Last week we discussed different onion varieties and explored several ways to prevent the tears from flowing once these spicy bulbs go under the knife. This week, we’re switching gears to discuss planting techniques and focus on successfully growing our onions this season.
This is the time of year that I start heading down to the farmer’s market in search of onion transplants, which are generally sold in a small, 2-inch pot—all crammed in together. They need to be thinned as well as planted. Once I get into the garden, I take the mass out of the pot and drop it to the ground, letting the root ball shatter and the minuscule transplants separate from each other. With a trowel held like a dagger in one hand and the transplants in the other, I stab the ground and place them 1 – 2 inches deep and an inch apart. In less than a month you will be pulling them up and tossing them into your salad.
Accompanying the sweeping new updates to our Shop in the Garden site (have a look!), I’m beyond proud to announce the NYBG‘s latest partnership—a design collaboration with one of the world’s preeminent designers, Oscar de la Renta. For almost 50 years, de la Renta’s design house has produced some of the most timeless and recognizable styles in accessories, bridal, home decor, fragrance, and so much more, meaning it was only natural that we’d team up to create an equally inspired tabletop collection informed by Garden imagery.
Oscar’s own lifestyle paired with his passion for entertaining in his country home made these botanically-inspired housewares a natural progression for his Country Gift and Entertainment Collection. Now in its third installment, the set traditionally includes table linens, brass giftware, and earthenware accessories—accents to spruce up the kitchen and dining room alike. But this time around, the inner green thumb takes root! As an avid gardener and floral expert himself, Oscar de la Renta hand-picked images from The New York Botanical Garden’s peerless collection of rare books and engravings to interpret through his signature aesthetic. The result is a set of 15 table and giftware pieces emblazoned with the life and color of the country garden.
This Sunday is the Key West Poetry Reading! This special event will bring together three celebrated poets to read the masterpieces currently on display in the Perennial Garden‘s Key West Poetry Walk. Co-presented with the Poetry Society of America, the lineup of readers includes such accomplished poets as Henri Cole, the poetry editor of The New Republic; Tracy K. Smith, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry; and David Yezzi, writer of Slate‘s Book of the Year in Azores.
April 6 is also our next Member’s Day. Your Member ID will get you free parking plus discounts at the Dining Pavilion and Shop in the Garden. Members are also eligible for four half-price tickets for their friends and family, so enjoy the spring weather with your loved ones at NYBG! You can learn more about the benefits of Membership here. We also have plenty of activities for families, as this weekend sees the return of Dig! Plant! Grow! to our growing schedule of spring Children’s Programs.
Unfortunately, this Saturday’s Orchid Evening is sold out, but tickets are still available for April 12 and beyond! Click through to find out the recipe for next weekend’s signature cocktail, The Backyard Collins, and don’t miss out on our Priceless NY champagne pre-parties for future evenings—they’re the perfect way to make a full night of your Orchid Show adventure.
Jon L. Peter is the NYBG’s Plant Records Manager. He is responsible for the curation of The Lionel Goldfrank III Computerized Catalog of the Living Collections. He manages nomenclature standards and the plant labels for all exhibitions, gardens, and collections, while coordinating with staff, scientists, students and the public on all garden related plant information.
The Persian parrotia specimen located near the Benenson Ornamental Conifers
I feel very fortunate that I get to enjoy one of my favorite trees in the garden on a daily basis. I actually park my car partially underneath its canopy flanking the Benenson Ornamental Conifers parking lot. With such frequent viewing, I get to enjoy the progress this plant makes throughout the year.
Parrotia persica, commonly known as Persian parrotia or Persian ironwood (in reference to its very dense wood) is an excellent medium-sized tree that is interesting in all four seasons. It features similar leaves, twigs, flowers, and fruits to its close relative the witch-hazel (Hamamelis), but is far less common in cultivation.
Parrotia is named in honor of F.W. Parrot, a German naturalist who traveled in the Caucasus region in the early 1830s. The specific epithet persica derives from the tree’s native habitat of the northern Alborz Mountains of Iran and Azerbaijan (formerly Persia).
The future leaders of our upcoming exhibitions are growing up in the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections at this very moment. To say we’re proud of their efforts is an understatement.
In the Nolen Greenhouses – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Success! The earliest arrivals in the daffodil flotilla can be seen making their appearance around the Visitor Center. In fact, because of the delayed spring, we may have daffodils and tulips overlapping in a flood of mixed color. That’s from Associate Vice President of Outdoor Collections Kristin Schleiter herself in a recent chat with The New York Times.
Daffodils at the Visitor Center – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Last week we discussed different onion varieties and explored several ways to prevent the tears from flowing once these spicy bulbs go under the knife. This week, we’re switching gears to discuss planting techniques and focus on successfully growing our onions this season.
