And with that, we say goodbye. This weekend, The New York Botanical Garden is buttoning up summer’s Wild Medicine exhibition to make room for the arrival of new fall programming (announcements on that to come!) But, as I mentioned yesterday, we’re not about to close out the last few months without a little fanfare.
Taking the stage Saturday at 1 p.m., Wild Medicine curator Dr. Michael Balick presents “Ancient Wisdom and Modern Medicine,” an enlightening presentation on ethnobotany and the global medicinal plant landscape as informed by his many years of plant exploration worldwide. Tickets are limited for this Ross Hall event, so it’s best to make a point of registering yours online before you arrive.
Another special event taking place on Saturday the 7th is our once-only bibliophile treasure hunt! Don’t worry, that’s my own personal title for it. After 12 years away from fiction, Liz Gilbert—author of Eat, Pray, Love—is back with The Signature of All Things, a sweeping tale of botany, exploration, and love in the 19th century. So it’s only fitting that we’d hold this contest at one of the world’s finest botanical institutions. When you’re walking the grounds this Saturday between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., keep an eye out for one of 10 special vouchers hidden throughout. If you happen to see the cover of Liz’ new book on the laminated sheet, snap it up and bring it to our Shop in the Garden for a free advance copy of the novel and a $25 discount on an NYBG Adult Education course of your choice!
While you’re out and about in the Garden this weekend, bidding fond farewells to our long-running Wild Medicine exhibition, some of us will be busy sneaking and hiding. But don’t worry, it’s totally well-meaning—fun even! And the results of our clandestine efforts should be pretty rewarding for those of you paying us a visit. Thanks to renowned writer Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, we’re holding a Botanical Garden treasure hunt, and everyone is welcome to join!
On Saturday, September 7, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., we’ll invite you to put on your sleuthing caps (they don’t have to be literal unless you’re feeling sassy) and take to the Garden in search of 10 redeemable vouchers hidden throughout our grounds. Each one collected will net the holder an advance copy of Elizabeth Gilbert’s newest novel and first return to fiction in 12 years, The Signature of All Things, a sweeping tale of botany, exploration, and desire spanning the 19th century. And because we’re not about to let a prime treasure hunting opportunity pass us by without throwing our own prize in the purse, we’re supplementing each voucher with a $25 discount on the NYBG Adult Education course of your choice.
Just look for laminated sheets laid out around the Garden with a picture of the book’s cover—you’ll know them when you see them. And if you’re one of the lucky few to come up with one, simply bring it to the Shop in the Garden to redeem for your free, advance copy of The Signature of All Things and your Adult Ed discount. If you’re not sure about something on Saturday, you can also feel free to ask one of our Visitor Center attendants for help.
Remember, there are only ten vouchers to be found, so keep your eyes open!
The aphorisms all say that it’s taboo through and through to lead a post with mention of the weather, but it’s so spring-like outside that I couldn’t help it if I wanted to. The sun is up, the breeze is cool, and the Greenmarket‘s been hopping since I walked in this morning. A quick scout around the vendor tents made it clear why, too: the tables are practically overflowing with plump late-summer fruits and vegetables.
From Migliorelli Farm, you’ll find ginger gold apples, Seckel and Bartlett pears, cantaloupe, delicious tomatillos (try them in a cooked salsa dish—you may have to take a hiatus from tomatoes), and mountains of corn. And from Red Jacket Orchards, there’s no dearth of donut peaches, plums, fresh Concord grapes, and sunset apples. Gajeski Produce is keeping the savory side of things covered with parsley, beets, yellow squash, cabbage, corn, and my personal favorite: peppers. Think sweet, cayenne, and jalapeno varieties. You can finish your shopping trip with a stop at Meredith’s Bread, whose cookies, macaroons, muffins, scones, rugelach, and pies make for the perfect dessert. Or just grab one of their savory breads (they’ve got organic and gluten-free varieties, for those curious).
The NYBG Greenmarket runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Wednesday through November 27, with free short-term parking for Greenmarket shoppers. The market accepts food stamps, EBT, WIC/FMNP, and Senior coupons, in addition to cash and credit or debit cards. Learn how to use EBT, WIC and FMNP at the Greenmarket. And head below for a recipe from our staff at the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden.
For the last few months, Wild Medicine: Healing Plants Around the World has awed thousands of visitors with its exotic medicinal specimens, ancient botanical texts, and unique tasting experiences. We’ve watched The Italian Renaissance Garden shift with the days as the species in the Conservatory have cycled through. And after dark, we’ve lit up the night with Cocktail Evenings & Summer Concerts. But even with a little under two weeks to go on the exhibition schedule, we’re still not winding down!
This being the penultimate weekend for Wild Medicine, it’s all too fitting that it lands on a holiday. So we’re stretching the weekend straight into Labor Day Monday with a packed schedule of Conservatory tours, family-friendly jaunts through the music and dance of the Renaissance, and casual home gardening demonstrations to pique your palate.
With only a short time left ahead of the September 8 curtain call, we’re also readying for our closing presentation, a long-awaited lecture by NYBG ethnobotanist and Wild Medicine curator Dr. Michael Balick. On Saturday, September 7, Dr. Balick’s Ancient Wisdom and Modern Medicine opens a door to the relationships between plants, people, and culture, a core theme of our exhibition and a study he’s pursued in locales around the world. Tickets to this exclusive event are limited, so it’s best if you register sooner rather than later.
Again, we’re opening our gates for this special holiday Monday and we’re just 20 minutes from Grand Central. Don’t miss out on the closing window to see one of the most celebrated NYC exhibitions of the summer!
Sweet, savory, and that piquant point right in the middle—the Greenmarket‘s been representing our favorite flavors in equal measures of late. Judging by the number of colleagues snacking on fresh donut peaches last Wednesday, this week’s gathering should have no shortage of the fuzzy fruits out for sale. And the apples aren’t making themselves scarce, either—try the Ginger Golds if you have the chance. We’ve also seen heaps of plums, blueberries, watermelon and nectarines out on the tables of late. On the vegetable front, plan for broccoli, kale, onions, tomatoes of every shape and color, reliable radishes, a few kinds of peppers staggered over the Scoville scale, and some yellow summer squash.
There’s more, of course (fresh-baked bread, anybody?), and with each week there are new entries and exits for the various crops on offer, but this tentative list gives you an idea of what to expect. And how many bags to bring if you’ve got a stock of canvas!
Don’t worry, not every aspect of the yearly back-to-school crunch has to involve elbowing your way through the school supplies aisle. In fact, with our #NYBGWFM recipe contest, you won’t even have to leave your couch.
Back in July, The New York Botanical Garden and Whole Foods Market teamed up to launch the first in a series of quick and easy recipe contests in our area, asking you all to submit your favorite no-cook cherry recipes for a chance at a Whole Foods gift card. This time around, we’re looking for the unique treats that spruce up your kid’s lunchbox. Whether it’s a tried and true variation on Ants on a Log, a neat spin on ham and cheese, or your student’s favorite cafeteria confection, we want to know what makes your brown bag skills the best on the block!
We make the submission process as pain-free as possible, too. If you’re on Twitter, just tweet your no-cook (that’s an important requirement) recipe or the recipe link using the #NYBGWFM hashtag. If you’d prefer, you can also leave us your recipe in the comments at the bottom of this post. After the August 30 deadline, Whole Foods Market Culinary Demonstration Specialists will pick a winner local to the New York City area to receive a $50 Whole Foods gift card. Better yet, that recipe will be prepared in the winner’s local Whole Foods Market store and made available for visitors to sample.
Again, this particular contest ends on Friday, August 30. We’re planning one more come September, but seeing as you can double up on your chances by participating in both, there’s no reason to miss out on this round!
Summer’s stint on the calendar may be dwindling, but if you were to spend an hour wandering our 250 acres you’d think the landscape had yet to take notice. Everything is so lush! Even in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, where our Wild Medicine exhibition is winding into its final weeks, the peak of summer’s growth is still very much in vogue. You can also thank our dedicated staff of horticulturists for that one—they haven’t missed a beat all season with their plantings in the Italian Renaissance Garden, and they’ll be keeping everything primped and perfect through the end of the show.
Soaking up as much of the season as you can before the leaves blush is a perfectly good reason to be here. And so is keeping your home gardening skills sharp! On both Saturday and Sunday, we’ll be holding demonstrations in the Home Gardening Center focusing on that ever-present challenge to your backyard’s beauty: deer. Their incorrigible appetites may seem impossible to trump, but our experts have a few tricks they’re willing to share that just might minimize the hassle.
We’ll also be holding cooking demonstrations in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, enjoying the butterflies and bees with Pollinator Pals, and just plain chilling out this weekend. Hope you’ll join us!
We’re into the waning days of summer now, and the Greenmarket‘s weekly offerings are heaped ever higher with fresh fruits and vegetables. This week should be no exception! So if you’re in the area (or happen to be near the Metro-North), feel free to stop by and load up on armfuls of the latest pickings from local farms.
Wednesday’s star produce is certainly corn (as anyone with a grill will tell you). And to give it the recognition it deserves, we’re holding the Greenmarket Corn Festival from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. You’re welcome to come and sample a few corn dishes, or take hope the recipes for yourself—they’re prepared fresh right here! Afterward, get hands-on with the corn husk shucking competition, and the kids can make corn husk dolls from the results.
Last week’s cornucopia featured apples, pears, white nectarines, peaches (like donut and Saturn), and heirloom tomatoes, as well as sunflowers, cantaloupe, basil, beets, tomatoes, purslane, blueberries, sugar plums, and cilantro. We’re expecting to see a lot of these return this week. And you shouldn’t head home without picking up something from Meredith’s Bread, like their savory breads, pies, cookies, muffins, or carrot cakes.
The NYBG Greenmarket runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Wednesday through November 27, with free short-term parking for Greenmarket shoppers. The market accepts food stamps, EBT, WIC/FMNP, and Senior coupons, in addition to cash and credit or debit cards. Learn how to use EBT, WIC and FMNP at the Greenmarket. And head below for a recipe from our staff at the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden.
Our long-time adventure in multinational growing once again comes to fruition this weekend, which is a big hint to bring the kids along if you’re planning a visit. We’ll be hanging out in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden with our talented team of global gardeners for the Summer Harvest Festival, celebrating the herbs, fruits, and vegetables that form the backbones of cuisines from Ireland, South Korea, the Caribbean, and more.
While you’re meeting the gardeners who have carefully tended these plots for so long, we’ll have activities to explore throughout Saturday and Sunday, including garden passports, cultural crafts, and pickle sampling. And not many people would pass up garden-fresh pickles, in my experience.
Elsewhere in the Garden, our Wild Medicine exhibition continues its summer run with an ever changing display in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory‘s Italian Renaissance Gardenplanting, as well as a renowned collection of classic herbals in the Mertz Library (see below for our ASL-friendly tour happening Saturday). And with the weather playing nice, I’d suggest setting aside some time to daydream your way along the Forest trails, too—the canopy is a cloud of green right now.
Each year, thousands of photographers from around the world venture out with cameras in tow—into their gardens, their backyards, their local greenmarkets, and the wilderness at large. They all have the same goal, of course, though their subject matter often differs wildly. They’re after one of the most prestigious nature photography prizes out there: The International Garden Photographer of the Year award.
For the 2012 judging, The New York Botanical Garden—the exclusive U.S. partner of IGPOTY—threw its hat in the ring with a special photo category geared toward therapeutic plants, challenging friends, fans, visitors and photographers from all over to capture the very plants and garden imagery that we now feature in our Wild Medicine exhibition. Alongside a cash purse and global recognition, the awards for taking top honors in this challenge included a featured place in our “Nature’s Pharmacy” gallery exhibition, viewable now in our Ross Gallery.
And with that, we say goodbye. This weekend, The New York Botanical Garden is buttoning up summer’s Wild Medicine exhibition to make room for the arrival of new fall programming (announcements on that to come!) But, as I mentioned yesterday, we’re not about to close out the last few months without a little fanfare.
