Melanie Smith is a volunteer participating in the Citizen Scientist Forest Phenology Initiative.
Once a week for the past four months I have walked the Oak Trail in the Botanical Garden’s native Forest for an hour or two, looking at the trees. I’m watching—and waiting.
As each of the 31 trees in the study progresses through its annual growth cycle—leaves, flowers, fruit—I note the development on a data sheet. This, in essence, is phenology, the study of reoccurring biological phenomena.
The goal of the investigation is to mark the biological changes in each tree over the course of many seasons answering seemingly simple questions such as, “When did the tree flower? When did it drop its leaves?” This information, coupled with local temperature readings, provides useful information about how the forest is responding to climate change.
For example, if increasing temperatures offer more favorable conditions to pathogens attacking oak trees, acorn production could decrease, affecting the reproductive success of oak trees and the food supply for squirrels, chipmunks, and other species.
Today, a walk in the native Forest would reveal that the trees once prominent in northeastern forests, oaks and hemlocks, are either unhealthy or absent. On the other hand, trees that are thriving include those more dominant in southerly climates such as cherry trees and invasive species—such as the tree of heaven. The trend of successful trees indicates what the composition of this forest may look like in the future.
My weekly walk along the Oak Trail, checking in with each tree, provides a connection to the forest. I hope to apply what I have learned about data collection and northeastern deciduous forests to my graduate studies in ecology and sustainable development.
If you’d like to help with the project, come to the free training session Saturday, September 6, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Watson Building, Room 302. Garden volunteers receive free admission, free parking, guest passes, and discounts on classes and at Shop in the Garden. To register or for more information, contact Jackie Martinez, Director of Volunteer Services, 718.817.8564 or volunteer@nybg.org
Written by Kate Murphy, a junior at Fordham University, with additional reporting by Genna Federico, a senior at St. John’s University. Both interned in the Communications Department this summer.
Taking a walk through the Global Gardens is like taking an international journey—minus the need for a passport and visit to Customs). NYBG visitors can drift from China to the Caribbean to Italy—in garden form, that is. And as summer (sadly) comes to a close so, too, does the celebration of the Global Gardens that has been going on all this month at the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden. This, the final weekend of the celebration, will be dedicated to the Irish Garden, planted and maintained by Ann Creaney.
Ann became familiar with Irish gardening from first-hand experience, and her story is an interesting one, to say the least. In the early 1940s young Ann and her family visited her grandmother in Ireland. But when they were to return to America, the waters they would have to traverse by boat had been set with mines because of the war. As a result, Ann ended up living the next seven years in Ireland, time spent with no electricity and no running water but lots of gardening experience.
Read more about Ann’s journey and check out the Shepherd’s Pie recipe after the jump.
Kate Murphy, a junior at Fordham University, interned in the Communications Department this summer.
The summer blockbuster has become as much a staple to the season as sunshine and warm weather. And this summer is no different, bringing a continuous buzz of “must-see” movies. If you can’t decide whether you’d like to spend an afternoon at the Garden or at the movie theater, why not combine the two?
The 250-acre enclave in the Bronx has played host to many film shoots due to its convenient location, its beautiful grounds, and the lush interior of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Following is a list of movies featuring scenes at the Garden. Rent a few of them and see if you can spot NYBG!
Autumn in New York (2000), a sad, romantic film starring Winona Ryder and Richard Gere, utilized the Botanical Garden’s colorful autumnal grounds.
Age of Innocence (1993), a period piece chronicling the love triangle of three 19th-century New York aristocrats, also has scenes that featue the iconic Haupt Conservatory. The movie stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder, and Daniel Day-Lewis.
Other films shot at the Garden include Awakenings (1990), starring Robert De Niro and Robin Williams, and The Seven-Ups (1973), starring Roy Scheider.
Ellen Bruzelius is Director of Special Projects, Garden Retail and Business Development.
Shop in the Garden has been garnering attention lately in the blogosphere with a variety of garden-inspired goods that have struck the fancy of bloggers around the world. From a Chicago-based shopping blog that featured our green bicycle basket (also mentioned on Glamnest.com) all the way across the pond to Berlin where a New England-born journalist noted our Summer Pleasures melamine plates on her blog, Tidepooler.com, nybgshop.org has been piquing interest near and far.
Back on our own shores, in New York the Today show and Cookie magazine picked up on new NYBG products developed with licensing partner Lunt Silversmiths. Using glorious images from works in the Rare Book Collections of our LuEsther T. Mertz Library, Lunt has developed a tabletop collection that ranges from elegant silver tea sets inspired by 18th-century designs for Chinoiserie garden follies to garden plant trays and marvelous Mark Catesby-inspired glasses and barware and more.
The Peak of Chic (check out the July 15 and August 6 posts) loved the Lunt Silversmiths products as well as NYBG fine art prints sold through Artaissance.com. These archival quality reproduction prints also stem from historic botanical illustration in the Mertz Library collections. Some are presented in their original form, while others are given a modern sensibility with color and creative cropping.
This Old House featured one of our stainless steel birdfeeders, and Glamnest.com loved our array of colorful imported flower pots.
Not surprisingly, this interest in Shop in the Garden goods reflects the enormous effort put in by Shop staff to develop and find items that are design-driven and not ubiquitous. We’re adding new things all the time, so be sure to visit often.
Jessica Blohm is Interpretive Specialist for Public Education.
Jennifer Josef, Director of Public Education at the Garden, can’t wait for Wednesdays to roll around so that she can buy farm-fresh produce at the Garden’s Farmers Market.
This week she bought several varieties of heirloom tomatoes and a big bunch of basil. The heirlooms seen at the market are similar to those depicted in Victor Schrager’s photographs in The Heirloom Tomato, the new exhibit in the Arthur and Janet Ross Gallery, which was also featured in the August 2008 issue of Martha Stewart Living.
The images highlight heirloom tomato varieties grown by Amy Goldman, a self-described “vegetable rights activist” who works to preserve the agricultural heritage and genetic diversity of the world’s vegetables. Jenn visited the gallery to view Victor Schrager’s divine photographs after buying her own fresh produce.
Jenn’s family, originally from Agrigento, Sicily, in Italy, loves to make traditional Italian delights with heirloom tomatoes. After the jump are three tomato recipes that Jenn makes with her mother. Check out these classic Mama Josef summertime treats yourself and let us know how you like them!
Kate Murphy, a junior at Fordham University, and Genna Federico, a senior at St. John’s University, interned in the Communications Department this summer.
The weekly Farmers Market not only features vendors with regionally grown produce and home-baked treats but also offers demonstrations on the first and last Wednesday of every month. We decided it would be fun to check out the demonstration on composting led by staff from our Bronx Green-Up program.
The New York City Composting Guide The NYC Composting Guide describes composting as “the process of creating the ideal conditions for the rapid decomposition of organic materials.” In other words, it’s what happens in your pile of vegetable and fruit peels, garden waste, and raked leaves after tending it in a particular way for a while.
Our first stop was the composting table at the Farmers Market, where we found lots of free information and learned that there was hands-on experience to be had if we visited the Home Gardening Center’s composting station, a short walk away. There we met a group of students from Adlai E Stevenson High School in the Bronx who are part of New York City’s GreenThumb-certified summer program.
The students were here to learn about composting so that they could use it when planting and maintaining the more than 20 vegetable beds at the Stevenson campus community garden, where the students also learn how to cook with what they grow. These students have also planted gardens at a local elementary school and have worked with a local homeowners’ organization in planting trees in nearby neighborhoods as part of the MillionTreesNYC initiative. (The Garden is involved in this initiative, too.)
Want to know more about composting for your own garden? See the tips after the jump.
Reading this article made me think of all the other amazing wildlife one can see here on a given day. Yes, the Botanical Garden prides itself as a museum of plants with extensive flora in its 50 gardens and plant collections. But visitors might be surprised at the diversity of fauna they could also stumble upon during a visit here. Our neighbor across Fordham Road may have lions and tigers and bears, but a stroll through NYBG reveals an unexpected variety of life from the animal kingdom.
Birds are abundant, from majestic hawks circling overhead to families of ducks ambling along a path. On the Garden’s popular guided Bird Walks, held Saturday mornings September through June, people seek out robins, blue jays, cardinals, sparrows, and even owls. I’ve been amazed to see wild turkeys, blue herons, plump pheasants, and even what looked like an ibis swooping to grab a koi from one of the pools in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory Courtyards.
If you look closely enough, birds aren’t the only wildlife you’ll see. Chipmunks scurry in the Forest. Frogs belch their songs in the ponds of the Rock Garden, while Italian wall lizards dash across nearby stones. From rabbits and turtles to muskrats and squirrels, it’s incredible to realize how many species of life call our 250 acres “home.”
Written by Genna Federico, a senior at St. John’s University, with additional reporting by Kate Murphy, a junior at Fordham University; both are interns working in the Communications Department this summer.
A few years ago, NYBG made Frank Russo “an offer he couldn’t refuse.”
The Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden asked him to start an Italian Garden as part of its Global Gardens program. Russo had been volunteering in the Family Garden for about four years, so it was a natural fit.
The Global Gardens are planted and maintained by volunteers who take pride in the culture of the countries represented. Frank comes from an Italian background; his parents were born in Italy. But it was his grandparents who sparked his interest in gardening—growing up he liked to help them with their own garden.
At first Frank was hesitant to take on the job of the Italian Garden due to the maintenance required—indeed, during the summer months, he tends to the garden about four to five days a week. He knew it would mean a drastic change from the “come as you please” schedule he had enjoyed as a regular volunteer up until that point. But he soon accepted the challenge.
And he’s done a great job since. The garden is bountiful and full of fresh aromas. He tries to grow 100 percent of it from Italian seeds, most from Italy but also from Italian friends who have brought them over and passed them down to him.
Frank occasionally likes to change things up and try new varieties in the Italian Garden, now in its fourth season. This year he’s growing tomatoes, eggplants, escarole, arugula, string beans, chicory, garlic, basil, and even dandelions, the leaves of which can be used in salads, soups, or as a side dish.
The tomatoes are a sight to see! Colorful and juicy-looking, the seeds date back to 1910 and hold a special place in Frank’s heart. He has named them “Dominick” seeds after his grandson. Then there’s the basil; the leaves were immense and you could almost taste them from their intense aroma. We couldn’t leave without taking a sample of both of these delights home!
Frank makes sure his harvest never goes to waste and says he “absolutely” takes home the bounty to cook with. In fact, this weekend he will show off his culinary excellence at the Italian Garden celebration in the Family Garden, from 1 to 5:30 p.m.
Once a week for the past four months I have walked the Oak Trail in the Botanical Garden’s native Forest for an hour or two, looking at the trees. I’m watching—and waiting.
The summer blockbuster has become as much a staple to the season as sunshine and warm weather. And this summer is no different, bringing a continuous buzz of “must-see” movies. If you can’t decide whether you’d like to spend an afternoon at the Garden or at the movie theater, why not combine the two?
