The passion flowers growing around the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory—both inside and out—are consistently some of the most fascinating blooms to join us in summer. But their frizzy, tentacled forms are surprisingly commonplace in many tropical climates, where they’re often hybridized or cultivated for their flowers and fruit.
Passion flower (Passiflora) in the Haupt Conservatory Courtyard – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
The seasons may paint the Native Plant Garden with whites and browns, yellows and reds, or—as is the case in summer–blues and greens, but Split Rock is nothing if not stubbornly static.
The Garden is open for regular hours (10 a.m.–6 p.m.) with plenty of long weekend events and activities to take advantage of, including our latest exhibition—FRIDA KAHLO: Art, Garden, Life.
La Cantina in the Leon Levy Visitor Center – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Each year, as spring sets in and the ground thaws, First Lady Michelle Obama takes to the White House’s Kitchen Garden to replant it for the season. Naturally, she doesn’t do this alone! Tackling the task alongside the First Lady this year were several of The New York Botanical Garden’s own greenthumbs who’d made the trek down to Washington, D.C., as part of the Let’s Move! fifth anniversary.
Students Nare Kande, a fourth-grader from Harlem; and Sarala Beepat, a sixth-grader from the Bronx; joined Toby Adams, the Director of NYBG’s Edible Academy, to help plant radish seeds, bok choy, and other vegetables with Mrs. Obama on April 15. Each student has plenty of experience planting and tending the vegetable beds of NYBG’s Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden as part of our Children’s Gardening Program, so they certainly had the skills needed to help kickstart spring at the White House.
You’ll often see the Orchid Rotunda of the Library Building listed on our maps and handouts at the Garden, but seldom does it see the spotlight on Plant Talk—until now, anyway! Pat Gonzalez happened by and decided to snap a photo of the glass enclosure for which the Rotunda is eponymously named. This column of living orchids displays some of the most dazzling varieties year after year.
We’re at the tail end of one of the coldest Februaries on record, the snow pack on our lawns is thick enough to keep the plants nicely insulated, and you can visit the equator by setting foot in our Haupt Conservatory. One of those things is not like the other—I know. But this Saturday marks the public opening of The Orchid Show for 2015, and it could not be more tropical in there. It’s plenty warm, the humidity’s up (especially compared to what you’re dealing with in your city apartment, I imagine), and everyone is welcome to join us for some much-needed color and life.
There’ll be plenty of additional events and activities open to you when you stop by, too, including tours, orchid care demonstrations for greenthumbs new and old, dance lessons, and fun for kids. Head below for our full weekend schedule, but before you do, check out our first “making of” video of 2015 for The Orchid Show, where Anna Toledano explains the motivations behind this year’s aerially-inspired flower theme.
A somewhat more rarefied visitor to the Garden grounds than our Red-tailed Hawks, Pat tells us the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden and the surrounding Wetlands are often good spots to see these regal raptors.
