Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Ann Rafalko

IGPOTY: Deadline for Entries Looms

Posted in Photography on October 28 2011, by Ann Rafalko

Competition 5, 4 Seasons ''Weather Eye'' First Place - Alan Price ''Oak Seedling''
Competition 5, 4 Seasons ''Weather Eye'' First Place - Alan Price ''Oak Seedling''

Fall is a gorgeous time to take pictures at The New York Botanical Garden. In the Thain Family Forest, the trees are slowly but surely changing colors. Through this weekend, the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory is full of mesmerizing, gargantuan kiku. Pumpkins galore adorn the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. And everywhere you turn, our feathery, fuzzy, and furry friends are scurrying about getting ready for the impending winter. There’s beauty at every turn, and by entering your photos of the Garden into the International Garden Photographer of the Year contest, you could even earn some global acclaim for your shots!

The fifth-annual competition of the International Garden Photographer of the Year contest closes to entries on November 30, 2011. The entry fee is 10£ or around $16, but if one of your photographs wins, you could make that fee back in spades. The grand prize award is around $8,000!

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Zombies in the Garden

Posted in Around the Garden on October 24 2011, by Ann Rafalko

ZOMBIES!They came. They saw. They conquered! And lucky for us, everyone still has their brains in place.

Couldn’t make it to the Garden this weekend to watch Ray Villafane transform two of the world’s heaviest pumpkins (including the world record-holder) into a super-creepy zombie tableau? Never fear!

We caught all the action via time-lapse camera and in a slideshow. Head below the jump to see them … if you dare!

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The Carving Begins!

Posted in Around the Garden on October 21 2011, by Ann Rafalko

I got a nice surprise this morning when I stopped by the big pumpkins; I found Brant and Elanor Bordsen, of Marysville, Calif. standing beside their beautiful, pearly pumpkin chatting with Garden visitors and staff. I told them I was surprised and excited to see them here (I had no idea they were coming!), and they said that they decided that they wanted to be here when Ray Villafane cut into their 1,693 pounder, to remove the seeds themselves, and to watch the progress of his sculpture. I asked them if they had seen the concept drawing for his sculpture yet. They said no, so I pulled it up on my BlackBerry and showed it to them. They agreed that it was certainly spooky and would be quite the spectacle!

Learn more about why the Bordsens flew all the way from California for pumpkin seeds below.