Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Around the Garden on April 17 2013, by Ann Rafalko
I thought the earth remembered me,
she took me back so tenderly,
arranging her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds.
I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed,
nothing between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths
among the branches of the perfect trees.
Sleeping in the Forest ~ Mary Oliver
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on March 13 2013, by Matt Newman
It’s a delicate patina that defines Joel Kroin’s photographs. Each black and white image takes on the small specks, blurs, and aberrations of antique film–not far off from how they first appeared when the method was developed in the mid-19th century. Known as camera obscura, or the pinhole camera, Joel has fashioned his own devices from various containers and hand-operated shutters, finding the technique still well-suited to capturing near untouched wilderness. Say, for example, the largest old growth forest in New York City.
Kroin’s work varies with the seasons, of course. Not all landscapes fit the bill for such a time-consuming process. Stately summer trees rounded with foliage make for difficult subjects in a medium which values contrast–too many leaves, too much movement. But the inherent stillness of a winter wood, with its sharp network of barren branches, makes all the difference. Here is where Kroin’s pinhole expertise comes into its own.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on December 7 2012, by Matt Newman
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Gardens and Collections on December 6 2012, by Travis Beck
Travis Beck is the NYBG’s Landscape and Garden Projects Manager, overseeing large landscape design and construction projects here at the Garden. His current undertakings include the redesign of the Native Plant Garden and trail restorations taking place in the Thain Family Forest.
The Thain Family Forest at The New York Botanical Garden is a remnant of the deciduous forest that once covered most of the region. Unlike many of the remaining forests, the Thain Family Forest was never cleared for timber or agriculture, and includes numerous grand trees. Today, many of these are well over a century old.
Superstorm Sandy reminds us, however, that humans are not the only ones to fell trees. Her strong winds uprooted or snapped the trunks of over one hundred trees in the Forest. Where these trees fell, gaps now exist in the canopy, creating opportunities for the next generation of trees to grow. Our records show that Sandy was the most damaging storm in the Garden’s history to impact the Forest, but hurricanes, nor’easters, and thunderstorms are part of the natural disturbance regime for northeastern forests. Such storms open gaps in the canopy and allow for new growth to fill the space.
Posted in Gardens and Collections on November 20 2012, by Sonia Uyterhoeven
Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG’s Gardener for Public Education.
When I was a kid, there was an old-fashioned candy store in a nearby town. The counter was lined with glass containers full of candy canes in every flavor you could possibly imagine, along with curiosities that have become harder to find as the years have passed. Original birch beer, black cherry soda, and old-fashioned root beer were a few of the “unusual” drinks available in this candy store, full of reminders that our diet was once intimately connected with the land and its bounty.
As I strolled through the Forest in The New York Botanical Garden, I found a woodland area full of ingredients from the past. At the edge of the Forest are many stately black cherries (Prunus serotina). These trees reach 50 to 60 feet tall, making them hard to miss. In the spring, the flowers are a haven for hungry bees, and in the fall, the black cherries are covered with edible–if bitter–fruit. These are generally used as flavoring for soda, liqueurs, and preserves.
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on October 25 2012, by Matt Newman
Meanwhile, the evergreens prep for their stint in the winter spotlight. Our Forest doesn’t need Photoshopped lens flares to look this good.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on October 14 2012, by Matt Newman
You’ll catch little flags of transition here and there. It’s not long now until this path puts up eye candy on an entirely different level.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on September 10 2012, by Matt Newman
It makes me want to dig up earthworms, skip rocks on the misting river, and any number of other campy childhood stereotypes. But spend 20 minutes on the Forest paths and tell me with a straight face that you don’t get the same feeling.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on September 5 2012, by Matt Newman
Epicenter of autumn change? Soon enough! Our apologies to leaf lovers in other states. You might want to make the trip, though.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on August 19 2012, by Matt Newman
It’s been sort of a green-filtered past few days on Morning Eye Candy. I suppose I’m trying to heap as much appreciation as possible on the themes of summer before the trees transition for autumn. That and this picture from Ivo makes me want to swim, Scrooge McDuck style, through the Forest.
Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen