Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Photography on May 21 2012, by Ann Rafalko
Sometimes, two photographs end up next to each other in our photo database, and all I can think is, “I wish I had a wardrobe made exclusively from these color palettes and shapes.” Such is the case with these two.
Magnolia x wieseneri (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Shrub Rose ‘Lady of Shalott’ (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Posted in Photography on May 20 2012, by Ann Rafalko
Do you like your roses best when they’re in full-blown full bloom?
Shrub Rose ‘Sophy’s Rose’ (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Or …
Posted in Around the Garden on April 17 2012, by Ann Rafalko
This just in: The first rose of the year has bloomed in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden. Let’s hear a round of applause for Rosa blanda!
Posted in Around the Garden, Gardening Tips on February 14 2012, by Sonia Uyterhoeven
Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG’s Gardener for Public Education.
Pruning climbing roses is akin to a good spring cleaning. When things pile up in the home, there is nothing like a quiet winter weekend to dive into the mess and de-clutter. It is precisely what rosarians in the Northeast do with their climbing roses at this time of year.
In order for a magnificent climbing rose to look its best, proper care is necessary. Recently I spent a delightful day with NYBG rosarian Ken Molinari, pruning our climbers and discussing the best techniques and selection of loppers for pruning and sheering of roses in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden. We have so many roses here that we like to get out early and start pruning. Find a warm day in February or early March to step outside and go to work on your climbers.
Posted in Photography on December 26 2011, by Ann Rafalko
Early May saw flowers return to the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden.
Posted in Photography on October 14 2011, by Ann Rafalko
Who minds a little rain when it makes the roses this pretty?
Shrub rose Rosa ‘Belinda’s Dream’ (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Posted in Photography on October 3 2011, by Ann Rafalko
It is a very special rose that bears the same name as a very special rose garden.
Hybrid Tea rose Rosa ‘Peggy Rockefeller’ in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Posted in Photography on September 30 2011, by Ann Rafalko
Even the roses of May are beautiful in September.
Floribunda rose ‘Cinco de Mayo’ (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
Posted in Gardening Tips on September 27 2011, by Sonia Uyterhoeven
Many people think of June as the month for roses. And while it’s true for many, here at The New York Botanical Garden we generally have two peak seasons for our roses. They first come into their glory in late-May, with both the repeat flowering roses and the one-time blooming old-fashioned types exploding with color and fragrance throughout June.
The repeat blooming roses take charge for the rest of the season; some of them flowering almost continuously, while others take a four to six week hiatus before re-flowering.
We expect a lot from the roses in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden so we pamper them as much as possible. They are fed multiple times during the growing season with an organic rose fertilizer in April, again in late June immediately following flower, and one more time in early August. Compost tea is used as an additional foliar feed throughout the season.
Cow manure and Epsom salts are added to soil in the spring, and compost and worm castings are added later in the season to create a fertile growing environment. A loyal troop of volunteers come to the Garden every week, and under the careful supervision of the Rose Garden Curator, Peter Kukielski, they weed, deadhead, mulch, water, and fertilize the flowers in this beautiful, historical garden.
Posted in Photography on July 13 2011, by Ann Rafalko
Celebrating the explosion of color that is the summer garden, one hue at a time.
Photos by Ivo M. Vermeulen