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Plant Talk

Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Morning Eye Candy: Pop

Posted in Photography on January 20 2014, by Ann Rafalko

Something about this beautiful South African succulent makes me think of water balloons. Or maybe bubble wrap*?

hawthoria

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Haworthia cymbiformis var. cymbiformis f. planifolia variegata

In the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections

 

* Please remember to never touch (or climb!) any of our plants. Many of them are very sensitive, fragile, or old. Thank you!

This Weekend: Time For A Trip to the Tropics!

Posted in Around the Garden on January 17 2014, by Ann Rafalko

weekender5Are you one of those workaholics that just can’t seem to ever use your vacation time, because going on vacation takes too much, well, time? Or maybe you have little kids and the thought of lugging them—and all their stuff—to the airport, dealing with the withering glances of your fellow travelers and kiddo jet lag is just too much. Or maybe you’re saving up for something important like college, or a big move, or a new car.

Either way, if you need a break from winter but can’t swing it for some reason, we’ve got you covered! That’s right: Tropical Paradise is back!

Opening on Saturday just in time for a three-day weekend, Tropical Paradise is our very popular winter interpretation of the permanent collection in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. It’s the chance for all of our brilliant, warmth-loving, exotic specimens to take center stage! And did I mention warmth? The temperatures inside many of the Conservatory’s galleries are positively balmy, a nice change from what’s going on outside.

And to encourage you to look at our beautiful plants just a little bit differently, we’re holding our fan-favorite Tropical Paradise Photography Contest again this year. Everyone who enters has a chance to win a seat in one of our Adult Education photography classes. All that’s needed is a camera (your smartphone is fine!) and a Flickr account. Upload your photographs to our Group Pool, tag them with #tropicalparadise, and we’ll do the rest!

And don’t forget! As an added bonus for your little ones, All Aboard with Thomas & Friends is still here!

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Morning Eye Candy: A Break In the Ice

Posted in Photography on January 17 2014, by Ann Rafalko

You’ve seen them before, holes in an otherwise solid sheet of ice, formed by moving water, either from a spring or an aerator. But did you know they have a name? Welcome to your new favorite piece of trivia: They’re called Symmes Holes (see the bottom of this story for an explanation).

symmes-holes

 

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

In the Native Plant Garden

In Winter, All Four Seasons

Posted in Exhibitions on January 16 2014, by Thomas Andres

Thomas Andres is an Honorary Research Associate with The New York Botanical Garden.

Four SeasonsThe Holiday Train Show at the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory may have attracted record numbers of visitors this season, but just outside in the Conservatory Courtyard you’ll find four spectacular, 15-foot-high sculptures that are—in my honest opinion—not to be missed! And yet, some visitors may forget that the indoor attractions like the upcoming Tropical Paradise exhibition aren’t the only ones the Conservatory has to offer. Open the exterior doors on the side of the Palm Dome pool opposite the entrance and you’ll see the Four Seasons in all their winter (and spring, and summer, and fall) majesty. They’ll be there through March 30! For my part, I plan on visiting them regularly, because they not only represent the seasons of the year, but seem to constantly change moods depending on the weather and time of day.

The sculptures were inspired by the genius of Italian Renaissance painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo, who came to prominence around 500 years ago. No matter your age, you too will be inspired by these pieces, especially when considering the work that contemporary artist Philip Haas undertook to transform them from paintings into monumental 3D portraits. They seem so alive that you might not realize they’re actually composite fiberglass representations of various plant materials, not dissimilar to the models of New York buildings in the Train Show, which use real plant parts to form famous architecture.

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Morning Eye Candy: Perspective

Posted in Photography on January 16 2014, by Ann Rafalko

It took me a few minutes to figure out what this photograph was. It turns out, you have to kind of shift perspective. At first I though it was frost trapped in tire tracks made in mud. Then I realized it was frost on a much grander scale, like on the scale of a gorge and a river.

bronx-river

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

The Bronx River Gorge

Love is All Around

Posted in Programs and Events on January 15 2014, by Ann Rafalko

ConservatoryIt’s cliche, but it’s true: If you can’t celebrate your love with crystallized carbon, you can always celebrate it with the fermented pit of a South American fruit. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Why chocolate of course! Too trite? Not how we do it!

For the love of your life, we’re celebrating with two fabulous evenings—Friday the 14th and Saturday the 15th—in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, and for your little loves, we’re celebrating on Saturday the 15th in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden thanks to our Priceless friends at MasterCard.

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Morning Eye Candy: Vintage

Posted in Photography on January 15 2014, by Ann Rafalko

There’s something about this photograph that reminds me of the kind of old botanical print you can find hidden at the back of a good thrift store. It looks as if it was printed originally in black and white, and then the colors were filled in by hand with watercolor. This is a very long winded way of saying, I really like this one!

snake-plant

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Sansevieria kirkii var. pulchra, a type of ‘snake plant’

In the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory