Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on December 16 2012, by Matt Newman
Hello to our Bostonian friends! Our baseball teams don’t get along, but I see no reason why that should keep majestic landmarks out of our Holiday Train Show Artist’s Studio.
Boston Harbor Light House — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on December 14 2012, by Matt Newman
It’s the proverbial belle of the ball, the jewel on the crown, that once-in-a-blue-moon event that our visitors (and employees, honestly) can’t help but get excited for. Well, technically it’s thrice in a blue moon–Bar Car Nights are back this year, and this Saturday evening marks the second of three events for the closing of 2012. Of course, tickets have been selling out faster than we can advertise them, and this week is no exception–tickets are sold out for Saturday, December 15. But there are still a few left for next Saturday, December 22! So join us as we pause the family fun for a few hours of relaxation in the Conservatory turned cocktail lounge, aperitifs in hand and seasonal tunes in the air.
Afterward, head over to Arthur Avenue for some of the finest Italian dining in New York City, made that much better by a discount for Bar Car Nights ticket holders.
If themed drinks under the glow of the Conservatory lights aren’t your style, everything else that makes the season great at the Garden will be running throughout the weekend, including a few special one-off events for those who love the outdoors as much as we do. After Debbie Becker’s weekly Saturday morning Bird Walk, you’re welcome to join one of our experts for a tour of my favorite NYBG collection: the Ross Conifer Arboretum. Seeing as Christmas trees are popping up everywhere you look, now seems as good a time as any to learn about these evergreens while they’re still planted and thriving.
Posted in Around the Garden on December 7 2012, by Matt Newman
That’s enough relaxing for one week! While last weekend’s schedule kept things simple and streamlined, we’re stepping up the pace this time around with a series of exclusive events running the gamut from seasonal to enlightening. And, of course, everything in the middle. Between the trundling trains buzzing about the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, and the gingerbread frosting taking over the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, you’ll find winding Forest tours, wildlife exploration, and an opportunity to meet one of the NYBG‘s favorite photographers. I suppose I should also mention our “holiday happy hours,” which seems as apt a description as any.
Saturday morning begins with Debbie Becker’s weekly Bird Walk, though this particular session is both informative and proactive. Not only will you be scoping out the avian residents and visitors flitting about the Garden, but pipping each one off on a personal list. At the end of the walk, your bird counts will be submitted to Cornell for their database as an unofficial warm-up for the Christmas Bird Count. This annual, nationwide event goes a long way to helping researchers and conservationists understand the state of the bird world in the U.S., so you won’t just be putting your Saturday to good use–you’ll be contributing to a worthy cause, as well.
Posted in Holiday Train Show on December 6 2012, by Matt Newman
Who says a picturesque evening under twinkling lights is the stuff of romantic comedies? For that matter, why let It’s a Wonderful Life horde all the holiday magic? This is New York! There are countless opportunities to hit the town this season, all of them at your fingertips, and Bar Car Nights are easily among the best of the lot. In fact, last year’s evenings were such a smash with our visitors that we’re stepping up our game this time around.
Saturday evenings throughout December, you’ll have the chance to experience the Holiday Train Show in a slightly different light: one without the kids tugging at your coat. Trust me, that’s a huge change of atmosphere for this holiday classic. While we’ll be the first to tell you that this event is a picture-perfect family affair, we’re also sensitive to the fact that most of you see the season as a new source of stress–through shopping lists, in-laws, and more than a few family feasts to plan out. Consider Bar Car Nights the antidote to what ails you.
Posted in Holiday Train Show on December 5 2012, by Matt Newman
As the Holiday Train Show ramps up, we’ll be highlighting the cultural landmarks of New York City that have come to inspire our many miniatures, as well as the established organizations behind each one. It’s an opportunity for our readers to not only come away with a fresh understanding of the beautiful architecture in our city, but of the important institutions that have helped to create our rich cultural landscape.
Originally home to a militia known as the Silk Stocking Regiment for its aristocratic membership, the Seventh Regiment Armory–now called the Park Avenue Armory–was designed by Charles Clinton and completed in 1880. The imposing brick building is renowned for the artistry of its interior rooms, featuring hand-carved ornamental woodwork, marble installations, and stained glass windows. Taking up an entire block between 66th and 67th Street along Park Avenue, this Gothic Revival landmark is an iconic addition to Upper East Side architecture.
Since taking the reins of the building in 2006, the non-profit Park Avenue Armory Conservancy has endeavored to reimagine the space as a center for the visual and performance arts, while shepherding it as a New York City landmark by curating and maintaining the building’s historical aspects.
Posted in Gardens and Collections on December 4 2012, by Matt Newman
Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.
I spend a lot of my time working with John Egenes in the Native Plant Garden. John is the gardener in charge of the area and his discerning eye doesn’t miss an inch of the vast new landscape.
I recently discovered that one of his passions is native trees. One day, during the height of fall foliage, he rattled off some of his favorite trees while pointing out the merits of both foliage and form. One of them–the pignut hickory (Carya glabra)–is situated just outside the Rock Garden, close to the rear service entrance.
The pignut hickory is a close relative to the famous pecan tree (Carya illinoinensis), responsible for your holiday pecan pie. But unlike the pecan, the nuts that the pignut provides are not so palatable. In fact, the name “pignut” is derived from the fact that the nuts are only suitable for swine. In nature, these are a valuable food source for many woodland creatures such as black bears, raccoons, squirrels, blue jays, foxes, rodents, and deer.
Posted in What's Beautiful Now on December 3 2012, by Matt Newman
This post is a bit of an anomaly for our “What’s Beautiful Now” series. Usually, we cobble these together to show our fans and visitors what’s worth slipping into the agenda during a trip to the NYBG; each post is a rundown of what you should go and enjoy at its peak flower or aroma, depending on the season. But some of the collections we have growing here at the Garden aren’t always open for public consumption–not yet, anyway. They’re too early in their growth, or still being primped for coming exhibitions. And most of these plants fall within the purview of the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections, where preparation begins for coming events many months (if not years) before opening day rolls around.
Seeing as I already teased you this past weekend with some of the jungle jewels sprouting up under the glass of the Nolen Greenhouses, I figure there’s no reason to keep the rest of Ivo’s recent photo shoot cooped up in our files. Standouts among the photos taken are easily the orchids, a few of which we expect to steal the spotlight in 2013’s spring Orchid Show. And while we can’t spill the entire layout of the exhibition just yet, I’m all too happy to pass along a gallery of eye candy in the meantime.
Posted in Holiday Train Show on December 3 2012, by Matt Newman
As the Holiday Train Show ramps up, we’ll be highlighting the cultural landmarks of New York City that have come to inspire the NYBG‘s many miniatures, as well as the established organizations behind each one. It’s an opportunity for our readers to not only come away with a fresh understanding of the beautiful architecture in our city, but of the important institutions that have helped to create our rich cultural landscape.
Like so much of New York’s iconic architecture, what would become the Williamsburg Art & Historical Center (WAH) began life as a very different establishment. The Kings County Savings Bank was designed in the French Second Empire style by William H. Wilcox, a bank partner, with ground broken at the corner of Bedford and Broadway in 1860. Construction continued in Brooklyn through the course of the Civil War to see completion by 1868, at which point the building began a century-long run as home to a succession of banks.
Posted in Around the Garden, Programs and Events on November 30 2012, by Matt Newman
Whether you’re coming in to catch the Holiday Train Show before December’s crowds pile in, or to glean a bit of feathered wisdom from Debbie Becker’s Saturday morning Bird Walk, this weekend is squarely focused on relaxation. Because we know that in between the crush of Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and winter holiday preparations, there’s hardly a sliver of space to squeak in your chill time! Of course, at the NYBG there’s a wider window for taking it easy.
With a light schedule and reasonable temperatures promised for Saturday and Sunday, this is your opportunity to explore 250 acres of New York City’s finest natural sanctuary. If you’re looking for activities, there’s always the Bird Walk for picking up a new hobby, or maybe you’d rather take a load off with the heat on? For that, stop by the Holiday Train Show in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory before hoofing it over to Ross Hall for a bit of history on our decades-long tradition.
Over in the education department, you can join in a two-hour rundown of the herbal arts through a course on making tinctures, salves, and oils from nature’s bounty. And, of course, there’s Gingerbread Adventures waiting for the kids in our Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. Why would you even consider passing up a hand-decorated cookie (of your own artistic creation, of course) before leaving?
Posted in Holiday Train Show on November 29 2012, by Matt Newman
While the shingles may be drifting ever so slowly off the roof, and the gummy candy filling in for the lamp post has taken a header into the driveway, we don’t expect your homemade gingerbread house to be a triumph of art and engineering. It just has to taste good! But at the NYBG, our visiting bakers do hold themselves to a standard above anything most of us can piece together during an afternoon with a frosting bag.
This year, Gingerbread Adventures returns with more sugar, spice, and everything nice than you can wave an edible blueprint at. We’re back in the Discovery Center of the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden for cookie-decorating (and eating!), along with plenty of other holiday activities to keep your little one’s sweet tooth in the game. Beyond a perfectly reasonable sugar high, we’ll be offering fun craft and learning activities to focus that energy, along with a back-to-basics approach to the gingerbread cookie itself. Before the ingredients ever reach the supermarket shelf, your kids can learn the origins of sugar through sugar cane, grind their own cinnamon, and see ginger in its fresh-from-the-ground form. It goes a long way toward teaching them that not everything comes straight from the shrink wrap.