Pretty on the Outside too...

As a conclusion to our previous two part feature on NYBG's Enid A. Haupt Conservatory (Part One and Part Two) we'll also share a few photos of the immediate surroundings of the glasshouse as well as highlight the structure itself. The weather was glorious the moment we stepped out from the conservatory and it was looking pretty on the outside too...

But first I can't help but admire the pots of Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta' just outside the main entrance to the conservatory.

And the conservatory itself looks good!

Once you've completed your journey through a series of glasshouses, or at least go outside via the desert and temporary exhibition section you will be greeted by a huge pond that has a variety of aquatic plants growing in it.

A good selection of Nymphaeas, Nelumbos, and even Victoria amazonica can be found growing in this pond and the effect of them all together looks splendid!

The aquatic display looked amazing despite being past its prime. I can imagine how extra magnificent this pond must have been during the peak of summer just a few weeks earlier to our visit.

They have used some very nice plants too for their summer/seasonal display...

Solanum sp, at the back

A pair of Bismarckia nobilis

Gaudy colours and summer do go hand in hand!

After exploring this area we spent another hour exploring as much as we could of the rest of the botanical garden but it was a bit of a rush and we didn't take as many photos as we should have. The day we visited was our last day in the city and after our visit here we collected our luggage and headed for the airport to catch our flight home.

I'm sure we'll visit again sometime in the future. Hopefully quite soon!

Mark :-)

Read More

NYBG Conservatory - Deserts of America and Africa

In the first installment of our tour of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory in New York Botanical Garden we featured their collection of rainforest and aquatic plants. Now in the second installment we'll be featuring their collection of succulents, xerophytic, and drought tolerant plants as seen in the sections Deserts of the America and Deserts of Africa. 

It was overcast outside whilst we were looking in the rainforest sections which has affected the light levels inside. By the time we have passed through the tunnel into the 'arid' sections the clouds have parted and it was sunny again which made for touring the remaining areas extra enjoyable. And quite appropriate too, like the weather gods have been orchestrating the lighting effects whilst we were there: dark and atmospheric whilst in the rainforests, bright and sunny whilst in the deserts!

Read More

NYBG Conservatory - Rainforest and Aquatic Plants

We finally had the chance to start sorting out the photos we took of our visit to New York Botanical Gardens last September and one of the highlights of which was our wander through the different sections of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.

This conservatory, a major landmark and considered to be the crown jewel of New York City houses the tender plant collection of the botanical gardens. The building itself was inspired from the Palm House at Kew Gardens as well as the Crystal Palace (which was destroyed in 1936 and was never rebuilt). The conservatory fell into disrepair in the 70's and needed some much needed major restoration which was then made possible by the generous donation of Enid A. Haupt, hence the conservatory being named after her once all restoration work was completed.

Read More

A Few Bites of the Big Apple

'New York, New York, So good they named it twice' goes the words of the famous song. For us perhaps this needs to be 'So good you need to visit it twice'! We had a full week in the Big Apple, but this really was only enough time to just start to scratch the surface, there was so much more we wanted to do.

We did however manage to cram in some of the main sights - both botanically and the more famous tourist ones like the Empire State, Statue of Liberty, Broadway, Central Park, MOMA, etc. We even managed to meet up with a fellow blogger, although we sadly, didn't get chance to visit his garden - next time!

Whilst away we managed to blog a few times, taking advantage of free public wifi that seems to be so prevalent in New York, everywhere from Starbucks to Museums and public spaces seemed to have free wifi available, something that the UK should work harder to catch up on.

We were able to share short "postcard" style blogs from, Bryant Park, The Rockefeller Centre, The High Line and the NY Botanic Gardens.

The View from Bryant Park

Read More

Four Seasons in One Day

Whilst we were in New York Botanical Garden a few weeks ago we managed to see and experience all four seasons in one day...

Four Seasons is NYBG's current special installation of four gigantic garden sculptures, each being 15 feet tall, to be found in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory Courtyard and will run until the 30th of March next year. The sculptures are the creation of artist Philip Haas and was inspired from the series of paintings of the same name done by Italian renaissance painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo. We're lucky enough to see some of the originals in art galleries in Vienna and Paris on previous trips and it's great to see some of his paintings transformed into giant, vividly colourful, three dimensional sculptures.

Read More

Half a Central Park

Before we set off for New York I had visions of spending an entire day at Central Park in Manhattan, a colossal public green space right at the centre of a bustling city and surrounded by sky scrapers and towering buildings, and considered to be the 'lungs of New York City'. A huge park spanning 840 acres and much bigger than the giant city park I'm more familiar with which is Hyde Park in London, I was aware that it has different generously spaced sections to explore and with different functions too. And with it still being late summer when we visited I was also expecting to see some of their summer bedding displays and plantings within the park.

Central Park, New York City

Alas, spending an entire day there was not to be the case. We found that there was so much to do in Manhattan that it quickly dawned on us that a week is simply not enough to see and experience all the essentials of NYC. Instead of dashing here and there just to catch a glimpse of what we want to see, we chose a few and took our time to experience and explore them.

Read More

Bye Bye Miss American Pie

I never realized how pumped up I must have been with adrenaline and other stress hormones until we went away in the middle of the house renovation, relaxed, then came back and found that it took me a few days to get into the loop again.

Work continues in the house and some progress were made whilst we were away but things are far from finished and inconveniences are still there and there are loads for us to do still...

But it was a very enjoyable time away from it all and we had a blast suffice to say!

We're hoping to sort out the photos in the following days to come and will share them soon. At least now we have the mass photo re-sizing transferred on to our little laptop and we can conveniently do it there. Unlike before where it was only on our desktop computer wherein at the moment you have to move loads of stuff away just to be able to use it.

We've had so many wonderful, amazing, unforgettable, and funny moments whilst we were across the pond. Like when a security guard held up a queue of people behind us just to be able to chat to us about the royal family (he was particularly fascinated with Camilla Parker-Bowles); or when I nearly choked on my cinnamon pretzel when a shop assistant informed me that a purchase I made earlier qualified for a raffle for a chance to win a whole weeks holiday to Liverpool....

On our flight to New York there were a few irritating passengers, obviously in a holiday spirit (or is that too many spirits?) who were belting out 'New York, New York' and 'New York State of Mind'. Come on guys, let the other passengers get some sleep (or at least have some originality)! But on our way back home I was discreetly humming to myself 'Bye Bye Miss American Pie' (Madonna's version of course).

America is a colossal country, and each state is a country in each own right with its own culture, and New York City is just a small fraction of New York State but is a good taster of what else is in store for the rest of this amazing country. We're intrigued and we're looking forward to exploring it even more in the future. We'll be back soon for sure.

We found New Yorkers generally very friendly but we've been told that the people in the West Coast are even friendlier, is that true? ;)

Mark :-)

Read More

A Post Card from NYBG

Our last day in New York and we are sat in the grounds of The New York Botanic Gardens. How great is it to have wifi sat in a garden!

These are just be a quick unedited snapshot of the garden and a full post will be shared with you all on our return.

See you all soon - off to the airport shortly :)

Mark and Gaz

Read More

The New York High Line

Running for about a mile on the eastern Side of Manhattan on a former elevated railway line is one of New York’s newest Parks. The High Line is a fantastic example of urban renewal as the former railway tracks make way for trees, grasses and pathways.

The elevated railway had opened to trains in 1934, but by the late 1970s the line was underused with the last train running in 1980 - pulling a cargo of frozen turkeys! During the 80’s various business owners lobbied for the tracks to be demolished. Abandoned for years but thankfully not demolished, the tracks became home to tough grasses, and trees, by 2004 the city of New York recognised the potential in the High Line and $50million was earmarked for its redevelopment into a public space. 

Read More

View from The Rock

We are staying only a short walk from The Rockefeller Centre, so decided to take in the views. Whilst the most famous of the skyscrapers is The Empire State, you dont get to appreciate  it unless you can see it. The view from the Top of The Rock gives you a fantastic view out across central Park - more on that in another post later in the week, and also across New York to the Empire State and other famous Landmarks.

The Empire State Building in the centre of the picture.

Central Park

We were surprised to see a number of Butia Capitata palms planted in the Channel Gardens outside the building, presumably they are potted and lifted for winter as I cant imagine them looking this good for long with the New York winter!

With the heat of NY and presumably ample watering the exotics look fantastic, the magnificent setting helps too!

We will share other short "postcard" posts from our trip as the week progresses.

Gaz

Read More

Brunch at Bryant Park

We finally made it across the pond and after a long flight and an hour’s yellow cab ride to 42^nd Street we checked in, dropped our bags, freshened up and decided we needed some…brunch!

The weather is looking so fine here in New York City and what better way to start our stay here than a spot of alfresco eating in a park near to where we’re staying. So past the Chrysler Building and buying some sandwiches and pastries at Grand Central Terminal we settled down just a few minutes after in a perfect spot at Bryant Park, a charming little green oasis nestled in amongst the towering skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan.

We are looking forward to a fabulous week ahead!

Mark and Gaz  :)

Read More