Under the glass of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory‘s Palm House grows an iconic tree, commonplace to most tourists of the tropics. In the wild, the fruit dangles in lumpy clusters from a familiar silhouette, bending like an elbow toward the sea, a thin pole with a spray of long green leaves at the peak. Visit any beachside farmer’s market in the islands of the Caribbean and you may see the ubiquitous coconut held out in the hands of stall hawkers, a straw stuck through a bored-out husk for passersby to taste.
But beyond the frosty lip of a piña colada glass, the coconut earns a mixed reputation in the culinary circuit. It clutters cake frosting, makes an appearance in the occasional creme pie, lurks in the most innocuous-looking candy bars–yet how many people do you know who go gaga for the pulpy flesh of this tropical mainstay? I defer to a readily available explanation for the widespread dislike: “It’s not the taste, it’s the consistency.” And with that, I will never again have an opportunity to quote Zombieland, much less Woody Harrelson.
Whenever I see a photograph of one of the terminal wings of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, I can’t help but think it looks like a vaguely Victorian flying machine from a really great children’s book. What do you think?
The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Drum roll please, because after six weeks of gorgeous photographs taken during the Caribbean Garden Photography Contest, we finally have our two Grand Prize winners. So without further ado I give you:
The Sense of Place Grand Prize Winner: Mika Sato’s serene shot of the Aquatic Plants Gallery
NYBG Caribbean Garden by Mika Sato
The Macro Grand Prize Winner: Barbara Reiner’s technicolor shot of a Passionflower
Boy, you guys were really saving up your most tropical shots for the last week, weren’t you? There was so much color and drama in this week’s entries, it was really difficult to pick. But pick we did. So without further ado; the last weekly winners in the Caribbean Garden Photography Contest!
It’s the second-to-last week of the Caribbean Garden Photography Contest, and the images keep rolling in in all their beautiful, creative glory! There’s still time to submit your photos, though it’s now too late to take new pictures. Full details are here. Without further ado, here are this week’s winners!
Sunny mid-week greetings to you friends! The weather is just glorious here at the Garden, which might make it hard for anyone visiting to justify spending time inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory today. But, I’m here to announce this week’s winners in the Caribbean Garden Photography Contest, which should provide some motivation to wander the lush galleries of the Conservatory, snapping shots in an effort towards winning one of our two $100 Adult Education gift certificates! This week’s batch of photos came with numerous rounds of rapid fire tie breaking. Congratulations to the winners!
Note: Due to a violation of the date restriction in place for this contest, the original winner of the Sense of Place category has been disqualified. New winners are below.
The competition is really heating up! We had a record number of entrants last week, and expect even more this week. Do you have what it takes to win a $100 Adult Education gift certificate? Prove it! It’s easy to enter, and fun to boot.
Under the glass of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory‘s Palm House grows an iconic tree, commonplace to most tourists of the tropics. In the wild, the fruit dangles in lumpy clusters from a familiar silhouette, bending like an elbow toward the sea, a thin pole with a spray of long green leaves at the peak. Visit any beachside farmer’s market in the islands of the Caribbean and you may see the ubiquitous coconut held out in the hands of stall hawkers, a straw stuck through a bored-out husk for passersby to taste.
