This Weekend: The Native Plant Garden Opens!
Posted in Around the Garden on May 3 2013, by Ann Rafalko
After many years and hundreds of thousand of plants, we’re opening our newest garden to the public, the Native Plant Garden! The Native Plant Garden is a spectacular, 3.5 acre showcase of the beautiful and diverse native plants of northeastern North America, and we’re celebrating all weekend with fun, festivities, music, wine, food, expert tours, workshops, family activities, and more.
Tours will focus on the diversity of plants to be found in the garden and the birds that are already calling it home. Everyone is encouraged to borrow a palette and watercolors and let the Native Plant Garden inspire you or your children to create a masterpiece en plein air. Enjoy folk tunes and bluegrass from the very popular Milton. Shop for native plants and learn from the experts in a series of demos and author book signings.
There’s so much to do in the Native Plant Garden you might be inclined to just stay there and enjoy this beautiful new landscape, but you would be missing out on a wealth of other stunning vistas! Though there are only a few blooms, the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden is once again open for the season, and just above it you will find blooming tree peonies and fragrant stands of lilac. In the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, Mario Batali’s Kitchen Gardens have just been planted, and every child is encouraged to plant and play in the rest of the garden beds. In Cherry Valley a few tenacious blooms hold on, while tulips are everywhere in the Perennial Garden, Home Gardening Center, and along Seasonal Walk. In the Herb Garden you will be greeted by a “theater” of adorable and fascinating auricula primroses. The Azalea Garden is just beginning to glow in rosy hues of magenta, shocking pink, and seashell blush. Along Daffodil Hill the daffs are fading a bit, only to be outshone by gorgeous (and fragrant) crabapples. Basically, everywhere you turn there’s another stunning vista!
Saturday, May 4
All the listed activities for today pertain to the Grand Opening of the Native Plant Garden and take place in this new venue except where noted.
Tour the Native Plant Garden – regularly, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Meet at the entrance to the Native Plant Garden
Guides along the paths provide an insider’s view of the newly designed Native Plant Garden. Curators will also be on hand to answer any native plant-related questions.
Bird Walk – 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Meet at the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
The diverse habitats of the Botanical Garden and the Native Plant Garden offer visitors a chance to see dozens of species of birds throughout the year. Join expert birdwatcher Debbie Becker for a chance to see migratory species and our resident raptors. Bring your binoculars for this free walk.
Home Gardening Demonstrations: Going Native – 12 and 2 p.m.
In the Native Plant Garden Gazebo
Step outside and discover a plant paradise by joining us for the opening of the Native Plant Garden. Explore the contours of the new landscape and learn what plants will thrive in a woodland, wetland, and prairie garden.
Watercolor Painting along the Paths – 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Near the Native Plant Garden
Pick up a palette and let the Garden be your muse. Borrow materials and set yourself up in a number of inspiring overlooks near the Native Plant Garden.
Music by Milton – 12-4:30 p.m.
At the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
Partake in the revelry of the Opening Weekend fanfare with bluegrass and folk tunes played by Milton, leader of a lively stage collective known for exploring the deep-set roots of American music.
Festival Partner Activity Booths & Workshops – 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
In the Conservatory Tent
Meet the members of various local organizations who also celebrate and steward native plants and habitats. Special talks to occur at select times.
New York City Audubon
3 p.m. – Special talk: Nature Tweets: Native Plants and the Birds that Love Them
Butterfly Project
12:30 and 2:30 p.m. – Special talk: Searching for Butterflies and Dragonflies
The Naked Grape
Enjoy sampling wine varieties each afternoon from 12 – 5 p.m.
Native Plant Center at Westchester Community College
Family Story Circle: Native Folklore – 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Plaza in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden
Take a break from the day’s activities and enjoy listening to local folklore about native plants.
Family Fun – 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Everett Children’s Adventure Garden
Pick up an Urban Hike Kit and start exploring the flora and fauna of the Native Plant Garden with the help of a scavenger hunt for families.
Shop for Native Plants, Meet Authors, and More – all day
Stop by the Shop in the Garden booth at the Native Plant Garden for a variety of new plants to use in your garden, and tools and books to be sure they thrive. Also, find handcrafted wooden bowls created by Ivan Braun from fallen trees of the Botanical Garden.
Booksigning: Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History by Carol Gracie – 1-3 p.m.
Shop in the Garden booth
This exquisitely illustrated volume provides an in-depth look at spring-blooming wildflowers of the Northeast, from old favorites to lesser-known species. Featuring more than 500 full-color photos in a stunning large-sized format, the book delves deep into the life histories, lore, and cultural uses of more than 35 plant species. The rich narrative covers topics such as the naming of wildflowers; the reasons for taxonomic changes; pollination of flowers and dispersal of seeds; uses by Native Americans; related species in other parts of the world; herbivores, plant pathogens, and pests; medicinal uses; and wildflower references in history, literature, and art. The photos capture the beauty of these plants and also illustrate the concepts discussed in the text.
Booksigning: Principles of Ecological Landscape Design by Travis Beck – 1-3 p.m.
Shop in the Garden booth
Native plants are key players in sustainable landscapes and gardens. This groundbreaking new book explains how an understanding of ecology can help us combine plants successfully while supporting the larger environment. Meet author Travis Beck, Landscape and Gardens Project Manager at The New York Botanical Garden, and pick up a signed copy.
Sunday, May 5
All the listed activities for today pertain to the Grand Opening of the Native Plant Garden and take place in this new venue except where noted.
Tour the Native Plant Garden – regularly, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Meet at the entrance to the Native Plant Garden
Guides along the paths provide an insider’s view of the newly designed Native Plant Garden. Curators will also be on hand to answer any native plant-related questions.
Bird Walk – 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Meet at the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
The diverse habitats of the Botanical Garden and the Native Plant Garden offer visitors a chance to see dozens of species of birds throughout the year. Join expert birdwatcher Debbie Becker for a chance to see migratory species and our resident raptors. Bring your binoculars for this free walk.
Home Gardening Demonstrations: Going Native – 12 and 2 p.m.
In the Native Plant Garden Gazebo
Step outside and discover a plant paradise by joining us for the opening of the Native Plant Garden. Explore the contours of the new landscape and learn what plants will thrive in a woodland, wetland, and prairie garden.
Watercolor Painting along the Paths – 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Near the Native Plant Garden
Pick up a palette and let the Garden be your muse. Borrow materials and set yourself up in a number of inspiring overlooks near the Native Plant Garden.
Music by Milton – 12-4:30 p.m.
At the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
Partake in the revelry of the Opening Weekend fanfare with bluegrass and folk tunes played by Milton, leader of a lively stage collective known for exploring the deep-set roots of American music.
Festival Partner Activity Booths & Workshops – 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
In the Conservatory Tent
Meet the members of various local organizations who also celebrate and steward native plants and habitats. Special talks to occur at select times.
Butterfly Project
12:30 and 2:30 p.m. – Special talk: Searching for Butterflies and Dragonflies
The Naked Grape
Enjoy sampling wine varieties each afternoon from 12 – 5 p.m.
Native Plant Center at Westchester Community College
Family Story Circle: Native Folklore – 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Plaza in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden
Take a break from the day’s activities and enjoy listening to local folklore about native plants.
Family Fun – 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Everett Children’s Adventure Garden
Pick up an Urban Hike Kit and start exploring the flora and fauna of the Native Plant Garden with the help of a scavenger hunt for families.
Shop for Native Plants, Meet Authors, and More – all day
Stop by the Shop in the Garden booth at the Native Plant Garden for a variety of new plants to use in your garden, and tools and books to be sure they thrive. Also, find handcrafted wooden bowls created by Ivan Braun from fallen trees of the Botanical Garden.
Booksigning: Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History by Carol Gracie – 1-3 p.m.
Shop in the Garden booth
This exquisitely illustrated volume provides an in-depth look at spring-blooming wildflowers of the Northeast, from old favorites to lesser-known species. Featuring more than 500 full-color photos in a stunning large-sized format, the book delves deep into the life histories, lore, and cultural uses of more than 35 plant species. The rich narrative covers topics such as the naming of wildflowers; the reasons for taxonomic changes; pollination of flowers and dispersal of seeds; uses by Native Americans; related species in other parts of the world; herbivores, plant pathogens, and pests; medicinal uses; and wildflower references in history, literature, and art. The photos capture the beauty of these plants and also illustrate the concepts discussed in the text.
Ongoing Children’s Programs
Hands-On Gardening Activities for Families: Wild, Wiggly Worms
In the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden
Through May 10, 2013; 1:30 – 5:30 p.m. daily
Learn all about our slimy friends and how they are hard at work in the garden. Feed the worms in our worm farm, and then sift nutritious worm compost to take home for your garden. Plants and imaginations grow at the Howell Family Garden, where kids are allowed–no, encouraged!–to play in the dirt. Display gardens such as the Global Gardens and the Breakfast Bowl, and daily activities delight and inspire.
Mario Batali’s Kitchen Gardens
In the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden
Through October 11, 2013; 1:30 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Kids can explore with Mario’s Menu Mystery game, featuring favorite vegetables and herbs from nine of his restaurants’ kitchens, including Otto and Del Posto.
Outdoor Nature Exploration: Spring Fun
In the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden
Through May 17; 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
With the Adventure Garden in spring color, pot up a seed to take home, go on a plant-part scavenger hunt, and have fun spotting frogs and turtles. Explore nature and plant science, themed galleries, and hands-on activities in the William and Lynda Steere Discovery Center as well as through outdoor exploration of the 12-acre Adventure Garden.
