Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Holiday Train Show on December 2 2013, by Matt Newman
Everything’s that much better under a twinkling glow, and the Holiday Train Show is no exception. On Friday and Saturday nights this week, December 6 and 7, we’re turning down the lights and turning up the festivities with the first of this season’s Bar Car Nights. And if you’ve never been to one, just think of it as a chance to experience our dozens of miniature landmarks and model trains in an entirely new atmosphere—one highlighted by the cocktails and mellow tunes that make for a perfect evening in New York.
We’ll have a professional photographer on hand to capture some memories (because who wants to carry a point-and-shoot when clutch real estate comes so dear?), and new this year, you’re welcome to head outside to the Conservatory Courtyard for a live ice carving demonstration from Okamoto Studios. Their expert artists join us to turn enormous blocks of ice into all manner of holiday art, from trains to Garden landmarks and more.
Across the way in the Holiday Dining Pavilion, Stephen STARR Events will be cooking up a storm from a New York-themed menu celebrating everything delicious about historic NYC street food. Though if you’re looking to make the night last even longer, hold onto your Bar Car Night ticket stub: we’ve got partnerships with a number of gourmet restaurants offering discounts and bonuses for those who join us, all of which you can find listed here.
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Posted in Photography on December 2 2013, by Ann Rafalko
In the Native Plant Garden.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on December 1 2013, by Ann Rafalko
The famous Little Red Lighthouse–in miniature form–is one of the many New York-area landmarks populating the Holiday Train Show. Can you find it in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory?
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on November 30 2013, by Ann Rafalko
Thanksgiving generally marks the time when it becomes socially acceptable to start decking out your home for the holidays. Someone forgot to tell our trees. A few of them have been preparing for quite some time now!
Crataegus viridis ‘Winter King’
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Posted in Photography on November 29 2013, by Ann Rafalko
The trails of the Thain Family Forest are waiting for you! Come assuage your holiday guilt with a nice walk in the woods!
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on November 28 2013, by Ann Rafalko
On Thanksgiving, we like to say thank you to you–our visitors, our Members, our staff, our volunteers, our researchers, our neighbors, and our supporters in the community. Here’s hoping that, no matter what you are celebrating today, you are surrounded by friends and family, light and merriment! We are nothing without you! Thank you.
Twin Lakes (photo by our longtime Saturday Bird Walks leader, Debbie Becker)
Posted in Adult Education on November 27 2013, by Lansing Moore
Most people think of gardening as a solitary activity, but Horticultural Therapy is a unique profession because it turns plant care into an opportunity for human interaction. It was that human element that brought plantsman Rob Bennaton back to The New York Botanical Garden to pursue a Certificate in Horticultural Therapy. With a previous NYBG Horticulture Certificate and 18 years’ worth of experience in community development and habitat restoration under his belt, Rob told us why he returned to study the therapeutic effects of plant care on people.
“Working with plants through a nurturing process has tremendous healing potential because people are motivated by success in caring for living organisms. That process helps us understand our place in the world, and our ability to help make it a better place, and that’s what brought me to Horticultural Therapy.”
As a student, Rob is learning the therapeutic skills and horticultural techniques needed to serve a broad population of people in need. “In order for the activities to be therapeutic, they must be well planned, address specific treatment needs, offer steps towards personal growth, and be considerate of the client population’s desire for independence.”
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Posted in Adult Education on November 27 2013, by Lansing Moore
For someone who is a tireless entrepreneur, the owner of YL Event Design, and an NYBG Floral Design Instructor, Yolanda LaGuerre still knows how to enjoy life. Not surprisingly, she finds it to be a strong advantage in the party business! Here she shares with us her trend predictions going into 2014, industry advice, and how she came to discover a career in flowers.
You say you started your floral design career at age 15?
That’s correct. I lived in the city and took full advantage of living so close to one of the best flower markets in the world! With a sheet of oak tag, a pair of scissors and a marker I made myself business cards with my name, beeper number, and tag line, “Designer willing to do anything,” and passed them out all over the New York Flower Market at 5 a.m. every day! After a while I got my first break and freelanced with many designers for a few years before attending NYBG.
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Posted in Around the Garden on November 27 2013, by Matt Newman
While we won’t be open on Thanksgiving Day, a fact the Garden’s turkeys are all too fond of, there’s still the entire holiday weekend to go! We’ll be taking advantage of it with the ongoing Holiday Train Show, several tours of specific collections and seasonally fascinating autumn plants, and some fun for the kids in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden.
It’s also a perfect opportunity to get a head start on working off those Thanksgiving and Hanukkah carbs before any incoming December feasts you have planned. Of course, there’s no better place to do this than our Forest trails. While most of the leaves have already fallen, there’s a certain elegance to the netting of branches that overlays the trails in our 50-acre old growth woodland, and I doubt you’ll find many places in this bustling city quite so insulated from the urban world outside.
Check out our relaxed schedule below for detailed information on the tours we’ll be having throughout the weekend, and if you’re leaving town for the holidays, here’s to safe and stress-free travels!
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Posted in Photography on November 27 2013, by Ann Rafalko
It’s alright ladies, we’ve got you covered. You’re safe here! What’s more, we’ll be closed tomorrow, so just in case anyone has forgotten to procure their Thanksgiving “main event,” our gates will be locked, and you’ll be safe and sound. Happy Thanksgiving girls!
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
