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Inside The New York Botanical Garden

iris

Mouthwatering Marsala: Color of the Year

Posted in Horticulture on April 22 2015, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Sonia Uyterhoeven is NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.

Cordyline fruticosa Hot pepper plant
Cordyline fruticosa

Every year the Pantone Color Institute—in an astute publicity move—announces a “color of the year.” Foodies and Italian expatriates will rejoice in discovering that the color for 2015 is Marsala. For the uninitiated, Marsala is a fortified Sicilian wine that is similar to port, sherry, and Madeira.

Like sherry, Marsala comes in a range of ages, colors, and sweetness levels. A drier Marsala is traditionally served chilled between the first and second course, and paired with parmesan, gorgonzola, or another tangy cheese. Sweet Marsalas are served at room temperature as a dessert wine. Most of us have encountered Marsala as a reduction of the wine, prepared with shallots, mushrooms, and herbs for the well-known chicken dish.

As far as the color of the year is concerned, many of us will be delighted that earthy tones are back. They are so wearable! Marsala (the color, that is) is a warm and seductive earthy wine-red. Colorists have described it as hearty, nurturing, stylish, and sophisticated. I am looking forward to wearing the shade on my lips and nails. It partners well with blue-grey, pale lilac, silvery pink, purple, blue, tan, golden green, apricot, and ochre.

I thought it would be fun to search out plants that embodied this color. There are lots of burgundies on the market, and there are many wine-colored reds, maroons, and deep brownish-purples. I fired up PowerPoint and started laying out slides. On each slide I placed a color swatch of Marsala, then I perused my favorite online catalogs in search of earthy, fortified, red-brown flowers and foliage.

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Morning Eye Candy: Katharine’s Best

Posted in Photography on April 2 2014, by Matt Newman

My favorite iris is blooming in the Rock Garden. It is my favorite by leaps and bounds, by landslide mandate, by as many kind words and encouraging gestures as one could drum up in support of a simple flower. The bees are of like mind.

Iris 'Katharine Hodgkin'

Iris ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ in the Rock Garden – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Morning Eye Candy: Playing Favorites

Posted in Photography on May 24 2013, by Ann Rafalko

I know that when you work at a botanical garden, you’re not supposed to play favorites, but I just can’t help it. Of all the late spring flowers, irises are unquestionably my favorite! It’s their soda pop fragrance combined with their rococo frilliness. If you had to pick one garden flower to love forever, which one would it be?

iris

Irises in the Italian Renaissance Garden (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)

Bring on the Bulbs

Posted in Gardening Tips on October 23 2012, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education, and can often be found hosting gardening demonstrations on Saturdays and Sundays.

Hyacinthus orientalis

Next weekend, I will be teaching visitors to the Home Gardening Center how to properly site, plant and protect their bulbs from hungry critters. It is a demonstration that I enjoy giving every year. We examine a number of bulbs, learn all the basics and then find a few nice empty spots around the Garden to plant. It is one of the demonstrations where I like to get hands-on with visitors, encouraging them to jump in and help prepare a nice display for the spring.

Last week, I made the rounds with a few of the curators and gardeners asking them about their favorite bulbs and planting techniques. The first stop I made was to meet with Jody Payne, the curator of the Rock Garden. I asked her for some good recommendations for the homeowner.

Our discussion started with one of my favorite spring blooms for fragrance–hyacinths. Jody recommended the Festival Series as a good choice. Festival Series hyacinths have a more open form than your traditional hyacinth and they are not so prone to flop over once they are in full bloom. Each bulb produces several flower stalks providing a full display. The Festival Series comes in pink, white, and blue, with a delicious fragrance. They create a nice, naturalistic look in the garden.

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