Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Horticulture on May 17 2019, by Matt Newman
We’re proud to present the newly named ‘The Divine Miss M’ in honor of Bette Midler on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of her 1979 breakout film, The Rose. You can find this “totally decadent” bloom here in our Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden beginning on Rose Garden Weekend, Saturday & Sunday, June 1 & 2. Learn more about this special new rose in this video!
Posted in People on October 14 2015, by Matt Newman
It was a glitzy evening of dinner, dancing, and fall-blooming color that brought a crowd of well-dressed attendees to the Garden on Thursday, October 8, each person there to toast our guests of honor: the unmatched actress and rosarian, Julie Andrews, and NYBG‘s own Curator of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, Stephen Scanniello.
The 25th anniversary of the Rose Garden Dinner saw guests enjoying cocktails and exclusive tours among the autumn blooms of the Rose Garden, followed by an elegant dinner served in the Garden Terrace Room. A special presentation by Scanniello on the sustainable gardening practices that support NYBG’s rose collection was matched with the unveiling of a new display of Andrews’ favorite rose cultivar, ‘Sally Holmes’.
Guests closed out the night with mingling, drinks, and dancing, while the proceeds from the dinner went toward supporting the Fund for Horticulture and the continued preservation and development of the historic Rockefeller Rose Garden. Thanks goes out to everyone who joined us!
Posted in Horticulture on July 3 2014, by Stephen Scanniello
Stephen Scanniello is NYBG’s Curator of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden. The author of six books on roses, his latest is A Rose By Any Name. Stephen is the recipient of the Jane Righter Rose Medal from the Garden Club of America. He gardens in Barnegat, NJ.
During July in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, you’ll find the gardeners and volunteers bent over headfirst into the rose beds filling buckets with faded blooms. We’re deadheading, or as they say in England, “refreshing” the rose shrubs. Deadheading is summer pruning and very easy to do. Simply cut the stem bearing the faded rose to a point where a set of healthy leaves is attached. This is a time-consuming job that will reward you with beautiful new roses in a few weeks time.
There are still plenty of roses to enjoy in the garden. The sweetly scented ‘Alexandra, Princesse de Luxembourg’, a blush-pink shrub rose, and ‘David Rockefeller’s Golden Sparrow’ are both in full bloom. Last week, in Paris, this yellow beauty won the prestigious Gold Medal for Landscape Roses at the International Rose Trials of Bagatelle.
Posted in Horticulture on May 2 2014, by Stephen Scanniello
Stephen Scanniello is NYBG’s Curator of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden. The author of six books on roses, his latest is A Rose By Any Name. Stephen is the recipient of the Jane Righter Rose Medal from the Garden Club of America. He gardens in Barnegat, NJ.
Compost piles filled with blackened rose canes eclipsed the forsythia as the harbinger of this year’s rose season. Gardeners everywhere, dealing with the effects of a long cold winter followed by roller coaster spring temperatures, were left with no alternative but to prune their roses much more severely than they have in recent seasons. The Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden wasn’t immune to this situation. From modern hybrids to rugged old roses, plants were shortened, some nearly to ground level. Am I worried? No. I look at this as “tough love” for roses.
Experienced gardeners know that this is an opportunity to rejuvenate a rose plant. With sharpened secateurs, and a shot of courage, this seemingly somber situation becomes a chance for you to improve the health of the rose bush. Removing dead wood and weakened canes encourages strong basal growth. By June, this plum-colored growth will produce beautiful roses.