Gardening is both an art and a science. While our new Groundbreakers exhibition examines the art of landscape architecture and ornamental plantings, next week’s Annual Science Open House will dive headfirst into the cutting-edge research and history of innovation that distinguishes NYBG. It’s amazing to witness the variety of work that goes on at the Garden, much of which goes unseen by visitors who come to admire the serene landscape. Join expert tour guides next week on an exclusive peek behind the scenes of the real “groundbreaking” work that goes on right here in New York.
The Open House kicks off next Thursday, May 29, with our not-to-be-missed evening hosted by bestselling authors Elizabeth Gilbert and Amy Stewart. Click through for complete details on all four days of scientific exploration!
The centerpiece of the new Groundbreakers exhibit is naturally the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and its interpretation of The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden in Maine, but the exhibit continues throughout the Garden grounds. There is much to enjoy outdoors under the bright May sun, and the Groundbreakers Poetry Walk offers moments of reflection to those who stroll through the Perennial Garden and beyond. Occasionally, as on this Saturday, May 24, we set aside some time for a live reading with one of poetry’s greats—one such as Eavan Boland.
This year’s poetry displays honor the spirit of Groundbreaking women from the early 20th Century with the works of Edna St. Vincent Millay, the third woman to ever win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Her eloquent writing captures the beauty of nature while evoking the cultural triumphs of the era she lived in alongside the Groundbreakers celebrated in the exhibit. Millay was a fascinating figure and poetry aficionados and history buffs alike will not want to miss out on this Saturday’s Groundbreakers Poetry Reading. Click through for details about Millay’s life, and more on this exciting poetry event!
Spring gallops at such a steady pace, I barely have a chance to pause and soak in the sights before the vernal onslaught has passed me by. I often like to capture these colorful, ephemeral moments in writing.
This year, one of my favorite fleeting moments was the eastern redbud ‘Pauline Lily’. The redbuds stay in bloom for several weeks from April into May, lighting up the woodland understory with their cheerful color.
While the majority of the eastern redbuds produce an abundance of pea-like flowers that are either the characteristic purple-pink color or the occasional pure white variety, ‘Pauline Lily’ has demure ballerina-pink blooms. The buds start off as salmon-pink and open to a divine pale cream. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the flowers are edible and they can be plucked off of the tree (your own tree, of course) and tossed into a salad or frozen in an ice cube tray to add a festive touch to your drinks.
Remember that all-important scene in The Wizard of Oz where the Wicked Witch of the West traps Dorothy and her cadre of heroes in a sprawling field of poppies, sure to sleep forever? It was memorable not for the witch’s conniving plan, or the fact that Glinda the Good Witch bails out our adventurers, but for the imagery itself—the smallness of the characters when surrounded by such immense (if deceptive) technicolor beauty is undeniable. And while we’re not quite ready to break out a poppy field of our own, we have something just as grand (and guaranteed to keep you awake) in the Azalea Garden.
At this very moment, thousands upon thousands of cheery azaleas are blooming in their eponymous collection, filling the newly greened forest surroundings with pinks, purples, reds, and whites. Seriously—it’s like we borrowed a rainbow and brought it to earth. Under the shifting net of sunlight cast through the canopy, the colors pop even more! But, as with everything that comes of spring, this dreamlike color can only last so long.
There’s at least a week or so left of this transcendent color before things quiet down, so make a point of stopping by!
Alongside the tools of the gardeners themselves, the camera played an important role in supporting the growth of American landscape design in the 20th century. It was in the efforts of the photographers, several of whom are currently being highlighted during our Groundbreakers exhibition, that the styles of women like Farrand and Coffin met the public eye. Don’t forget to visit our LuEsther T. Mertz Library for an important exhibit on some of the women who made all of this possible!
In the LuEsther T. Mertz Library – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Gardening is both an art and a science. While our new Groundbreakers exhibition examines the art of landscape architecture and ornamental plantings, next week’s Annual Science Open House will dive headfirst into the cutting-edge research and history of innovation that distinguishes NYBG. It’s amazing to witness the variety of work that goes on at the Garden, much of which goes unseen by visitors who come to admire the serene landscape. Join expert tour guides next week on an exclusive peek behind the scenes of the real “groundbreaking” work that goes on right here in New York.
