What’s Beautiful Now: The Conifers
Posted in What's Beautiful Now on September 10 2012, by Matt Newman
It’s something of a quiet Monday here at the NYBG (we’re not open most Mondays; it’s best to give the horticulturists a clear space to do their weekly tidying-up), and the thermometer is dipping rapidly. I’m not going to say that fall has begun, necessarily, as it’s probably just a fluke weather pattern. But it puts me in the mood for looking forward! Thankfully, the prolific Ivo Vermeulen has left me with enough photographs to geek out on some pre-season imagery.
What carries me so often to the Benenson Ornamental Conifers is what you’d call the most subtle of beauties. But I guess that stands for the Garden’s evergreens in general. They’re not showy in the way that a rose presents, though many of them sport as much–if not more–fragrance. Instead, the conifer lands more in the territory of regal reflection. For most people in the northern hemisphere, nothing quite heralds the season like an evergreen dusted with snow. (Not that we had much opportunity to enjoy that kind of scenery this past winter.)
The deciduous trees haven’t even lost their leaves, and the landscape around here is still pretty verdant, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get in a little evergreen appreciation beforehand. After all, their beauty is timeless–and that includes the warmer months.
Come back in winter to see these hardy trees setting the scene for our holiday exhibition. They’re really the lords of their realm when it comes to inspiring nostalgia, no matter where you’re from.
