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Plant Talk

Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Garden News: It’s a Jungle in Here!

Posted in Exhibitions on January 23 2013, by Matt Newman

Tropical ParadiseThink of surviving winter as a pie chart: a good chunk–maybe 50%–is made up of boots and scarves; another 30% boils down to keeping a cheerful attitude while you go to town on your iced over windshield; and that last 20% is all about escapism. For some, that means hitching a jet to South Beach and waiting out the bitter months by a rooftop pool, sipping chilled mimosas. For us, it’s a 20-minute transit ride up to the Bronx for a steamy stop in New York City’s largest living rain forest.

Yeah, I know, not exactly the first place you’d plan for a jungle excursion–but the NYBG is your best bet! Our yearly Tropical Paradise event is put together to offer New Yorkers sanctuary from the humdrum icebox of the city, so you can leave your hand warmers at the door and pretend, if only for a moment, that it’s not snowing sideways in the five boroughs. This year’s focus falls on the permanent collection inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, where exotic tropical plants such as vanilla orchids, zombie palms, and the jade vine–a perennial favorite deserving of a little idolization–step front and center.

We talked with Kevin Character and Jessica Clark, the NYBG’s Associate Curator for Glasshouse Collections, to get a better outline of what’s happening in the Conservatory this winter. Above and beyond our worldly plant collection, there’s plenty happening to keep your toes tapping and your portfolio full.

Alongside our Conservatory collection, we’ll be highlighting the sounds of the tropics with musical selections from Brazil, Cuba, Peru, Africa, India, and elsewhere. This should add a touch of fanfare when you visit for our weekend photography workshops, highlighting the skills you’ll need to better yourself as a garden photographer (not to mention a winning contestant in our annual photography competition). So don’t suffer frigid hardwood floors and anemic radiators anymore than you have to–get up to the NYBG and take part in a little make-believe!

Tropical Paradise runs between January 19 and February 24 in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Click through to the exhibition page for activities and schedules!