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Plant Talk

Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Ann Rafalko

One Week To Garden Photography Greatness

Posted in Photography on October 25 2013, by Ann Rafalko

Trees in Utah by Micha Pawlitzki. Commended 2009
“Trees in Utah” by Micha Pawlitzki. Commended 2009.

Our friends at the International Garden Photographer of the Year contest asked us to remind you that there is just one week left for you to enter this prestigious contest, and I thought it was an excellent opportunity to remind you that the Garden is an amazing place to take photographs with which to enter!

I’m sure most people think that spring and summer would be the best times in which to undertake a photographic exploration of our 250 acres, but fall is also an incredibly beautiful time, especially since the reopening of our Native Plant Garden earlier this year. Native plants seem to really shine in fall, they lend so much beautiful texture and color to the landscape. And let’s not forget fall’s amazing light. It lends an incredible luminosity to flowers and leaves, and the long shadows of this season can add incredible drama and contrast to your shots.

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This Weekend: Spooks, Blooms, and Trees!

Posted in Around the Garden on October 25 2013, by Ann Rafalko

mumThe weekend starts on Friday evening, right? At NYBG it does! Celebrate the start of the weekend with a Spooky Nighttime Adventure!

Children of all ages are encouraged to come in costume for this after-dark Halloween spook-tacular. Explore the creepy crawlies hiding in the shadows of the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, see Ray Villafane’s amazing giant pumpkin sculpture illuminated and looking cool, and decorate your own gourd to take home. If you can’t make it Friday, don’t panic—there’s another Spooky Nighttime Adventure on Saturday, too.

This weekend is also the final weekend of Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Garden, and we’re celebrating with a weekend focused on two Japanese artforms: bonsai and poetry. Incredible examples of bonsai will be on display in the Conservatory Courtyards, and demonstrations aimed at helping you understand these miniature trees will be held at 12 and 2 p.m. On Sunday join acclaimed poet Jane Hirshfield for an afternoon of poetry celebrating the beauty of fall flowers and foliage and their significance in Japanese culture

And if you’re just looking for a reason to get outside, our 250 acres have you covered! Cooler weather is helping to bring out the fall color in the Thain Family Forest in a real way. If you’re interested in the fine art of photographing trees, a Saturday morning conversation with Larry Lederman, where he will share his technical, creative, and philosophical insights into the art of nature photography, is a must. The Forest’s 50-acres of old growth trees isn’t the only place for leaf peeping within our borders, the entire Garden puts on a show at this time of year. So lace up your sneakers or hiking boots, hop the train, and join us for a weekend full of trees, spooks, and blooms!

 

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Beat Cold Season With the Help of Your Crisper Drawer

Posted in Adult Education on October 23 2013, by Ann Rafalko

calendulaCold season: It’s as inevitable a piece of the New York City calendar as the Marathon, the Thanksgiving Day parade, and New Year’s Eve in Times Square. Colds are miserable and difficult to get over, but that doesn’t mean you have no recourse. In fact your local greenmarket, grocery store, garden, or crisper bin might just hold a few plants that can help you get through the winter with a slightly cheerier demeanor. No, seriously.

Next Tuesday at our Midtown Adult Education Center in Manhattan, Andrea Karo will be teaching you how to make your own herbal medicine kit. Learn how medicinal herbs and lifestyle approaches can help prevent and treat common winter woes including coughs, earaches, fevers, sore throats, and stuffy noses. After seeing easy-to-follow demonstrations for making syrups, soothing oils, natural decongestants, and healthy teas, you’ll go home ready to stock your own herbal medicine kit.

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This Week at the Greenmarket: The Big Crunch

Posted in Around the Garden on October 22 2013, by Ann Rafalko

applesIt’s time for the big crunch! No, not in time (the holidays are still only a blip on the horizon). Nope, it’s time to join with your fellow New Yorkers in the Big Apple Crunch!

This Wednesday, the NYBG Greenmarket is celebrating Food Day one day early. Food Day is a celebration, held annually on October 24, of healthy, affordable, and sustainable food. Since we can’t just move the Greenmarket to Thursday, we’ll be celebrating the Big Apple Crunch in spirit with our own apple crunching fun. Crunch an assortment of apples and choose your favorite local variety (it ain’t called the Big Apple for nothin’), learn apple facts, and indulge in apple fun.

Almost all of our farmers bring apples or apple-based products to the Greenmarket, including heirloom varieties from Migliorelli Farm; amazing ciders, juices, and fruit from Red Jacket Orchards; and apple pies from Meredith’s Bread. And while our friends at Gajeski Produce tend to stick to seasonal produce of the non-apple variety, I’m sure they’ll get into the apple crunching spirit!

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