Brooklyn Botanic Garden – Bonsai Virginia Creeper

Although it is often mistaken for poison ivy, I am a steadfast fan of Virginia Creeper and I’ve seen a lot of it in my day.  I’ve seen it in my yard, on the Appalachian Trail and on travels.  I’ve seen it creep and take over abandoned dams. I’ve seen it turn a gorgeous burgundy in the fall and I get to see Virginia Creeper any time I look at the State Seal or the State Flag of Virginia.

But at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden earlier this month, I got to see something new. Virginia Creeper…as a Bonsai Tree! : )

Virginia Creeper Bonsai Tree

Brooklyn Botanic Garden – Plant Architecture Mini Safari

On April 30, Georgia at localecologist went on an Animal Architecture Safari in Brooklyn. That very same weekend, I was also in Brooklyn and admiring architecture. Only I was taking note of plants instead of animals!

One thing I loved about the Brooklyn Botanic Garden was how they used recognizable species in their structures.

Gingko Leaves Carved into a Stone Column

I was particularly fond of the doorway to the Native Flora Garden. The metalwork on the door had some cameos by familiar wildflowers.

The Native Flora Garden Door

The left panel of the door featured a Lady Slipper Orchid. They even included the grains in the leaves!

Lady Slipper Orchid (Actual Lady Slipper Orchid Photo is by reznicek111)

Meanwhile, the right side of the door featured a Jack in the Pulpit.

Jack in the Pulpit! (Actual Jack in the Pulpit Photo is by pl1602)

What wonderful attention to detail they put into their designs!

More pictures of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden can be found on my Flickr site.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden – Science Celebrities

Part of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a Celebrity Path. It’s a nice paved path the winds through nature that bears the names of famous people who were born in or had lived in Brooklyn.

My parents have a subscription to the National Enquirer and I have noticed that Ryan isn’t caught perusing its pages anywhere near as often as I. And so, it wasn’t surprising that on our short walk over the Celebrity Path, Ryan’s chin was a level ninety degrees whereas mine was angled downwards reading all the names.

That is, until I spied this name:

Isaac Asimov!

And then this name:

Carl Sagan!

Suddenly Ryan had quite a bit more interest in the names he was walking over. : )

Brooklyn Botanic Garden – Surprise Hanami

Sunday May 1st, Ryan and I were still in New York City and only a couple of miles from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. After breakfast, we decided to walk down and check it out.

Unbeknowst to us, the day coincided with the Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival. In addition to hanami (the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers), the festival celebrated Japanese culture– traditional and contemporary. As a result, Ryan and I got to take in beautiful cherry blossoms, see a Taiko drum demonstration, watch attendees learn Go and see a number of people dressed up as Anime characters… and huge crowds.

Oh and for some reason Spiderman was in attendence as well. : )

Man Enjoying A Vendor Display

Go Demos

Anime Characters with Child

Crowds at the Cherry Esplanade

Conservatory, Crowd and Tulips

Ninja Baits Spiderman into Fight

Onlookers of the Spiderman Fight

More pictures of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden can be found on my Flickr site. You can also check out the official BBG-Hanami Flickr group.

The New York Botanical Garden – Blooms

Ryan and I visited The New York Botanical Gardens at a great time. We got to see a whole lot of blooms and subsequently got a whole lot of pictures. To keep it short and sweet, here’s a mosaic from Big Huge Lab’s Mosaic Maker. Enjoy!

1. Cherry Blooms, 2. Yellow Tulip, 3. White Star Flowers, 4. Pink Crabapple Blooms, 5. Wild Daffodils in Daffodil Valley, 6. Jade Vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys) Blooms, 7. Spotted Pink and Purple Blooms, 8. Snowdrift Crabapple Blooms, 9. Pieris, 10. Passion Flower (Passifolor x kewensis), 11. Spikes and Flowers in the African Desert Room, 12. Pink Pinecone (Close)

Thirsty for more New York City spring blooms? Check out Spring Blooms in Washington Square by localecologist.

The New York Botanical Garden – Nature Taking Over

When you are inside the Conservatory at The New York Botanical Garden, you know that the environment you are taking in was architected by humans. Still, you get to catch glimpses of what nature wants to do if left to its own devices– take over. : )

Vines Climb Up a Pillar in the Conservatory

This Determined Vine is Squeezing Itself Into a Home in the Stairwell Handrail

More pictures of The New York Botanical Gardens can be found on my Flickr site.

The New York Botanical Garden – Textures in Palms

During our visit to the New York Botanical Gardens, I was quite enamoured with the variety of textures one can see just in palm tree trunks. There are about 2600 different species of palms– some species live in rain forests. Others live in deserts. With that kind of range, obviously they have to be pretty diverse… and one can spy souvenirs of that diversity even if you look no further than the trunks.

Bumpy Palm Trunk

Burlap-y Palm Trunk

Patterns in Traveller’s Tree (Ravenela madagascariensis) Trunk

Trunk in African Desert Room

Fuzzy Trunk

More pictures of The New York Botanical Gardens can be found on my Flickr site.

The New York Botanical Garden – Hearts in Nature

A Heart in Nature post seems to be a fitting followup to a reminiscent wedding post! Ryan and I spotted a few hearts in nature in the Conservatory of The New York Botanical Garden. Enjoy!

Thai Red Papaya (Carica papaya)

Leaf in Tropical Section of the Conservatory

Anthurium crystallinum

The New York Botanical Garden and The Royal Wedding

The day Ryan and I went to The New York Botanical Garden was April 29th, which also happened to be the date of the Royal Wedding. Ryan and I didn’t watch the nuptials, but en route to the gardens on the Subway, Ryan perused Facebook on his phone.

“Oh boy,” he said, “Everyone is remembering their own weddings today.”

I thought I would be pretty insulated from such nostalgia in the gardens. However, as soon as I entered the American Desert section on the Conservatory, I was greeted by some familiar faces.

Succulents!!!

More Succulents!!!

Naturally, I thought about our centerpieces. I thought about our bouquets. I smiled and just like everyone else– I remembered my own wedding on April 29th. : )

P.S. We still have bouquet and centerpiece succulents growing!

The New York Botanical Garden – Overview

After weeks of heavy work, Ryan and I took a couple of days off and had a long weekend in New York City. Friday, April 29th, we visited The New York Botanical Garden which was impressive and huge. The New York Botanical Garden is sort of like the Ground Zero of the Chestnut blight. The blight was first discovered in chestnuts growing in the adjacent Bronx Zoo. It was a mycologist from The New York Botantical Gardens, William Murrill, who uncovered the cause.

One of my favorite parts of the gardens is the large section of native forest they have preserved. In the Appalachians, the chestnuts are ever hopeful. When the blight kills the tree’s trunk, the roots send off a new shoot and tries again. Having seen so many examples in the Appalachians, I fully expected to see some baby chestnuts in the native forest section, still giving it another go a century later. Alas, I didn’t see any.

That doesn’t mean I left the park disappointed! There was so much to see and absorb. We were there at a good time to see a lot of blooms – cherries, daffodils, tulips, crabapples. And I learned a number of new trees, especially maples.

Some shots from the day:

I loved the bark of this Austrian Black Pine (Pinus nigra ssp. nigra)

Caucasian wingnut (Pterocarya fraxinifolia) – Ryan calls this one “The Rush Limbaugh Tree” : )

The Conservatory

I liked how you could see what this dead leaf was supposed to look like.

One of the new maples I was introduced to – Norway maple (Acer platanoides)

I loved this flower because it looked like a big pink pinecone.

Silhouettes on Orange Gyro (Heliconia latispatha) Leaf

I have some more posts on the gardens to come. In the meantime, more pictures of our visit to The New York Botanical Garden can be found on my Flickr site.