Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Around the Garden on January 4 2012, by Matt Newman
The holidays have come and gone, you’re well into your New Year’s recovery, and most of the kids are trudging back to school. But if you’ve still got little ones at home, you don’t have to feel trapped with them (it can be understandably harrowing). The New York Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show is still up and running through January 16, and as of this week we begin our two-week run of All Aboard with Thomas and Friends™.
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Posted in Around the Garden, Gardens and Collections, What's Beautiful Now on December 21 2011, by Joyce Newman
Joyce H. Newman is the editor of Consumer Reports’ GreenerChoices.org, and has been a Garden Tour Guide with The New York Botanical Garden for the past six years.
In front of our Visitor Center Café is an amazing specimen of Norway spruce (Picea abies), a species often known for its annual appearance as the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.
Our Norway spruce is part of the Arthur and Janet Ross Conifer Arboretum at the NYBG and was planted around 1940. Its medium to dark green needles are four-sided, resting on branches that gracefully droop down, designed to be flexible in a heavy snowfall.
Norway spruces can grow to as high as 90 or 100 feet, with a lifespan similar to that of a human being. They are native to the mountains and foothills of Northern Europe rather than the U.S., although they have become popular screening plants here. They grow just about one foot each year, which is considered fairly quick.
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Posted in Holiday Train Show on December 13 2011, by Matt Newman
Last week’s Shopping and Champagne was the kind of evening you always hope to enjoy in New York! I decided to head over to the Shop in the Garden a few minutes early to see how things were panning out for the organizers before the guests arrived. I passed a few families on the way, just come from the Conservatory, the kids bouncing around and the parents pushing strollers toward the gate; everyone seemed to be in an upbeat mood after seeing the Holiday Train Show.
The chill in the air made for the kind of stillness that pairs so well with holiday lights, which you’ll find dotted all around our Visitor Center (you can’t possibly miss the sparkling conifer display). Then six o’clock rolled in and brought with it a new crowd.
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Posted in Around the Garden, Holiday Train Show on December 9 2011, by Matt Newman
The weekend is just about here! I’m sure you’ve been anxious to see those words over the last couple of days (or the entire week). But if you don’t have any Saturday or Sunday plans just yet, might I make a suggestion? The New York Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show is approaching peak weeks, and now is the best time to get in before the rest of the city realizes what it’s missing! It’s about to get busy here at the NYBG.
Our Saturday and Sunday events offer plenty of seasonal entertainment, but we’ll also be hosting several fun outdoor and educational activities to make your trip even more worthwhile. That’s why this weekend is the perfect time to hop a Metro-North train to the Bronx and drop by our 250-acre stretch of beauty. Prep your itinerary, because there’s quite a bit to do!
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Posted in Around the Garden, Holiday Train Show on December 9 2011, by Matt Newman
You want to pay a visit to this year’s Holiday Train Show, but you’re not sure when you should stop by. We understand the dilemma! Seasonal events are popping up all over the city, and as we hurry toward the December holidays, more and more people are venturing out to see the sights and take in the lights. It seems like everyone is on the same schedule! And sooner or later, you find yourself stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on a Saturday night, wondering if you’ve actually been sucked back into the weekday commute. It can be hectic. But there’s a way to avoid the hassle.
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Posted in Holiday Train Show on December 2 2011, by Matt Newman
The week is almost over, meaning the Garden is humming with anticipation for another beautiful Holiday Train Show weekend! What’s more is that the weather is finally acting like it should this time of year. After seeing frost clinging to the grass along Tulip Tree Allée as I walked in this morning, I think this may just be December’s way of making up for that downright awkward November “heat wave.” How can you really make the most of a northern Thanksgiving with temperatures above 60 degrees, anyway?
But that’s old news. We’re moving into this brisk and sunny weekend with smiles for the events to come, and looking forward as the season picks up momentum. Whether you’re hoping to catch sight of a rare bird with Debbie Becker, see the Holiday Train Show for the first or dozenth time, or just enjoy the sights we offer year round, there’s more than enough going on this weekend to warrant some time spent at the NYBG.
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Posted in Around the Garden on November 26 2011, by Matt Newman
The Holiday Train Show is in full swing under the glass of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, and we’ve even got a few new faces in this year’s display! Can anyone recognize this long-gone New York original? (I’ll give you a hint: back when the Dodgers baseball club was still a part of NYC, it took its name in honor of these rail regulars.)
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Holiday Train Show, Photography on November 16 2011, by Ann Rafalko
The tracks are laid, and the trains are out. Just two more days until the Holiday Train Show!
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Posted in Around the Garden, Holiday Train Show on November 7 2011, by Matt Newman
Honey bees still clung to the last of the chrysanthemums in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory as workers hurried about the business of change this past Friday. The shuffling of displays marks the end of our successful Fall Flowers of Japan exhibition, and while it was saddening to see the carefully-trained beauty of the ‘Thousand Bloom’ ozukuri exit stage left, the transition from ancient gardening artistry to a beloved family tradition can only mean the beginning of one of our most anticipated yearly events.
Production began on our 20th Holiday Train Show over the weekend, an undertaking that’s a bit like watching a Norman Rockwell painting as it first meets the canvas. The Conservatory space was only vacant for a moment before the sights of New York began appearing in miniature, springing up along the walkways and setting the stage for a quarter-mile of tracks, well-known bridges, and over 140 familiar city landmarks. And this busy activity continues as we speak!
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Posted in Photography on November 26 2010, by Plant Talk
| Ann Rafalko is Director of Online Content. |
The holidays are photogenic: all those sparkling lights and (glögg-induced) rosy faces! It’s a time that screams for grampa to pull out his old film camera, for auntie to stick a Flip in your face, and for mom to beg the entire family to pose in those special reindeer sweaters she managed to find in everyone’s size. But not every holiday photo need be awkward.
Here at The New York Botanical Garden we’ve got photo ops aplenty, and they’re all beautiful! But there’s no need to take our word for it. Just ask any of the 250 members of The New York Botanical Garden group pool on Flickr. Or, better yet, take a look at some of the beautiful photographs that our visitors have posted on their own! And then, if you like what you see, you can join the group (by signing up for Flickr) and begin uploading your own shots from around the Garden.
Learn more about joining us on Flickr below.
The holidays have come and gone, you’re well into your New Year’s recovery, and most of the kids are trudging back to school. But if you’ve still got little ones at home, you don’t have to feel trapped with them (it can be understandably harrowing). The New York Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show is still up and running through January 16, and as of this week we begin our two-week run of All Aboard with Thomas and Friends™.
