Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Photography on November 8 2012, by Ann Rafalko
Sit a moment in the sun-warmed air. Fall is here, the colors say so. Yellow, orange, maroon. The grapevine bare, waiting, wondering if snow will soon be there.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on November 7 2012, by Matt Newman
If you’re walking along Garden Way after a trip to the Greenmarket, and you happen to catch a whiff of what smells suspiciously like cotton candy, there’s no need to worry–you’re not losing your mind! Just freeze. Now retrace your steps, maybe a few paces back toward the tram stop. Turn slightly toward the Library Building. At the right time of year, standing in just the right spot and with the wind in your favor, you should be looking at–and catching the aroma of–one of our true gems of autumn foliage.
At the peak of its fall change, the katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) is covered in nodding sprays of glowing apricot- and lemon-colored leaves, but what they give off is far and away the prime reason for its fandom. Like certain citrus trees, scooping up a handful of fallen leaves and crushing them in your hands releases a cloud of magnetic fragrance. However, you won’t pick up the pungent, spiced notes of a tropical fruit tree. Instead, you’ll find yourself wondering if you’ve wandered into one of Willy Wonka’s confectionery daydreams. The heart-shaped leaves smell exactly like cotton candy. Or maybe marshmallow fluff. Or caramel, or brown sugar, or vanilla pudding! Whatever this tree smells like to you, it’s seldom that a visitor to the NYBG fails to fall in love with the katsura’s rare talent.
Posted in Photography on November 7 2012, by Ann Rafalko
Sweetgum
Maple
Photos by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Programs and Events on November 6 2012, by Matt Newman
This Wednesday’s weekly NYBG Greenmarket is back on track, meaning you’ll be free to stock up on fall’s freshest vegetables as the city starts bundling up for the coming winter chill. Seeing as it’s now November, this is also one of three remaining chances to do so; the Greenmarket’s marathon of summer and fall harvests will come to a close on Wednesday, November 21.
But that’s still plenty of time! Time enough to enjoy the last of the greens, a wealth of winter gourds, pumpkins piled high, and–with any luck–a few jugs of freshly-pressed apple cider (the crown jewel of fall eats, really). The weekly Greenmarket is also an opportunity to bulk up your pantry with hand-picked foods for the coming Thanksgiving smorgasbord. Not that I really need to remind your appetite about the apocalyptic dietary decisions you’ll be making–even without healthy fruits and vegetables.
Posted in Around the Garden on November 6 2012, by Matt Newman
Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.
Early one morning in late October, I drove down Daffodil Hill and around to the Azalea Garden. As I was rounding the corner, I found myself arrested by one of my favorite late season fragrances. I can never describe the scent–some call it slightly spicy. All I can tell you is that it is clean, inviting, and has a pleasant perfume that isn’t overpowering. But one thing is certain: fragrance is an unexpected pleasure this late in the season.
The plant in question is our native witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), which was given its name because its forked branches were once used as divining rods. These “V” or “Y”-shaped branches were taken up by those who felt them useful in locating underground water–a practice formerly known as “water witching.”
A lovely benefit of anything that flowers in late fall (or winter through early spring) is that the flowers tend to last for a long time. The cool weather slows down senescence and the flowers linger for weeks. On warmer days, the fragrance wafts through the air, advertising to local insects that the flowers are there.
Posted in Photography on November 6 2012, by Ann Rafalko
Here’s photographic evidence that–despite the calendar’s advance into the eleventh month of the year–the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden continues to bloom. The blooms may be fewer and more far between, but doesn’t that just make them all the sweeter for their rarity?
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Exhibitions, Kiku on November 5 2012, by Matt Newman
Captured under glass in an intimate snapshot of a generations-old artform, this year’s Kiku collection is now up and running in the Bourke-Sullivan Display House, a wing of the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections at the NYBG. And as exhibitions go, this one–as always–is a vital testament to the heights of beauty and expertise that horticulture can reach.
Like so many of our exhibitions, Nolen’s master horticulturists have spent months behind the scenes, sculpting and training otherwise commonplace flowers into shapes unlike anything seen in a workaday home garden. Thousands of chrysanthemum blooms across a rainbow of colors now take on the forms of Ogiku, Ozukuri, and Shino-Tsukuri. Now, those names may strike mysterious chords at first, but they’re easy enough to understand–if not recreate–once you spend a little time with our handy, dandy primer.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on November 5 2012, by Matt Newman
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on November 4 2012, by Matt Newman
Just a little peek at the chrysanthemums creating rainbows in the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections, where the Bourke-Sullivan Display House is now holding this year’s Kiku creations. If you’ve never seen botanical sculpture at its most essential height, visit the Ozukuri, Kengai, Ogiku, and many other stylistic mum masterpieces from now through Sunday, November 18.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on November 3 2012, by Matt Newman
It’s been a trying week, but like everyone up here, we’re resilient! The Garden is open and many of our Fall Forest Weekend activities are still on the docket, so if you’re looking for a break from it all, join us Saturday and Sunday for some time under the fall foliage. Check out our event page for the current schedule!
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen