This Weekend: Segue into Winter
Posted in Around the Garden on November 23 2012, by Matt Newman
Hope everyone had a filling, drama-free Thanksgiving! And now, if you’re not rolling around in a turkey-induced malaise, or elbowing your way through a mob of frantic shoppers, there’s all the opportunity in the world to scoot your way up to the Bronx and escape that post-holiday madness! The NYBG is open both today and throughout the weekend, with a full schedule of holiday programming and late fall explorations on deck–and not a sink full of dishes or shopping cart in sight. Quite the opposite, in fact.
With the Holiday Train Show now entering its second week, crowds are still small and the weather is perfect for a trip to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Inside, our miniature city of familiar architecture and zippy model trains is growing by the year, with fresh New York landmarks added to the collection and a few stunning wonders of the world tucked into our expanded Artist’s Studio. Paul Busse has pieced together this meticulous world over the course of more than two decades, and his New York microcosm only continues to grow with his imagination.
Outside, the Garden is still a landscape painted with the occasional fall hue, especially in the Forest. So get out there and join our expert Garden Tour Guides for a tour of the 50-acre woodland, the only old growth, native forest remaining in the five boroughs. You might even catch a few vibrant leaf displays before autumn doffs its hat. And even if much of the color is drifting off, not all of the season’s beauty is wrapped up in the trees: heads up for the many graceful, singsong, or just plain comical flyers to be seen cruising the branches during Debbie Becker’s weekly Bird Walk.
Unless we witness a repeat of last year’s warm winter, time may be short before the flakes start falling–we’ll see you at the Garden for the last of the season’s leaves!
Friday, November 23
![The NYBG Weekend](https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Weekender-bar-1.jpg)
Film Screening: Holiday Train Show with David Hartman – 11:30 a.m., 1, 2, and 3 p.m.
Ross Hall
A PBS documentary narrated by David Hartman explores how the Holiday Train Show goes from imagination to creation and features exclusive interviews with designer Paul Busse. Included with All-Garden Pass.
Manolo Valdés Monumental Sculpture Tour – 1 p.m.
Meet at the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
Join a Garden Tour Guide-led tour of the Manolo Valdés sculptures set throughout the Garden grounds. Get involved in conversation surrounding individual works of art.
Saturday, November 24
![The NYBG Weekend](https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Weekender-bar-2.jpg)
Film Screening: Holiday Train Show with David Hartman – 11:30 a.m., 1, 2, and 3 p.m.
Ross Hall
A PBS documentary narrated by David Hartman explores how the Holiday Train Show goes from imagination to creation and features exclusive interviews with designer Paul Busse. Included with All-Garden Pass.
Notable Tree Tour – 12:30 p.m.
Meet at the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
What makes a tree notable? It could be its size, its bark, its uses, or a variety of other features. Some of our trees have been here since before the Garden was formally established in 1891. Join one of the Garden’s Tour Guides for a tour highlighting some of the most interesting trees across this historic 250-acre site.
Sunday, November 25
![The NYBG Weekend](https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Weekender-bar-3.jpg)
Film Screening: Holiday Train Show with David Hartman – 11:30 a.m., 1, 2, and 3 p.m.
Ross Hall
A PBS documentary narrated by David Hartman explores how the Holiday Train Show goes from imagination to creation and features exclusive interviews with designer Paul Busse. Included with All-Garden Pass.
Manolo Valdés Monumental Sculpture Tour – 12:30 p.m.
Meet at the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
Join a Garden Tour Guide-led tour of the Manolo Valdés sculptures set throughout the Garden grounds. Get involved in conversation surrounding individual works of art.
Ongoing Children’s Programs
![The NYBG Weekend](https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Weekender-bar-4.jpg)
Gingerbread Adventures
Everett Children’s Adventure Garden
Open all day for exploration
Guided Activities: Weekdays, 1:30-5:30 p.m. / Weekends, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Children explore the spices that make up a classic gingerbread recipe. Kids can step inside a child-sized gingerbread playhouse and also decorate a gingersnap cookie with frosting and candies. All ages will enjoy viewing a display of gingerbread houses made by New York City-area bakers.