Rosa rugosa is one of the first roses to bloom in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden. The species name comes from the Latin for “rough” in reference to the plant’s nearly-pleated leaves. It is also a tough plant, willing to grow in some pretty harsh habitats to the point of becoming a weed in places. And yet it is delicate and beautiful and smells amazing, like the finest of perfumes.
“What’s that vine?” is a question I overhear frequently when strolling near the Herb Garden. Do you know what it is? Here’s a hint: Mmmmmmm … beer! Yep, that’s right, it’s none other than Humulus lupulus, aka hops, the bringer of tasty bitter flavors and preservation to one of mankind’s favorite beverages.
Tomorrow marks the opening day of our summer exhibition, Wild Medicine: Healing Plants Around the World! This very exciting exhibition has several elements spread throughout our 250 acres. Wander through the 11 galleries of the historic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory to explore the story of how plants help keep us healthy, happy, and beautiful. Exhibition elements inside the Conservatory include tasting stations, informative signs, and two entire galleries dedicated to The Italian Renaissance Garden, a reinterpretation of Europe’s first botanical garden, the teaching gardens at the University of Padua established in 1545. Outside in the Conservatory Courtyards, Four Seasons features sculptures by Philip Haas, inspired by the works of Giuseppe Arcimboldo. You will also find additional tasting stations featuring tea and tropical juices alongside the beautiful waterlily pools in the Courtyards.
In the Library Building, the LuEsther T. Mertz Library is hosting The Renaissance Herbal in the Rondina and LoFaro Gallery. Explore rare books and manuscripts known as herbals that demonstrate the evolving role that plants have played in medicine and history since antiquity. Weekends feature a rich repertoire of the music and dance of the Italian Renaissance period. On view in the Ross Gallery, Nature’s Pharmacy features photographs of medicinal and beneficial plants taken by professional and amateur photographers from around the world as part of the prestigious International Garden Photographer of the Year contest. Select weekend home gardening demonstrations will offer gardening instruction on how to cultivate and enjoy healing plants at home.
The landscape of our new Native Plant Garden is evolving daily. Each day brings a new bloom, a new leaf, a new hue, or a new resident to this amazing 3.5-acre landscape. It is a celebration of the native plants of the northeast, of which wildflowers are the most delicate and ephemeral. And we’re very happy to be participating in the sixth annual NYC Wildflower Week!
On Friday, Wildflower Week participants are invited to a very special tour of the Native Plant Garden, Thain Family Forest, and Azalea Garden. The tour, Native Flowers, Forest & Azaleas of NYBG, will be conducted by Jody Payne, Director of the Native Plant Garden; Jessica Arcate-Schuler, Director of the Thain Family Forest; Deanna Curtis, Curator of Woody Plants; and Kristin Schleiter, Director of Outdoor Gardens. The tour–offered rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on May 17–is free with paid admission and participants should meet at the Leon Levy Visitor Center Reflecting Pool.
The Nancy Bryan Luce Herb Garden features a formal boxwood parterre
Imagine a landscape without boxwood. Some people—who see the shrub as an overused landscape crutch—would welcome it. But what about the home gardener on the hunt for a sturdy, reliable, trusty, deer-resistant shrub to provide their landscape with some backbone? Sure, there are alternatives, but boxwood really can fit the bill in the right design and place. Plus, if you’re a fan of the formal English garden, a world without boxwood is almost unimaginable.
But in the United Kingdom, it’s a real possibility. Home to such famous gardens featuring boxwood as Great Dixter, Sissinghurst, and Helmingham Hall, the gardens across the pond may soon lose one of their most famous plants. Boxwood blight is caused by a fungus known as Cylindrocladium buxicola in the U.K. where it was first found, but is also known as Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum or Calonectria pseudonaviculata. The disease was first described in the U.K. in the 1990s, and confirmed in the United States in 2011. It has now been seen in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
The common names of plants can be very evocative. Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, has always been one of my favorites. I love envisioning a little fox gently trying to find the perfect blossom to fit his paws. What is your favorite plant common name?
