Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Lansing Moore
Posted in Programs and Events on March 14 2014, by Lansing Moore
There are many ways to explore the Garden this weekend, whether on the brisk, sunny grounds or in the enchanting warmth of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, where The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary is in full bloom. Among our exciting programs this week are our regular Orchid Demonstrations. This weekend our experts will focus on fragrant orchids. While these gorgeous flowers brighten up any home, you can also explore which orchids have the best scent. You can treat all your senses this weekend with a specialty cocktail at Saturday’s Orchid Evening. Tomorrow’s brand new recipe is called “The Desert Flower”—read on to find out its delicious ingredients!
Don’t forget that this Saturday is also a Members Day in celebration of The Orchid Show! Members of the Garden will enjoy free parking and special discounts at the Dining Pavilion and Shop in the Garden—not to mention half-off admission for their friends and family! It has never been a better time to join, and if you are already a member this is the weekend to bring your loved ones on an excursion to the Garden. You can learn more about Members Day and the benefits of membership at nybg.org/membership.
Click through for the full weekend schedule of adult and children’s programs!
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Posted in The Orchid Show on March 13 2014, by Lansing Moore
For about a week now the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory has been plunged in the colorful escape of The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary. Our first Orchid Evening already took place last Saturday, and visitors have been pouring in to see the many varieties of orchids on display since the exhibit opened on March 1.
The day before it opened to the public, Kevin Character stopped by Members Day, where Garden Members were enjoying an exclusive preview of The Orchid Show. Early reviews were very encouraging. Some members called it the best Orchid Show yet, and they should know! Click through for this exclusive video tour of the unique design concept and varied special programs surrounding The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary.
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Posted in Photography on March 11 2014, by Lansing Moore
While we are well into The Orchid Show, I know our photography aficionados have not forgotten about this year’s Tropical Paradise Photo Contest. After lengthy deliberations over our six weekly winners in the Macro and Sense of Place categories, we are ready to announce the Grand Prize Winners in each category, recipients of a seat in the NYBG Adult Education photography class of their choice.
Most of all, I hope enjoying the outstanding weekly submissions on Plant Talk has inspired you all to enjoy the Garden through your own lens. If you want to challenge your skills and enhance your enjoyment of the Garden, then NYBG Adult Education offers a variety of classes to help you see the grounds in new ways. For those shutterbugs out there, the next class will be Photographing Birds, Bees, & Butterflies on April 26, but there are many more slated for spring as the Garden comes into full bloom. Whether with an iPhone or a full DSLR rig, there are classes for all subjects and levels of expertise.
Now for the moment that has been weeks in the making. We are very pleased to announce the Grand Prize Winners of the 2014 Tropical Paradise Photo Contest! Click through to find out.
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Posted in The Orchid Show on March 10 2014, by Lansing Moore
We wrapped up our first week of The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary over the weekend, and we already have the first Orchid Evening event under our belts. The Orchid Show this year takes its inspiration from a garden designed by Raymond Jungles for an estate garden in Key West, whisking us away to Florida’s tropical climate. We bedecked the geometric reflecting pools, soaring angular pergolas, and sleek benches of this modern residence with hundreds of orchids! With so many varieties on view, the final effect is dazzling. For a burst of color on this March afternoon, click through for a look at The Orchid Show in all its glory.
There are an estimated 30,000 naturally occurring orchid species and tens of thousands of artificially created hybrids. We couldn’t possibly have room for all of them, but there is a stunning array on display at the Conservatory, and thousands of types in the Garden’s permanent collection.
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Posted in Programs and Events on March 7 2014, by Lansing Moore
Tomorrow is our inaugural Orchid Evening! This special event series, now back for another season, gives guests the chance to admire The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary in the romantic softness of evening light. There is still time to get tickets so you can spend tomorrow evening admiring dozens of rare varieties of orchids, while enjoying music and finely crafted cocktails with a botanical twist.
The very next afternoon is a special lecture on the history and lore of the orchid by Marc Hachadourian, Curator of the Orchid Collection at The New York Botanical Garden. From medicines to aphrodisiacs, generations from around the world have been captivated by these magical and mysterious flowers.
The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory is a much-loved part of the Garden because of how many environments it can encompass—desert on the right, rainforest on the left, you name it. This year we turned the dial to full-on Florida for The Orchid Show, and stepping into the languid humidity and fresh fragrances of the tropical South is as close as we New Yorkers can get to the Florida Keys right now—without any mosquitoes, either! Click through for this weekend’s full roster of exciting orchid programs.
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Posted in Photography on March 3 2014, by Lansing Moore
Here we are, at the end of our Tropical Paradise Photo Contest’s last round of finals. As we welcomed the colorful debut of The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary this past weekend, we also had to say goodbye to Tropical Paradise for another year. Today we announce the last finalists who managed to capture the magic of that exhibition through their lenses.
While the Oscars may be over, we still have our own prize to give out for “Best Picture”—a seat in the NYBG Adult Education Photography class of the winner’s choice. We will now deliberate over the past six rounds of weekly winners, and announce the Grand Prize Winners next Tuesday. So without further ado, we announce the winners of Best Photo in the Macro Category, and Best Photo in the Sense-of-Place Category. The envelope please…
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Posted in Programs and Events on February 28 2014, by Lansing Moore
Tomorrow is the first day of The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary! This weekend also marks the beginning of March, so while it may still be chilly outside, you can be sure spring is just around the corner. In the meantime, the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory has all the warmth and color of the Florida Keys. To kick off this very special Orchid Show, we have a full array of programs scheduled this weekend to help visitors immerse themselves in the world of orchids.
The exhibit will host roaming guides, and Ross Hall will feature special live music by Jimmy Kenny & The Pirate Beach Band to complete the festive Florida experience. For those who want to keep these unique and enigmatic blooms at home, our Orchid Care Demonstrations will cover all the basics for you to cultivate with confidence. Gardening and orchid experts will also lead Orchid Q&A sessions at Shop in the Garden, helping guests choose the right orchid varieties for their home growing conditions. You can even pick up an orchid from the wide variety we have on sale at the shop. Click through for this weekend’s full program schedule, including new children’s activities!
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Posted in Programs and Events on February 26 2014, by Lansing Moore
With the debut of The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary comes the much-awaited return of Orchid Evenings. To enjoy the kaleidoscopic display of orchids in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory with music and drinks in the soft evening light is one of the most exciting ways to experience the Garden, and beginning next Saturday, March 8, we will kick things off with the first in a series of signature cocktails. The first is called “The Ariana,” and it is an original creation from our friends at Jack from Brooklyn.
Evenings run from 6:30 to 9 p.m., and MasterCard holders can purchase tickets to attend a champagne pre-party at the Shop in the Garden, where a variety of orchids will be available for purchase. Afterwards you can enjoy a fine Italian dinner at any one of our partner restaurants in the neighborhood. Click through to find out what the exclusive cocktail recipe will be, and of course who will be DJing our first Orchid Evening of 2014!
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Posted in Programs and Events on February 25 2014, by Lansing Moore
The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory is bustling with final preparations for the debut of The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary this Saturday, March 1. Right now, rows and rows of orchids are patiently awaiting their final installation into our carefully arranged island landscape, a theme inspired by the designs of Key West’s own Raymond Jungles. While we wait, you can enjoy a peek behind the scenes in the Nolen Greenhouses, our staging area for nearly every NYBG exhibition.
Karen Daubmann, our Associate Vice President for Exhibitions, gives an overview of the orchids, as well as the myriad companion species that together will help transform the Conservatory into a modernist, Florida-style garden. It should be the sunny vacation we all need right about now!
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Posted in Photography on February 24 2014, by Lansing Moore
The fifth week of our Tropical Paradise Photo Contest has come to an end, and once again it is time to announce the talented winners. This week’s Macro submissions focused on our pricklier specimens, while those in the Sense-of-Place category demonstrated some dramatic lighting. It is a treat to see the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory through the eyes of our talented participants, and this weekend the space will be especially brilliant for The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary! In fact, our winning shot of the Conservatory captures the romantic atmosphere guests should delight in at our upcoming Orchid Evenings.
While we may have said goodbye to Tropical Paradise in the Conservatory this past Sunday, there is still one more week to enter the Photo Contest. Simply upload your photos from the exhibition to our Flickr group—don’t forget the #tropicalparadise hashtag—before the final deadline at 6 p.m. this Friday, February 28. You can find more information on the Photo Contest rules page. In the meantime, click through to see this week’s winners and get the details on when our Grand Prize Winners will be crowned. With only one week left, it could still be you!
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