This Weekend: Step Back in Time
Posted in Programs and Events on February 7 2014, by Lansing Moore
After this icy week, we’ve all earned some down time. Luckily the Garden has many opportunities to explore this weekend, both indoors and outdoors.
You can admire trees a hundred years old or a hundred feet high with Sunday’s Winter Plant & Tree Tour, or the many bird species roosting within them along a Saturday Bird Walk. Another tour will guide curious visitors through the historic heart of the Garden, our Beaux Arts Library Building. Completed in 1901, the LuEsther T. Mertz Library contains a rare collection of books and artifacts, and has been declared a New York City landmark along with the adjacent Tulip Tree Allée.
Away from the snow, Tropical Paradise continues to fill the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory with brilliant colors. Beyond what there is to see, this weekend’s tour groups will smell and feel samples of historically and culturally significant plants. This Saturday also marks the fourth week of our photography contest, so consider snapping a few shots during your visit. Each contestant will have a chance to win a certificate for one Adult Education photography course of your own choosing. There are two categories, Macro and Sense-of-Place. To better understand the nature of each category, feel free to admire our past entries. You will find more information in our photo contest rules.
Tropical vines, passion flowers, and all the warmth you have been missing during this unpredictable winter—everything is waiting for you at the Garden!
Saturday, February 8
Tropical Interactive Encounters – 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
In the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory Lowland Rain Forest Gallery
See, smell, and taste the rejuvenating and healing powers of tropical plants like coconut, nutmeg, annatto, and banana through interactive demonstrations and samplings. This showcase will provide insight to the historical and cultural importance of various plants throughout the world.
Tropical Paradise Roaming Guides – 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
In the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory
Take a trip through paradise with a Garden guide who will highlight interesting plants of our permanent collection in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Touch and smell samples of featured plants including vanilla, coconut, and nutmeg and get a sense of place through photographs of these plants in the wild.
Bird Walk – 11 a.m.
Meet at the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
The diverse habitats of the Botanical Garden offer visitors a chance to see dozens of species of birds throughout the year. Bring your binoculars and walk the Garden grounds with an expert to learn about bird-friendly habitats, migrating species, and birds that make a permanent home at the Garden.
Landmarks of the New York Botanical Garden: The LuEsther T. Mertz Library Building Tour – 12:30 p.m.
Meet in the Orchid Rotunda of the Library Building
Learn how this historically significant structure complements our magnificent landscape and discover the ways this space is used to promote and advocate for the plant kingdom.
Sunday, February 9
Tropical Interactive Encounters – 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
In the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory Lowland Rain Forest Gallery
See, smell, and taste the rejuvenating and healing powers of tropical plants like coconut, nutmeg, annatto, and banana through interactive demonstrations and samplings. This showcase will provide insight to the historical and cultural importance of various plants throughout the world.
Tropical Paradise Roaming Guides – 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
In the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory
Take a trip through paradise with a Garden guide who will highlight interesting plants of our permanent collection in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Touch and smell samples of featured plants including vanilla, coconut, and nutmeg and get a sense of place through photographs of these plants in the wild.
Winter Plant & Tree Tour – 12:30 p.m.
Meet at the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
With the deciduous trees now stripped of their leaves, explore the many colorful winter berries found throughout the Garden and marvel at the sculptural forms of trees and tree bark.
Ongoing Children’s Programs
Tropical Discoveries and Wintertime Wonders
In the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden
Inside the cozy Discovery Center, kids of all ages can take a closer look at the differences between tropical and temperate plants. Pot up a specimen plant to take home and compare its characteristics with foliage in your neighborhood. Use a field notebook to explore the Adventure Garden and discover the vital sparks of life that lie just below the surface of this quiet season.
