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Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Home Gardening Center

As Big as Satellite Dishes

Posted in Gardening Tips on September 2 2014, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Sonia Uyterhoeven is NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.

Hibiscus Summerific™ 'Cranberry Crush'
Hibiscus Summerific™ ‘Cranberry Crush’

Last week I was on the Diller-von Furstenberg sundeck of The High Line, looking out at the Hudson River. From the sundeck you’ll find the closest and least obstructed views of the waterfront. The design of The High Line is broken up into different ecosystems, including a thicket, woodland, grassland, and a wetland area. The sundeck features plants found in marsh and wetland ecosystems. As you relax on the chaise lounges situated around the sundeck, it’s as if you are sitting amongst flora on the river’s edge.

I was leading an avid group of gardeners from my August Membership tour during this particular visit to The High Line, and we were admiring the rose mallows, of which the site has two different species. One is the swamp rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos ssp. palustris). This flower is commonly found growing on riverbanks, in freshwater and brackish marshes, swamps, floodplains, and wet meadows. It’s an adaptable native that doesn’t mind getting its feet wet, while it’s also tolerant of brackish water and deer resistant to boot. Swamp rose mallow has lovely pink flowers and makes a nice, full display on The High Line, tucked in with cattails (Typha laxmannii and Typha minima). It reaches 4-6 feet tall, flowers from July through September, and is hardy from Zones 4 to 9.

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Morning Eye Candy: Big as an Elephant’s Ear

Posted in Photography on July 25 2014, by Matt Newman

They don’t call them elephant ears without reason. Big and bright enough to make the flowers insecure, the Colocasia in the Home Gardening Center are of the genus responsible for the edible taro root. Not that you should head right out with a spade and start digging them up in your own yard—they can be poisonous if not prepared correctly!

Colocasia

Colocasia in the Home Gardening Center – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen