This year The New York Botanical Garden is celebrating chrysanthemums—the most iconic of all Japanese fall-flowering plants—in a new, awe-inspiring display. The Kiku exhibition (open through October 30) in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory has a unique contemporary feel with new sculptural shapes as well as the older traditional forms.
Kiku means chrysanthemum in Japanese. It is the national flower of Japan, part of the Imperial Crest, and the subject of regular exhibitions at the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in Tokyo, where Japanese masters have trained New York Botanical Garden staff over the years to cultivate special shapes and colors in the traditional Imperial style.
The Conservatory can admire itself in the Reflecting Pools on this clear day, with plenty of waterlilies and lotus blossoms as well! Get a closer look at what’s beautiful at the Garden with our Curator’s Spotlight series.
For about a week now the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory has been plunged in the colorful escape of The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary. Our first Orchid Evening already took place last Saturday, and visitors have been pouring in to see the many varieties of orchids on display since the exhibit opened on March 1.
The day before it opened to the public, Kevin Character stopped by Members Day, where Garden Members were enjoying an exclusive preview of The Orchid Show. Early reviews were very encouraging. Some members called it the best Orchid Show yet, and they should know! Click through for this exclusive video tour of the unique design concept and varied special programs surrounding The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary.
While we are well into The Orchid Show, I know our photography aficionados have not forgotten about this year’s Tropical Paradise Photo Contest. After lengthy deliberations over our six weekly winners in the Macro and Sense of Place categories, we are ready to announce the Grand Prize Winners in each category, recipients of a seat in the NYBG Adult Education photography class of their choice.
Most of all, I hope enjoying the outstanding weekly submissions on Plant Talk has inspired you all to enjoy the Garden through your own lens. If you want to challenge your skills and enhance your enjoyment of the Garden, then NYBG Adult Education offers a variety of classes to help you see the grounds in new ways. For those shutterbugs out there, the next class will be Photographing Birds, Bees, & Butterflies on April 26, but there are many more slated for spring as the Garden comes into full bloom. Whether with an iPhone or a full DSLR rig, there are classes for all subjects and levels of expertise.
Now for the moment that has been weeks in the making. We are very pleased to announce the Grand Prize Winners of the 2014 Tropical Paradise Photo Contest! Click through to find out.
Here we are, at the end of our Tropical Paradise Photo Contest’s last round of finals. As we welcomed the colorful debut of The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary this past weekend, we also had to say goodbye to Tropical Paradise for another year. Today we announce the last finalists who managed to capture the magic of that exhibition through their lenses.
While the Oscars may be over, we still have our own prize to give out for “Best Picture”—a seat in the NYBG Adult Education Photography class of the winner’s choice. We will now deliberate over the past six rounds of weekly winners, and announce the Grand Prize Winners next Tuesday. So without further ado, we announce the winners of Best Photo in the Macro Category, and Best Photo in the Sense-of-Place Category. The envelope please…
Tomorrow is the first day of The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary! This weekend also marks the beginning of March, so while it may still be chilly outside, you can be sure spring is just around the corner. In the meantime, the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory has all the warmth and color of the Florida Keys. To kick off this very special Orchid Show, we have a full array of programs scheduled this weekend to help visitors immerse themselves in the world of orchids.
The exhibit will host roaming guides, and Ross Hall will feature special live music by Jimmy Kenny & The Pirate Beach Band to complete the festive Florida experience. For those who want to keep these unique and enigmatic blooms at home, our Orchid Care Demonstrations will cover all the basics for you to cultivate with confidence. Gardening and orchid experts will also lead Orchid Q&A sessions at Shop in the Garden, helping guests choose the right orchid varieties for their home growing conditions. You can even pick up an orchid from the wide variety we have on sale at the shop. Click through for this weekend’s full program schedule, including new children’s activities!
