephane Mallarmé, Arthur Rimbaud, and Paul Verlaine while discussing the poets’ influence on their own work in this series, a part of Monet’s Garden.

June 9: Rimbaud – Elena Rivera, Vincent Katz, and David Shapiro.

Co-presented by the Poetry Society of America. These programs are made possible by a gift from the Leon Lowenstein Foundation, Inc.

Sunday, June 10

Rose Garden Tour – 12:30 p.m.
Meet at the entrance to the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden

Film Screening: Monet Double Feature
In the Conservatory GreenSchool

The Impressionists: Monet – 1 & 2 p.m.
This film is a look at the life and art of Claude Monet, the originator of “Impressionism.” Examine several paintings, location footage, and expert analysis. Also featured is footage from L’Orangerie and from Monet’s house and gardens at Giverny, plus special film shot at London’s Savoy Hotel, where Monet painted his famous views of London.

Monet’s Palate – 3 & 4 p.m.
Embark on a culinary tour of Claude Monet’s beloved Normandy, a region of France just north of Paris along the Seine River. This region inspired Monet’s passion for art and his passion for fine cuisine. Both Monet’s palette and his palate met at this home in Giverny, surrounded by his beautiful gardens. This film, connecting the painter’s love of art, gardens, and his profound appreciation for food, is introduced by Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep and features commentary from Alice Waters, Daniel Boulud, Michel Richard, and other renowned chefs. Screening of Monet’s Palate made possible by MonetsPalate.com.

Home Gardening Demonstration: Life is Rosy – 2 p.m.
In the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden

Monet’s Garden Tour – 2:30 p.m.
Meet at the entrance to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory

Ongoing Children’s Programs

Children’s Outdoor Nature Explorations: Observe and Create
Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, May 19 through September 30
Weekdays 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. / Weekends 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Let your inner Monet run wild and be inspired by nature to create art in all different forms. Movement, music, drawing and painting abound in this outdoor studio for children. Stop by Inspiration Station to play our outdoor marimba; paint with water and experiment with colors in our Color Clash Studio; or step inside to experiment with the engineering behind aquatic plants. Nature is art–discover it at the Adventure Garden. Also on view: an exhibition by students from Studio in a School.

Salad Days
Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, May 19 through June 15
1:30 to 5:30 p.m.

The “salad days” of the Garden year are here! The finale of spring is a bonanza of ripe roots, succulent stems, glorious greens, and a kaleidoscope of colorful–and edible–flowers. Use real plants and flowers to decorate a salad bowl collage. Learn tips on how to combine this array of plant parts into an assortment of salads and prepare a healthy dressing to take home.

Cooking demonstrations at 2 and 4 p.m. on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

A Rosy Summer Weekend

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