botanic garden » botanic garden

Zilker’s Botanical Gardens: Austin’s Eden

admin — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 17:09:31 +0000

It would be ideal if we all had green thumbs, if we could each turn a seed into a brightly blooming bud that would return year after year to add fragrant beauty to our yards and windowsills. But we don’t. Most of us can barely keep a pot of mums alive. Fortunately, the few individuals blessed with a true skill at gardening are willing to share the aesthetic scenes they create. In Austin, those people have done so through Zilker Botanical Gardens, a 31-acre area of variable and beautiful topography.

Zilker Botanical Gardens is actually a complex comprised of many different gardens. At the garden center are the garden offices with the gift shop and restrooms. Educational displays inform visitors of the flowers and plant life they have or will be viewing throughout the remainder of Zilker. These displays are in the Green Room, which was created and donated by Tony Novak. A beautiful stained glass window pictures numerous bromeliads, and a bust of Isamu Taniguchi adds to the aesthetics. From the center, you can see the Violet Crown Fountain, awash in natural beauty, birds and of course flowers. But the most important thing obtained at the garden center is a map that allows you guides you through the rest of the Gardens.

One of those gardens is Austin’s Green Garden. To inspire the residents of Austin, it is filled with landscape that positively rather than negatively impacts the environment. Native and adaptive plants are presented in arrays designed by nine different landscapers, in a way that allows homeowners to learn which plants go well together and what will work in their own yards. This creates both an eye catching and practical garden for any Austenite to see.

The Cactus and Succulent Garden pictures are what many Yankees think of when they imagine the Southwest: a desert, but a desert bathed in glory. Dedicated in 1989, this beautiful arrangement is best viewed between April and May. It is certainly a delight for the eyes and spirit.

For those interested in a more historic arrangement of plant life, the Hartman Prehistoric Garden gives guests a glimpse into the past – the prehistoric past, when dinosaurs rather than humans roamed the earth, and wildlife was free to grow wild. Tracks and bones discovered in 1992 in the area are housed in this 2-acre plot, for an even more realistic look at history.

Perhaps the luckiest part of Zilker Botanical Gardens is the Herb Garden. Shaped like a four-leaf clover, the garden involves raised beds and a number of fragrant, delicious herbs. At the center of the clover is Rosemary, goddess of herbs casting a blessing on all that grows within her reach.

Nearby, the Isamu Taniguchi Japanese Garden, built by Taniguchi himself, give visitors a taste of Japan with a decidedly Austin twang. The ponds in the first part of this section spell out the word Austin, proving that the garden was in fact a gift to the city. The Mother Tree and “Bridge to Walk over the Moon” also fill this space, creating a garden that is both delightfully exotic and simply beautiful.

Other gardens include the Mabel Davis Rose Garden, the Doug Blachly Butterfly Trail and Garden and the Pioneer Village. Each has its own theme and twist, but one thing is always certain – all are uniquely beautiful and not to missed by any visitor or resident of Austin.

Off the Record: a New York City Gardening Primer

admin — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 06:00:10 +0000

ONE

The Union Square Farmers market in New York City is a perfect source for inexpensive and hearty regionally grown plants, herbs, and flowers. Get there first thing in the morning and you’ll quickly discover there’s too- much -to -choose- from. Stroll among the market stalls and weave between the Blew Family’s jumbo packets of rosemary , and the Migliorelli Farms sugar snap peas. Bring along your kitchen scraps and drop it off at the Lower East Side Ecology Center’s stand, and while you’re at it pick up a bag of ‘black gold’ (worm casting compost) for only 50 cents a pound. Then decide on home baked garlic & duck fat Ciabatta along with a too- beautiful- to -pass -up bouquet of freshly cut snapdragons. Bordered by 17th Street, Union Square West, 14th Street and Union Square East Directions: 4, 5, 6; N, R; L at Union Sq

TWO

CREST a neighborhood HARDWARE store in Williamsburg Brooklyn on Metropolitan & Union Ave. is unique in a sea of big-box chain stores. As soon as you walk in you hear TOP TEN AM-radio playing and, ’Mike’ whose been there for over two decades, sings out ‘hello sweetheart!’ Everyone is dubbed sweetheart, even ‘Finley’ the African grey parrot whose been in residence for 5 years. Isles 4, 5 and 6 are a gardeners eden– laden with plant food, organic seeds & soil, hanging baskets, rain wands, marble chips, pea gravel, green hoses, and watering cans. The prices are friendly too! 558 Metropolitan Ave Directions: L train to Lorimer

THREE

No wonder Martha Stewart came out of prison smelling like a rose. She’s transported her Everyday brand of gardeners provisions for K-mart with an A–Z line of really cute edible and annual seed packets. And just ripe for the urban gardener she’s individually wrapped a mini-series of tomato and strawberry patch green houses. K-mart 8973 Bay Pkwy, Brooklyn NY 11214 770 Broadway, New York NY 10003 Phone: 212-673-1540 250 W 34th St Fl CONC14, New York NY 10119

FOUR

Wrapped around the back of the 10,000 square-foot of Chelsea Garden Center on 38th and 10th AVE. are wooden barrels, black clay urns, Italian & Hungarian terra-cotta containers, stunningly hued Vietnamese glazed pots, and natural cedar crates in every imaginable size. In one way or another, everyone is a certified horticulturalist, largely through the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens education program. Just ask any idiosyncratic garden question and the easy going staff has a solution. 499 10th Ave, New York, 10018 – (212) 727-7100

FIVE

If you can’t grow it, go in its place. Cherry Blossoms in May, Roses in June. All year long the Brooklyn Botanical Garden provides a vibrant-green lovers escape. BBG is 52 acres of urban horticulture and botanical resource. Apply on line and help out in the gardens extensive volunteer and education program. Or become a member and enjoy the plus side of members only summer picnics, tour & class discounts, and pre-view seasonal plant sales. 1000 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11225 · 718-623-7200 Directions: The B or Q train to Prospect Park station. (The B train does not run on weekends.) The 2 or 3 train to Eastern Parkway

SIX

Snatching up abandoned and derelict city lots, planting flowers & vegetables, creating green-space and invigorating a neighborhood is essentially illegal. That said it’s been happening since 1973 in all 5 boroughs with unshakable influence by the Green Guerillas of NYC . Visit them online and find a community garden in your neighborhood and while you’re at it stop by the 18 gardens on the annual ‘Green With Envy Tour’ spread out over two Saturdays in late June. — www.greenguerillas.org

BONUS

Gardening is like any great adventure and a pocket sized guide or a list of rules is always handy.

1. Spend your money on good soil and the soil will feed the plant.

2. For beauty’s sake recycle stone, wood, iron, terracotta and other natural materials in your garden.

3. THINK COLOR. Experiment with monochromatic arrangements, color themes, and contrasting one-color, two-color and three color toned gardens.

4. Grow something that will attract butterflies–you’ll never regret it.

a. Bee balm

b. Cosmos

c. Marigold

d. Sunflower

e. Zinnia

5. Keep a gardening journal. (once winter rolls around you’ll be grateful)

6. Break the rules once.

New York Botanical Gardens: The Perfect Place To Laze Away A Day

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:43:19 +0000

There isn’t a finer spot in New York City to spend a relaxing day then among the fragrant flowers of the New York Botanical Garden. Housing one of the most extensive collections in the world, this gem also contains some of the world’s leading plant laboratories. Combined with a trip to the nearby Bronx Zoo, the New York Botanical Gardens are a great day trip off the island of Manhattan. The Gardens also represent an economical alternative to some of the pricier tourist sites in New York, with an admission fee of only six dollars. Public transportation is easy, as both MetroNorth and the New York City subway system service the Gardens.

Founded in 1891 with money generated in a campaign by Columbia University Botanist Nathaniel Lloyd Britton, the Botanical Gardens are located on the grounds of the former Belmont Estate, once owned by a tobacco magnate. The Gardens were declared a National Historic Monument in 1967.

A visitor could spend weeks ambling through the collection of the Botanical Gardens. Highlights include a full Japanese rock garden, a perfect place to relax with a book. The trees contained in this part of the Gardens include exquisite examples of the Japanese art of bonsai cultivation. Perhaps the most important part of the Gardens, at least from a historical standpoint, is the fifty-acre section of woodlands located in the center. These trees are the last remnants of the original woodlands that covered New York City before European colonization. This section utilizes the natural topography of the site to incorporate the Bronx River along with various ridges and hills.

Throughout the year, the Gardens are home to various festivals and shows, with subjects as varied as antique train exhibitions to the plants of Africa. The Gardens also often host art shows. Viewing art in these unique setting is an experience not to be missed.

For younger children, the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden is a place to frolic and play among mazes and larger-than life flowers. For kids aged 2 to 12, this great section of the Gardens is an educational way to enjoy the grounds while parents take in the other exhibits.

It’s not widely known that the Gardens serve a dual purpose. While providing an urban forest oasis to residents and tourists, the Gardens are also the home to several research institutions. They house a 50,000-volume library of books on botany, one of the world’s largest collections. The newest of these institutions is the Pfizer Plant Research Laboratory, built with funding from a variety of sponsors, including the pharmaceutical company from which it takes its name. Its primary focus is on genetic research.

Make a trip to the Botanical Gardens part of your stay in New York City. It’s one of the best ways to learn something while at the same time having a fun experience. After all, there’s something to be said for enjoying your own little slice of nature right in the middle of one of the largest metropolises on the planet.