Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Photography on April 24 2013, by Ann Rafalko
And the ghostly, creamy colored little tree of leaves
white, ivory white among the rambling greens
how evanescent, variegated eider, she hesitates on the green grass
as if, in another moment, she would disappear
with all her grace of foam!
Trees in the Garden ~ D.H. Lawrence
Posted in Gardening Tips on April 23 2013, by Sonia Uyterhoeven
Forsythias have a bad reputation for good reason. They are ubiquitous and weedy and we bemoan them while simultaneously populating urban and suburban landscapes with them. Forsythia is far too easy and that is a recipe for horticultural disaster in terms of abuse and overuse. It’s a sad story for a shrub with potential but there it is.
We all know forsythia with its dependable bright yellow flowers in spring. It’s an easy shrub to grow, tolerating a wide range of conditions and is free from pests and diseases. Forsythia flowers best in full sun but tolerates part shade, is fast growing and easy to propagate from cuttings.
Forsythia is indigenous to eastern Asia. While it is hard to distinguish different species–it seems like there is one generic mass market version –different species and varieties do exist.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on April 23 2013, by Matt Newman
You know, I’m a big fan of walking, especially during spring. I really am. But, every now and again, it seems more prudent to sit and absorb. And stuff your watch in your pocket.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Photography on April 22 2013, by Ann Rafalko
Scrolling through the photos taken by my colleague Ivo this spring is a bit like eating a Parisian macaron; airy, sugary, delicate, delicious, evanescent, amazing. This spring is one of the prettiest I can remember, but unlike the finest confections, it keeps lingering on. It’s just wonderful!
Prunus ‘Accolade’ (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Posted in Photography on April 21 2013, by Ann Rafalko
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Science on April 20 2013, by Carol Gracie
After spending nearly three decades at the NYBG, and working much of that time in South American rainforests with her husband, Scott A. Mori, Carol Gracie has returned to one of her first botanical interests in retirement–local wildflowers. She is the author of Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History and coauthor (with Steve Clemants) of Wildflowers in the Field and Forest: A Field Guide to the Northeastern United States.
Both the scientific name, Sanguinaria canadensis, and the common name, bloodroot, of this spring wildflower are descriptive. The generic name Sanguinaria has its roots in the Latin word for blood, and bloodroot describes the root-like rhizome of this plant, which contains a bright red sap. Like other members of the poppy family, Papaveraceae, the sap throughout the plant is colored, which may be seen by breaking a vein in the leaf with your fingernail.
Posted in Photography on April 20 2013, by Ann Rafalko
Magnolia Way (photo by Rafael Moricete Jr.)
Posted in Around the Garden on April 19 2013, by Ann Rafalko
It’s closing weekend of The Orchid Show and blooms and blossoms abound; inside, outside, simply everywhere! Can you think of a better way to celebrate Earth Day? We can: let’s make it a three-day weekend and open our 250 acres to you on Monday!
While at NYBG every day is Earth Day, Monday, April 22 is the official day to celebrate, and we’re doing it in literal fashion with a focus on the soil that nourishes us all. In the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden kids of all ages can learn about the earthworms that are so vital to healthy, living soil. Speak with a worm expert, meet the earthworms, and take some of the nutrient-rich earth that they have produced to nourish your plants at home. Explore the newly planted Mario Batali Kitchen Gardens and enjoy special activities. If you can’t make it to NYBG, dine at any of Mario Batali’s restaurants or shop at Eataly and receive a special seed packet with which to grow your own Genovese basil at home.
In the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden and in the Home Gardening Center composting advice and demonstrations abound. Stick around in the Adventure Garden to make a terrarium—based on rich soil and a self-contained microenvironment—to take home.
Posted in Photography on April 19 2013, by Ann Rafalko
The Orchid Show is a major must-see for New York City’s fashion crowd, and when I see orchids like these, resembling the most haute silk faille, well, it all begins to make sense.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden on April 18 2013, by Scott Mori
Scott A. Mori has been studying New World rain forests for The New York Botanical Garden for 38 years. His most recent book is Tropical Plant Collecting: From the Field to the Internet.
As mentioned in previous posts, my main research focus is the classification and ecology of the Brazil nut family (Lecythidaceae) in the New World tropics. The Brazil nut–the largest nut in a can of mixed nuts, for reference–and the cannon ball tree are the best known plants of this family, the former for its economic importance and the latter as an ornamental tree in tropical botanical gardens. Because I have been studying this group of plants for nearly 50 years, many people are surprised when they learn that there are still new species to be discovered.
For many years I had known of a large-leaved species of the Brazil nut family that had been collected in southwestern Colombia, but I was not able to identify the species; the few available collections were poorly prepared and the collection area was not safe for botanists to visit. Therefore, when I was invited to give a lecture at the fifth Colombian Botanical Congress in April of 2009, in San Juan de Pasto, I immediately accepted the invitation–this was relatively close to where the mystery plant grows and, more importantly, it was then safe to travel there. Coincidentally, the congress field trip was to the Reserva Natural Río Ñambí, a beautiful private cloud forest reserve known for the 29 species of hummingbirds found there, as well as for its spectacular plants, many of them epiphytes covering the trees. One of those trees happened to be the very plant that I had my eyes on for so many years!