Daryl Beyers is a landscape designer with over 20 years’ worth of experience who teaches Gardening and Landscape Design for the Garden. However, he first came to the Garden as a student in the spring of 2000 when his employers at a 10-acre estate in Connecticut sent him here to take classes in composting and orchid care. Daryl had earned a degree in Environmental Design, but it was here that he polished his horticulture skills, since, as he explains, “Not all landscape design programs stress plant knowledge, let alone gardening skills.”
The pitfalls facing new gardeners are familiar to Daryl, who built his skills both in the classroom and on the job, first as a laborer—“the guy pushing the wheel barrow”—then as a nursery worker—“the college kid holding a hose out in the container field.” He also had the same amateur gardener’s idealism: “Not knowing any better, my unstated goal first starting out was to keep every plant in my care alive… I share this experience with my Fundamentals of Gardening students because it demonstrates a common thread of how most inexperienced gardeners think. They believe, unhappily, that if a plant dies they have failed, when in fact the death of a plant is just a lesson. I quote a gardener friend who once said, “You don’t really know a plant until you have killed it three times.”
Only two days ’til the spooks and spirits spill out in force for tricking, treating, and spades of ghoulish fun, so it’s not that surprising that we’ll be going all out for the last Greenmarket of October, right? Of course not! The shifting palette of fall foliage mingles with apples, baked goods, and mounds of fresh gourds and pumpkins to make this time of year one of the most beautiful and flavorful harvest periods there is. With the Halloween Harvest Festival hosting Haunted Pumpkin Garden activities for families, donut-eating contests, “Witch’s Brew” samplings and creepy-crawly compost events, it’s nothing you want to miss out on, plus it gives you an excuse to wear that stunning new autumn jacket you just bought.
As a primer for what we’ll likely see on the tables this Wednesday, last week offered a broad spectrum of goodies. From Migliorelli Farm, we saw a Pantone gradient of fresh cauliflower, deep green spinach, all sorts of pumpkins and squash, and fresh tomato juice to remind you that the brunch Bloody Mary never takes a break in New York. Red Jacket Orchards came in on the fruity end of the spectrum, boasting a cadre of pears including Yali, Bosc, and Seckel varieties; apples ranging from Jonamac to Golden Supreme; and enough fruit juice and cider to stock your fridge for a good while. Gajeski Produce brought in the hearty meal fare with fennel, savoy cabbage, Tuscan kale, sweet potatoes and—a personal favorite since I discovered crock pots—fresh collard greens.
But what meal would be complete without at least some kind of dessert, if not an entire bread basket? Meredith’s Bread had that covered with assorted pies and tarts, brownies, cookies, biscotti, and bunches of breads—oatmeal walnut, Anadama corn, and challah varieties among them. Honestly, they’ve always got it covered.
Back in October of 2011, I answered a question a follower asked us on Twitter: “How do I overwinter a mandevilla vine?” It was simple enough to come up with an explanation at the time, but little did I know I would be receiving so many additional questions after the fact. Over the last two years, a number of Plant Talk visitors have stopped in to leave their comments and requests, which I’ll answer here.
For those who are not familiar with it, the mandevilla (Mandevilla splendens) is a Brazilian native with glossy leaves and bright, trumpet-shaped flowers. It is normally grown as a vine but occasionally pruned into an upright shrub shape. A hybrid, Mandevilla x amabilis, forms a tall vine perfect for growing on a trellis. But because these plants are not hardy in our zone, they require some special care in the cooler months. You can read all about it in my original post. In the meantime, I’ll answer the more specific questions our visitors have posed in hopes of helping your mandevilla survive the coming winter.
If you have a question that I haven’t answered here, feel free to leave it in the comments below!
Leafers, this is your weekend! And honestly, even if you’re not the type to travel for fall foliage, Saturday and Sunday are worth a peek at what The New York Botanical Garden‘s 250 sprawling acres have to offer. With October nearing its end, the leaves are just now slipping into their colorful groove, and that means no end of reds, yellows, oranges, and every warm, welcoming color in between. It’s a pretty perfect palette for the onset of chilly weather. So to celebrate the changing trees, we’re setting off into our 50-acre Forest with entertainers, activities, tours, and more!
Fall Forest Weekends highlight the beauty of fall with the largest uncut, old growth tract of forest left in New York City. And there’s certainly more than one perspective from which to appreciate the bright transition. For those with their sea legs, so to speak, you’ll want to get in on the canoe trips taking place along the stretch of Bronx River that cuts through our woodland; the program is hosted by the Bronx River Alliance, a group working to reclaim the river for not only the people of the Bronx, but the incredible variety of fish, birds, and even beaver that call this waterway home.
“Trees in Utah” by Micha Pawlitzki. Commended 2009.
Our friends at the International Garden Photographer of the Year contest asked us to remind you that there is just one week left for you to enter this prestigious contest, and I thought it was an excellent opportunity to remind you that the Garden is an amazing place to take photographs with which to enter!
I’m sure most people think that spring and summer would be the best times in which to undertake a photographic exploration of our 250 acres, but fall is also an incredibly beautiful time, especially since the reopening of our Native Plant Garden earlier this year. Native plants seem to really shine in fall, they lend so much beautiful texture and color to the landscape. And let’s not forget fall’s amazing light. It lends an incredible luminosity to flowers and leaves, and the long shadows of this season can add incredible drama and contrast to your shots.
Daryl Beyers is a landscape designer with over 20 years’ worth of experience who teaches Gardening and Landscape Design for the Garden. However, he first came to the Garden as a student in the spring of 2000 when his employers at a 10-acre estate in Connecticut sent him here to take classes in composting and orchid care. Daryl had earned a degree in Environmental Design, but it was here that he polished his horticulture skills, since, as he explains, “Not all landscape design programs stress plant knowledge, let alone gardening skills.”
