Tomorrow is the big day! At long last the Holiday Train Show, a New York Favorite, returns to NYBG. Over 150 plant-based replicas fill the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, including several new and updated landmarks! From dearly departed monuments to familiar favorites, these miniature models are suspended in time, criss-crossed by almost a quarter-mile of tracks. Tickets are reserved in advance, so check out our schedule of programs now and pick a day to enjoy this 23-year tradition with your family.
Tomorrow we kick off the new season of festivities with our Holiday Tree Lighting at 4 p.m., so don’t miss it if you’re planning to be hear toward sundown! And when you’re in the Conservatory, keep an eye out for replicas marked by a red label. These represent the many designated New York City Landmarks represented in this year’s Holiday Train Show as part of an exciting partnership with the NYC Landmarks50 Alliance to commemorate 50 years of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
This weekend also marks the opening of two very unique exhibitions in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library. Flora Illustrata: A Celebration of Botanical Masterworks, in the Art Gallery, highlights many of the treasures from the Mertz Library’s unparalleled Rare Book Collection. Journey through botanical history as you admire books, manuscripts, maps, private letters, and art from around the world—some of which are on public display for the first time! In the Ross Gallery, NYBG is also proud to present Hudson Valley Seed Library: Art of the Heirloom, a display of art commissioned by the Hudson Valley Seed Library for a series of limited edition seed packets.
Continue reading for the full schedule of programs and events this weekend, including all-new children’s programs!
NYBG’s Greenmarket is back today until 3 p.m. with fresh fruits, vegetables, and baked goods from our local vendors. Halloween may be behind us, but there are still pumpkins available for sale in time to whip up a fresh pie for Thanksgiving! Plus fresh mint, thyme, parsley root, broccoli, blue potatoes, fingerling potatoes, red delicious and crab apples, and radishes.
The Children’s Aid Society will host a fun activity from 12 to 2 p.m. to teach about gardening, cooking, and food justice while providing healthy recipes and nutrition information. As always, information is available to those interested in the enrollment process for the New York State of Health Marketplace for Medicaid, Child Health Plus, and Qualified Health Path.
Plan your visit to the Greenmarket by checking out what’s in season. The Greenmarket accepts food stamps, EBT, WIC/FMNP, and Senior coupons, in addition to cash and credit or debit cards.
November 15 marks the long-awaited opening of NYBG’s annual Holiday Train Show®! This beloved holiday tradition is now in its 23rd year, with more trains, more landmarks, and more fun than ever. The Holiday Train Show® is a whimsical reintroduction to New York through a mini-metropolis of landmarks both past and present.
See the monumental Brooklyn Bridge and the unmistakable Statue of Liberty alongside buildings from bygone eras revived as plant-based replicas, such as the original Penn Station and the TWA Flight Center. Admire New York’s most iconic structures as you have never seen them before and explore detailed models of nearby historic gems that may be completely new to you. Throughout the exhibit, more than a dozen large-scale model trains zip along almost a quarter-mile of track, for a thrilling display for the whole family.
This weekend is the culmination of NYBG’s Fall Forest Weekends! Winter will be here before you know it, so don’t miss your chance to come and admire our stunning fall foliage while enjoying a wide variety of seasonal programs and activities. Take a canoe through New York City’s largest remaining tract of old-growth forest via the Bronx River, see live hawks and owls, and watch a master woodcarver at work—whose handiwork will be for sale in the Shop in the Garden!
Next weekend will be the debut of all of NYBG’s winter programs and exhibits, including the 23rd year of the Holiday Train Show, so be sure to reserve your tickets soon before your preferred date sells out! In the meantime, click through for all the ways you can take advantage of peak color at NYBG!
NYBG’s trees are at 90% of peak color, jumping from 60% on Wednesday! Our Foliage Tracker has been going haywire this week as leaf season arrives in full force, just in time for the first of our Fall Forest Weekends. Autumn at the NYBG is at its most dazzling right now, and we have a full lineup of exciting activities to complete your experience of the colorful and serene woods. See live birds of prey, watch a master woodcarver at work, and even paddle a canoe down the Bronx River as you admire the Thain Family Forest from the best possible vantage point. Click through for the full schedule.
Don’t forget, The Holiday Train Show® opens for another year in just two weeks—November 15th! Tickets are available now for preferred dates going into the peak season, as well as for Bar Car Nights, so be sure to book as soon as you can for these popular events.
Today our weekly Greenmarket is hosting a special Halloween Celebration! Come by before 3 p.m. for some extra fun and to enjoy your favorite fall treats. Try a taste of caramel corn and hot cider and snap a photo with a scarecrow! Kids can make some fall art, creating a leaf rubbing from one of NYBG’s many fallen leaves. Be sure to enter the New York Botanical Garden Raffle for a chance to win a bag of fresh produce and local goodies from the NYBG Greenmarket. Celebrate the season and learn about New York’s regional produce!
Our vendors have an abundance of healthy, fresh cauliflower for sale today, so it’s the perfect chance to share a little-known use for cauliflower—as a pizza crust! I kid you not, and speaking of kids, they won’t mind eating their vegetables when served like this. Click through for a quick and simple way to make a cauliflower pizza crust that you can cover with your preferred toppings.
Those who have been following our Fall Foliage Tracker know that peak color is just around the corner here at the Garden. While the rest of New York State’s leaf season has come and gone for the most part, the fun is just getting started here in the Native Plant Garden and the Thain Family Forest with the return of our popular Fall Forest Weekends this week and next.
Enjoy New York City’s largest remaining tract of old-growth forest at its most colorful alongside a variety of entertaining and educational activities to heighten your experience of this vital ecosystem. There will be plenty of color to appreciate during Forest tours and various live demonstrations. See live birds of prey, professional arborists demonstrating how they climb to the top of the tree canopy, and woodworking demonstrated by a skilled craftsman. You can even paddle a canoe down the Bronx River to take in rich scenery from the best vantage point there is!
This Sunday is the last day of Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Garden, so don’t miss your chance to see hundreds of chrysanthemum blossoms take over the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory in a variety of contemporary and traditional Japanese designs. While you’re here, enjoy our Japanese Pop-Up Restaurant in its final days of serving up delicious Japanese cuisine.
In case you’re still on the fence about this weekend’s Spooky Nighttime Adventure, last week’s completely sold out, so don’t wait too long to grab your tickets!
Read on for the full schedule of special programs, and plan your visit to admire some of the largest plant displays you’ll ever see!
Ray Villafane leads his sold out Pumpkin Picasso carving class at NYBG
Ray Villafane is back at NYBG tomorrow for Pumpkin Carving Weekend. See this year’s massive zombie carving come to life after touring The Haunted Pumpkin Garden. Check out Ray’s exclusive artist’s rendering of his apocalyptic pumpkin vision here—it’s like no jack-o’-lantern you’ve ever seen! In fact, Ray is at Grand Central Terminal today until 7 p.m. beginning work on his masterpiece in a live demonstration that is open to the public! Stop by if you’re in midtown, but come to the Garden this weekend to see the finished product.
Kids are welcome to complete the Halloween fun with the Budding Masters Creepy Pumpkin Carving Adventure this Saturday, open exclusively to MasterCard cardholders. Saturday and Sunday will also feature the return of Creepy Creatures of Halloween. Erik Zeidler, the host of this popular and educational program, recently visited Good Day New York with some of his amazing reptiles to discuss his work with the Garden. Head below to check out some of the eye-popping live creatures your family can visit this weekend, along with our impressive pumpkin installation.
Kiku has only a couple of weeks left, so come enjoy a bite at our Japanese Pop-Up Restaurant while there’s still time! In the meanwhile, enjoy this Creepy Creatures clip from Good Day New York, and check out the full schedule of weekend programs.
NYBG’s Greenmarket is open today until 3 p.m. Stop by for fresh spaghetti squash, leeks, apples, and more seasonal delicacies. If you’re looking for a fun new recipe to try out, we have an exciting use for one of today’s special Greenmarket offerings: quince!
These interesting fruits can be difficult to find, but they are available at NYBG today. Membrillo is a quince paste popular in Spain, that can be enjoyed on toast like any preserve, or better yet, on a cracker with cheese for a sweet and savory treat.
Make you own membrillo with this easy recipe, and with holiday parties just around the corner you will have a delicious addition to any cheese platter—or a unique homemade gift.
Tomorrow is the big day! At long last the Holiday Train Show, a New York Favorite, returns to NYBG. Over 150 plant-based replicas fill the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, including several new and updated landmarks! From dearly departed monuments to familiar favorites, these miniature models are suspended in time, criss-crossed by almost a quarter-mile of tracks. Tickets are reserved in advance, so check out our schedule of programs now and pick a day to enjoy this 23-year tradition with your family.
