South Eastern Connecticut Landscaping

I have this sneaking suspicion that the spaces under “Saturday” and “Sunday” are sitting blank in your planner right now. If you’re not dashing onto a plane to escape the return of chilly weather to New York, I’m going to make a solid suggestion: get your camera. You probably have one sitting on the shelf somewhere, pitifully neglected, waiting for the day you make the commitment to get out and start learning the craft.

If you haven’t etched your plans in stone, put a few bucks on your MetroCard and head to the Bronx with your Nikons, your Canons, your Fujis or whatever else you can come up with. We’re actually going to reward you for participating in our Caribbean Garden photography contest, not just with the chance to come back for a course or workshop of your choosing with our NYBG educators, but for tips and tricks provided by professional garden photographers this Sunday afternoon. You can’t keep making excuses! Because who knows? Wait too long and the steamroller of technological innovation just might make your camera format obsolete.

Okay, that last bit is a patent exaggeration, but we get such a kick out of judging submissions for our weekly Caribbean Garden photo contests that I’m willing to go to any length to get more submissions. The bigger the field of contestants, the better the experience when sorting through all that creativity (my selfish motivations are showing). Take a look at this past week’s winning photos to get an idea of what I’m talking about.

Whether or not the click and whirr of the camera is your niche, there’s something going on this weekend to get you out of the house:

Saturday, February 4

Bird Walk — 11 a.m.
Meets at the Reflecting Pool in the Leon Levy Visitor Center

I was out and about on Wednesday and happened to catch Rose and Vince–two of our veteran Red-tailed hawks–circling overhead near the Library Building. Join Debbie Becker this Saturday and you’ll probably have similar luck–they’re not exactly hermits. Bring your camera or your binoculars and along the way you might spot diurnal owls on the hunt, songbirds, and a number of other native avian guests.

Conservatory Tour — 12:30 p.m.
Meets at the Conservatory entrance

Explore the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, an acre of plants under glass, with one of the Garden’s docents. Take an eco-tour around the world through 11 distinct habitats, including two types of rain forest, deserts of the Americas and of Africa, and aquatic and carnivorous plant displays. Admission included with an All-Garden Pass.

Salsa: Listen and Learn — 2 p.m.
Meet at the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory’s Green School

When it’s cold outside, you always feel better on the move than you do standing still. Not that this is an issue to consider for the weekend. Throughout the run of our Caribbean Garden exhibition we’re offering the chance to work out the winter in our salsa classes, learning the history, tradition, and steps of Cuba’s favorite dance style in the warmth of the Conservatory.

Sunday, February 5

Conservatory Tour — 12:30 p.m.
Meets at the Conservatory entrance

Explore the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, an acre of plants under glass, with one of the Garden’s docents. Take an eco-tour around the world through 11 distinct habitats, including two types of rain forest, deserts of the Americas and of Africa, and aquatic and carnivorous plant displays. Admission included with an All-Garden Pass.

Photography Tips and Tricks — 1 to 3 p.m.
Meets at the Conservatory entrance

Professional garden photographers Rich Pomerantz and Alan Detrick return for another series of photography mini-workshops. Boost your skill while you take part in our Caribbean Garden photo contest through tips, tricks, critiques and more–these guys aren’t shy about sharing their wisdom with burgeoning photo artists.

Ongoing Children’s Programs

Tropical Discoveries and Wintertime Wonders — Daily, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Meet at the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden

Don’t leave the Garden without a souvenir for your little ones. The kids can stop by the Adventure Garden and take part in the exploration of New York’s native plants, then get into gardening for themselves by potting up tropical plants of their own to take home.

Adventures in Adaptations Scavenger Hunt
Self-guided

For a kid, there’s always the imagination to fall back on, but sometimes a tangible challenge is what really does the trick. To that end, the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory transforms into an adventurous jungle with questions and answers around every bend. Pick up a field notebook at the ticket booth on your way into the NYBG and set the kids on a scavenger hunt to not only figure out what plants Dr. Ed Apshon is talking about, but to find out where in the world he’s headed next.

Don’t forget your tickets! The Caribbean Garden is an event for everyone, but you’ll need a Conservatory pass to get in.

Tags: Adventures in Adaptation, Caribbean Garden, Photography Contest, weekend

This entry was posted
on Friday, February 3rd, 2012 at 2:00 pm and is filed under Around the Garden, Exhibitions, Photography.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Article source: http://www.nybg.org/plant-talk/2012/02/exhibit-news/clicks-and-whirrs-in-the-conservatory-this-weekend/

Related Posts:

• Clicks and Whirrs in the Conservatory this Weekend
• From the Field: Bill Buck in Cape Horn, Day 4
• From the Field: Bill Buck in Cape Horn, Day 4

I have this sneaking suspicion that the spaces under “Saturday” and “Sunday” are sitting blank in your planner right now. If you’re not dashing onto a plane to escape the return of chilly weather to New York, I’m going to make a solid suggestion: get your camera. You probably have one sitting on the shelf somewhere, pitifully neglected, waiting for the day you make the commitment to get out and start learning the craft.

If you haven’t etched your plans in stone, put a few bucks on your MetroCard and head to the Bronx with your Nikons, your Canons, your Fujis or whatever else you can come up with. We’re actually going to reward you for participating in our Caribbean Garden photography contest, not just with the chance to come back for a course or workshop of your choosing with our NYBG educators, but for tips and tricks provided by professional garden photographers this Sunday afternoon. You can’t keep making excuses! Because who knows? Wait too long and the steamroller of technological innovation just might make your camera format obsolete.

Okay, that last bit is a patent exaggeration, but we get such a kick out of judging submissions for our weekly Caribbean Garden photo contests that I’m willing to go to any length to get more submissions. The bigger the field of contestants, the better the experience when sorting through all that creativity (my selfish motivations are showing). Take a look at this past week’s winning photos to get an idea of what I’m talking about.

Whether or not the click and whirr of the camera is your niche, there’s something going on this weekend to get you out of the house:

Saturday, February 4

Bird Walk — 11 a.m.
Meets at the Reflecting Pool in the Leon Levy Visitor Center

I was out and about on Wednesday and happened to catch Rose and Vince–two of our veteran Red-tailed hawks–circling overhead near the Library Building. Join Debbie Becker this Saturday and you’ll probably have similar luck–they’re not exactly hermits. Bring your camera or your binoculars and along the way you might spot diurnal owls on the hunt, songbirds, and a number of other native avian guests.

Conservatory Tour — 12:30 p.m.
Meets at the Conservatory entrance

Explore the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, an acre of plants under glass, with one of the Garden’s docents. Take an eco-tour around the world through 11 distinct habitats, including two types of rain forest, deserts of the Americas and of Africa, and aquatic and carnivorous plant displays. Admission included with an All-Garden Pass.

Salsa: Listen and Learn — 2 p.m.
Meet at the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory’s Green School

When it’s cold outside, you always feel better on the move than you do standing still. Not that this is an issue to consider for the weekend. Throughout the run of our Caribbean Garden exhibition we’re offering the chance to work out the winter in our salsa classes, learning the history, tradition, and steps of Cuba’s favorite dance style in the warmth of the Conservatory.

Sunday, February 5

Conservatory Tour — 12:30 p.m.
Meets at the Conservatory entrance

Explore the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, an acre of plants under glass, with one of the Garden’s docents. Take an eco-tour around the world through 11 distinct habitats, including two types of rain forest, deserts of the Americas and of Africa, and aquatic and carnivorous plant displays. Admission included with an All-Garden Pass.

Photography Tips and Tricks — 1 to 3 p.m.
Meets at the Conservatory entrance

Professional garden photographers Rich Pomerantz and Alan Detrick return for another series of photography mini-workshops. Boost your skill while you take part in our Caribbean Garden photo contest through tips, tricks, critiques and more–these guys aren’t shy about sharing their wisdom with burgeoning photo artists.

Ongoing Children’s Programs

Tropical Discoveries and Wintertime Wonders — Daily, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Meet at the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden

Don’t leave the Garden without a souvenir for your little ones. The kids can stop by the Adventure Garden and take part in the exploration of New York’s native plants, then get into gardening for themselves by potting up tropical plants of their own to take home.

Adventures in Adaptations Scavenger Hunt
Self-guided

For a kid, there’s always the imagination to fall back on, but sometimes a tangible challenge is what really does the trick. To that end, the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory transforms into an adventurous jungle with questions and answers around every bend. Pick up a field notebook at the ticket booth on your way into the NYBG and set the kids on a scavenger hunt to not only figure out what plants Dr. Ed Apshon is talking about, but to find out where in the world he’s headed next.

Don’t forget your tickets! The Caribbean Garden is an event for everyone, but you’ll need a Conservatory pass to get in.

Tags: Adventures in Adaptation, Caribbean Garden, Photography Contest, weekend

This entry was posted
on Friday, February 3rd, 2012 at 2:00 pm and is filed under Around the Garden, Exhibitions, Photography.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Article source: http://www.nybg.org/plant-talk/2012/02/exhibit-news/clicks-and-whirrs-in-the-conservatory-this-weekend/

Related Posts:

• From the Field: Bill Buck in Cape Horn, Day 4
• From the Field: Bill Buck in Cape Horn, Day 4
• Morning Eye Candy: Adonis

January 20, 2012; Isla Hoste, Estero Fouque, approximately 55º11′S, 69º35′W

After yesterday‘s late night, we were all slow to rise this morning. Which turned out to be okay, because at around 5:30 a.m. the crew decided to move to our next site; the movement of the ship was all the incentive we needed to sleep in.

When the ship stopped we got up for breakfast. Today’s first site is–like yesterday afternoon’s site–on Isla Gordon. From the map this site appears to have a glacier-fed stream that enters the sea near the end of a small sound, and this is indeed what we have found. But what we couldn’t see from the map is that the glacier is over the rise of a tall, steep slope, and after yesterday’s exhaustion, there wasn’t much enthusiasm for such a climb. So most of us chose to collect specimens on a relatively flat Magellanic tundra.

Magellanic tundra

About halfway through the morning I reached a point where I could see a large cliff face only about a 10-15 minute walk away. So, instead of heading for a forest I had been eying, I struck out for the cliff. As soon as I arrived, I knew I had made the right decision; I immediately started finding interesting mosses. The cliff face was mostly wet, but in certain places, over-hanging rocks created little dry areas, and these dry areas were host to a whole different suite of mosses.

The next thing I came across was a bit of a surprise: A medium-sized tree that had recently been gnawed down by a beaver. Beavers are an introduced, invasive species that are causing extensive damage in the region because they have no local natural enemies.

Back on the Don José Pelegrín

Mink–similarly released after having been initially imported by the fur industry–are also causing havoc with local bird populations by feasting upon their eggs. Both species are spreading at an alarming rate, and, unfortunately because the climate here is so different from the animals’ native ranges, the fur is less desirable–and thus the industry abandoned.

Lunch was a bit late today, but because of that I was able to get the morning’s collections numbered before heading out to the afternoon’s site. I am trying to get back into a routine of numbering my collections immediately upon returning from the field.

This afternoon’s site was once again chosen from a map rather than from personal experience. The map showed a river draining a series of three lakes. I slowly trudged up the hill and when I reached the summit I could see a small lake below me. Even though a number of our group were ahead of me, I could see no one. I worked down to the lake and saw a dripping cliff face that drew me to it. I spent a good hour and a half collecting along the cliff and found many interesting species.

Isla Gordon, looking down

However, I was puzzled that the map showed three lakes, but I could only see one. So, I climbed another hill to survey the area. From there I could see the drainage of my lake down to the sea, but no other lakes. It turns out that to have seen the other two, larger lakes, I would have needed to climb the rise on the other side of my lake. Oh well! My new found aerie was useful though, because I noticed that far in the distance I could just see the pile of bright orange life jackets we had left on the shore. This made me realize that they were a very long way away, and so I started heading towards them right away, working down the outlet stream from the lake. My progress was slowed by the numerous bryophytic sirens that called me down to the stream. However, I was still the first one back at the meeting point.

Picking up Ernesto and Juan

Once we were all back on board, our captain turned the ship toward tomorrow’s collecting site, Estero Fouque. This long, narrow sound has numerous glaciers along it. Tomorrow we should be collecting immediately adjacent to these glaciers. I doubt anyone will sleep in tomorrow morning!

Bill Buck’s Previous Reports From the Field:

2012

January 19, 2012; Chile, unnamed sound on north-central coast of Isla Hoste, approximately 55º00′S, 69º12′W

January 18, 2012; Canal O’Brien, just south of Isla O’Brien, 54º55′S, 70º35′W

January 17, 2012; Punta Arenas, Chile

2011

July 15, 2011; Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

July 14, 2011; Pyengana, Tasmania, Australia

July 13, 2011; Weldborough, Tasmania, Australia

July 12, 2011; Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

July 11, 2011; Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

February 8, 2011; Punta Arenas, Chile

February 5, 2011, unnamed sound northwest of Isla Georgiana

February 4, 2011, unnamed sound directly east of Seno Mama, Chile

February 2, 2011, Seno Courtenay, northern arm, Chile

February 1, 2011, Seno Courtenay, Chile

January 31, 2011, Canal between Isla Georgiana and Isla Clementina,, Chile

January 30, 2011, Unnamed sound on south side of Brecknock Peninsula, NW of Isla Georgiana, Chile

January 29, 2011, Isla Aguirre, Seno Quo Vadis, Chile

January 26, 2011, Punta Arenas, Chile

January 24, 2011, Seno Chasco, just north of isthmus to Brecknock Peninsula, Chile

January 23, 2011, Isla Grande de la Tierra del Fuego, Puerto Consuelo, Seno Chasco, Chile

January 22, 2011, Isla Grande de la Tierra del Fuego, Seno Brujo, Chile

January 21, 2011, Isla Grande de la Tierra del Fuego, Seno Brujo, Chile

January 20, 2011, Isla Grande de la Tierra del Fuego, Seno Bluff, Chile

January 18, 2011, Punta Arenas, Chile

January 16, 2011, Punta Arenas, Chile

Tags: Bill Buck, Bill Buck Cape Horn 2012, Bryophytes, Lichens, Mosses, Science, Science Expeditions, The New York Botanical Garden, Vascular Plants

This entry was posted
on Friday, February 3rd, 2012 at 3:03 pm and is filed under Around the Garden.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Article source: http://www.nybg.org/plant-talk/2012/02/around-the-garden/from-the-field-bill-buck-in-cape-horn-day-4/

Related Posts:

• From the Field: Bill Buck in Cape Horn, Day 4
• Morning Eye Candy: Adonis
• Clicks and Whirrs in the Conservatory this Weekend

January 20, 2012; Isla Hoste, Estero Fouque, approximately 55º11′S, 69º35′W

After yesterday‘s late night, we were all slow to rise this morning. Which turned out to be okay, because at around 5:30 a.m. the crew decided to move to our next site; the movement of the ship was all the incentive we needed to sleep in.

When the ship stopped we got up for breakfast. Today’s first site is–like yesterday afternoon’s site–on Isla Gordon. From the map this site appears to have a glacier-fed stream that enters the sea near the end of a small sound, and this is indeed what we have found. But what we couldn’t see from the map is that the glacier is over the rise of a tall, steep slope, and after yesterday’s exhaustion, there wasn’t much enthusiasm for such a climb. So most of us chose to collect specimens on a relatively flat Magellanic tundra.

Magellanic tundra

About halfway through the morning I reached a point where I could see a large cliff face only about a 10-15 minute walk away. So, instead of heading for a forest I had been eying, I struck out for the cliff. As soon as I arrived, I knew I had made the right decision; I immediately started finding interesting mosses. The cliff face was mostly wet, but in certain places, over-hanging rocks created little dry areas, and these dry areas were host to a whole different suite of mosses.

The next thing I came across was a bit of a surprise: A medium-sized tree that had recently been gnawed down by a beaver. Beavers are an introduced, invasive species that are causing extensive damage in the region because they have no local natural enemies.

Back on the Don José Pelegrín

Mink–similarly released after having been initially imported by the fur industry–are also causing havoc with local bird populations by feasting upon their eggs. Both species are spreading at an alarming rate, and, unfortunately because the climate here is so different from the animals’ native ranges, the fur is less desirable–and thus the industry abandoned.

Lunch was a bit late today, but because of that I was able to get the morning’s collections numbered before heading out to the afternoon’s site. I am trying to get back into a routine of numbering my collections immediately upon returning from the field.

This afternoon’s site was once again chosen from a map rather than from personal experience. The map showed a river draining a series of three lakes. I slowly trudged up the hill and when I reached the summit I could see a small lake below me. Even though a number of our group were ahead of me, I could see no one. I worked down to the lake and saw a dripping cliff face that drew me to it. I spent a good hour and a half collecting along the cliff and found many interesting species.

Isla Gordon, looking down

However, I was puzzled that the map showed three lakes, but I could only see one. So, I climbed another hill to survey the area. From there I could see the drainage of my lake down to the sea, but no other lakes. It turns out that to have seen the other two, larger lakes, I would have needed to climb the rise on the other side of my lake. Oh well! My new found aerie was useful though, because I noticed that far in the distance I could just see the pile of bright orange life jackets we had left on the shore. This made me realize that they were a very long way away, and so I started heading towards them right away, working down the outlet stream from the lake. My progress was slowed by the numerous bryophytic sirens that called me down to the stream. However, I was still the first one back at the meeting point.

Picking up Ernesto and Juan

Once we were all back on board, our captain turned the ship toward tomorrow’s collecting site, Estero Fouque. This long, narrow sound has numerous glaciers along it. Tomorrow we should be collecting immediately adjacent to these glaciers. I doubt anyone will sleep in tomorrow morning!

Bill Buck’s Previous Reports From the Field:

2012

January 19, 2012; Chile, unnamed sound on north-central coast of Isla Hoste, approximately 55º00′S, 69º12′W

January 18, 2012; Canal O’Brien, just south of Isla O’Brien, 54º55′S, 70º35′W

January 17, 2012; Punta Arenas, Chile

2011

July 15, 2011; Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

July 14, 2011; Pyengana, Tasmania, Australia

July 13, 2011; Weldborough, Tasmania, Australia

July 12, 2011; Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

July 11, 2011; Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

February 8, 2011; Punta Arenas, Chile

February 5, 2011, unnamed sound northwest of Isla Georgiana

February 4, 2011, unnamed sound directly east of Seno Mama, Chile

February 2, 2011, Seno Courtenay, northern arm, Chile

February 1, 2011, Seno Courtenay, Chile

January 31, 2011, Canal between Isla Georgiana and Isla Clementina,, Chile

January 30, 2011, Unnamed sound on south side of Brecknock Peninsula, NW of Isla Georgiana, Chile

January 29, 2011, Isla Aguirre, Seno Quo Vadis, Chile

January 26, 2011, Punta Arenas, Chile

January 24, 2011, Seno Chasco, just north of isthmus to Brecknock Peninsula, Chile

January 23, 2011, Isla Grande de la Tierra del Fuego, Puerto Consuelo, Seno Chasco, Chile

January 22, 2011, Isla Grande de la Tierra del Fuego, Seno Brujo, Chile

January 21, 2011, Isla Grande de la Tierra del Fuego, Seno Brujo, Chile

January 20, 2011, Isla Grande de la Tierra del Fuego, Seno Bluff, Chile

January 18, 2011, Punta Arenas, Chile

January 16, 2011, Punta Arenas, Chile

Tags: Bill Buck, Bill Buck Cape Horn 2012, Bryophytes, Lichens, Mosses, Science, Science Expeditions, The New York Botanical Garden, Vascular Plants

This entry was posted
on Friday, February 3rd, 2012 at 3:03 pm and is filed under Around the Garden.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Article source: http://www.nybg.org/plant-talk/2012/02/around-the-garden/from-the-field-bill-buck-in-cape-horn-day-4/

Related Posts:

• From the Field: Bill Buck in Cape Horn, Day 4
• Morning Eye Candy: Adonis
• Morning Eye Candy: Adonis

I meandered over to the Ladies’ Border during Wednesday’s weather (an April afternoon straight out of the bizarro dimension) to get a picture of these small but potent blooms. There was a squadron of honey bees taking advantage of the inflorescence while I was there. Hawks called overhead. It was all very picturesque. But airborne raptors and a fairytale setting do not a photo make. Ivo’s skill with a lens does the Amur Adonis proper justice.

Adonis amurensis — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Tags: Adonis Amurensis, Amur Adonis, Ladies’ Border, Morning Eye Candy

This entry was posted
on Saturday, February 4th, 2012 at 6:00 am and is filed under Around the Garden, Photography.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Article source: http://www.nybg.org/plant-talk/2012/02/photography/morning-eye-candy-adonis/

Related Posts:

• Morning Eye Candy: Small Wonder
• Morning Eye Candy: Three Stooges
• From the Field: Bill Buck in Cape Horn, Day 4

I meandered over to the Ladies’ Border during Wednesday’s weather (an April afternoon straight out of the bizarro dimension) to get a picture of these small but potent blooms. There was a squadron of honey bees taking advantage of the inflorescence while I was there. Hawks called overhead. It was all very picturesque. But airborne raptors and a fairytale setting do not a photo make. Ivo’s skill with a lens does the Amur Adonis proper justice.

Adonis amurensis — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Tags: Adonis Amurensis, Amur Adonis, Ladies’ Border, Morning Eye Candy

This entry was posted
on Saturday, February 4th, 2012 at 6:00 am and is filed under Around the Garden, Photography.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Article source: http://www.nybg.org/plant-talk/2012/02/photography/morning-eye-candy-adonis/

Related Posts:

• Clicks and Whirrs in the Conservatory this Weekend
• From the Field: Bill Buck in Cape Horn, Day 4
• Morning Eye Candy: Adonis

This year’s Caribbean Garden promises to be even more photogenic than the last! The picturesque fronds and flowers of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory‘s permanent collection once again take the spotlight to promote not only the beauty you see, but the beauty you create.

Walk the pathways of the Conservatory on a tour of our verdant living collections. Award-winning photos from the International Garden Photographer of the Year contest–taken in gardens around the world–will be on display alongside plants from around the Caribbean. Enjoy the beautiful photographs and access additional information on the photographers, their inspiration, and the techniques they used to capture these stunning images by simply scanning a code on each sign with your smartphone. And on Sundays, join one of two accomplished photographers for a brief course on the basics of garden shooting.

Whether you’re green to the art or just looking to brush up on your technique, come for some winter weather relief and don’t forget your camera.

Coming off last year’s successful Caribbean Garden stint as our resident photography expert, Rich Pomerantz returns in 2012 to give demonstrations, offer pointers, and supply helpful photo critiques on Sundays between 1 and 3 p.m. Joining him will be Alan Detrick, a regular face in our Adult Education teaching pool with several photography workshops already under his belt. Between the two of them, their combined portfolios are rather impressive: each has had photos published in numerous gardening magazines, books, and advertisements both here and abroad.

Of course, while skill with a camera is its own reward, we’re sweetening the pot again this year. From opening day on January 21 through March 10 we will once again be hosting the Caribbean Garden Photography Contest! We will be choosing Grand Prize winners in two categories, and the prizes continue the theme of inspiration and learning: gift certificates good toward Adult Education classes at the Garden!

Last year’s contestants worked their way through a challenging field of competition while chasing the prize. Take a look at a few of the winners from 2011:

Photogirl510

Weekly winners will be chosen by a panel of NYBG experts from the photographs receiving the most praise from their fellow photographers in our Flickr group pool. Be sure to check out our dedicated contest page for all the details on how to get started.

So come to Caribbean Garden and help us celebrate our newly-forged partnership with the International Garden Photographer of the Year competition, enjoy the warmth of the Conservatory, and glean inspiration from these beautiful photographs.

The New York Botanical Garden is the U.S. partner in this globally recognized contest of photographic excellence, and we are absolutely ecstatic to be partnered with IGPOTY in spreading the joy of garden photography. We are hoping that you will use the Caribbean Garden Photography Contest as a way  to brush up on your skills for the 2012 contest–for which IGPOTY will begin accepting submissions in mid-2012. Winners of each year’s IGPOTY competition earn worldwide recognition for their work and skill, and take home thousands of dollars in prize money as well. Think of our humble winter challenge as a springboard toward more worldly ambitions–a win in IGPOTY might just fund that mind-bendingly expensive telephoto lens you’ve been drooling over.

Do you think you have it in you to try your hand at our contest? We hope so! The more people snapping away, the more exciting the challenge. But even if you don’t feel like putting yourself in the spotlight, I still recommend coming for our Sunday afternoon mini-workshops. I’m a big proponent of “skill collecting”–as I like to call it–and that camera you got for your birthday could use a little attention. Who knows? Every now and then, moments like these turn into lifelong passions.

Purchase your Conservatory ticket online to make things easier. Photography workshops will be open to all Caribbean Garden visitors Sunday afternoons between 1 and 3 p.m. Come back to Plant Talk in coming weeks to see the participants–and winners–of our photography contest.

Tags: Alan Detrick, Caribbean Garden, IGPOTY, NYBG, Rich Pomerantz

This entry was posted
on Friday, January 20th, 2012 at 11:00 am and is filed under Adult Education, Exhibitions, Photography.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Article source: http://www.nybg.org/plant-talk/2012/01/exhibit-news/grab-your-camera-caribbean-garden-photography-returns/

Related Posts:

• Snow-Day Salsa
• Morning Eye Candy: Three Stooges
• Morning Eye Candy: Adonis

Rumor has it we’ll be seeing some snow in New York tonight! Does that mean winter’s finally making its frigid entrance stage right? Or maybe it’s just nature’s subtle way of nudging you to get off the couch and pay us a visit for the balmy opening of the Caribbean Garden. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that–yes–the season is giving you a signal. What could it hurt?

Snowflakes or no-flakes, the NYBG will be buzzing with tours, bird walks, and all the swinging, high-heeled dance numbers of the islands. I’m talking salsa. Salsa and warmth. When’s the last time you got to enjoy that kind of two-in-one in the middle of January? And even if the winter was mild until now, it’s a breezy icebox outside today; I’m convinced the threat of frostbite is reason enough to hang out in the jungle habitats of the steamy Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.

Here’s what’s going on this weekend at the Garden!

Saturday, January 21

Bird Walk — 11 a.m.
Meet at the Leon Levy Visitor Center Reflecting Pool.
It’s raptor season here at the NYBG. Our local Red-tailed hawks have been especially vain this month, posing for local photographers and generally hamming it up at every opportunity. Jr. in particular is making daily appearances–he’s part of 2010′s brood from local celebrity duo Rose and Vince. Join veteran birdwatcher Debbie Becker for a walk through acres of Garden beauty and you might just catch a glimpse of these hunters on the wing. (Debbie has a great track record with this kind of thing.)

Garden Highlights Tour with American Sign Language Interpreter — 12:30 p.m.
Meet at the Conservatory entrance.
Our popular tours are the quickest way to get acquainted with the Garden’s living collections. Join an expert docent for a detailed tour of the permanent exhibitions across our 250-acre grounds. This week’s offering also brings with it an interpreter for those visitors needing assistance.

Salsa: Listen and Learn — 2 p.m.
Meet at the Conservatory Green School.
Educator Jose Obando will be here to teach you a thing or two about the history, culture, and rhythm of salsa music. With classic memorabilia and traditional instruments to help tell the story, Jose will end the get-together by teaching you a few salsa moves of your own. You know the best way to stay warm is to get your feet moving.

Sunday, January 22

Conservatory Tour — 12:30 and 2:30 p.m.
Meet at the Conservatory entrance.
A more specific version of our Garden Highlights tour, a docent will guide you through our Conservatory to view the permanent collections that make our glasshouse the botanical destination of the northeast. Carnivorous plants, steamy rain forests, deserts and more will enlighten and inspire.

Photography Tips and Tricks
Meet in the Conservatory Palms of the Americas Gallery.
Shutterbugs rejoice! Rich Pomerantz returns along with Alan Detrick for a casual photography workshop open to all Caribbean Garden visitors. Bring your camera for tips, encouragement, and critique from these accomplished and undeniably talented garden photographers. Then use your new techniques to take part in our photography contest running into March.

Ongoing Children’s Activities

Tropical Discoveries and Wintertime Wonders — Daily, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Meet at the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden.
The kids will begin with a scavenger hunt under the glass of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, seeking out tropical plants before winding their way to the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden for more native plant exploration. When they’re done, they can pot up a plant of their very own to raise at home.

Don’t forget your tickets! The Caribbean Garden is an event for everyone, but you’ll need a Conservatory pass to get in.

Tags: bird walk, Caribbean Garden, NYBG, tours, weekend

This entry was posted
on Friday, January 20th, 2012 at 4:02 pm and is filed under Around the Garden.
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Article source: http://www.nybg.org/plant-talk/2012/01/around-the-garden/snow-day-salsa/

Related Posts:

• Grab Your Camera! Caribbean Garden Photography Returns
• A Winter Oasis is On Its Way!
• The Conservatory Rain Forest: Chocolate Lovers’ Lane

One glance, two–how many will it take you to spot the shy photobomber in this frills-attached photo? Try enlarging it and squinting a bit. You could be at this a while otherwise.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Tags: Morning Eye Candy

This entry was posted
on Saturday, January 21st, 2012 at 6:00 am and is filed under Around the Garden, Photography.
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Article source: http://www.nybg.org/plant-talk/2012/01/photography/morning-eye-candy-small-wonder/

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The mid-winter break is coming up on the calendar for local school kids, leaving us just a bit excited here at The New York Botanical Garden. Not that we’re taking any vacations for ourselves, mind you. For the first time, we’re throwing open our gates as one of the world’s premier centers for botanical science, welcoming curious young minds as we turn the Garden into a 250-acre classroom, laboratory, and learning playground.

Winter Science Camp offers children a “behind the scenes” learning experience under the guidance of the NYBG’s world-renowned plant educators. Kids will investigate plants in the Herbarium unseen by the public, enjoy early-morning exploration in the Forest, and experience a curriculum you just won’t find in the local elementary school schedule. Where else can they try their hand at planting vegetables, or pressing their own botanical specimens?

George Washington Carver firmly believed in “learning by doing,” and it’s in honor of this influential scientist and his commitment to education that we inaugurate this week-long experience. He understood what it meant to go beyond the chalkboard in a life championed by creativity, invention, and the pursuit of knowledge:

“The thoughtful educator realizes that a very large part of a child’s education must be gotten outside of the four walls designated as a classroom.”

With as wonderful a natural canvas as we have here in the Bronx, we think it’s only right to make use of our offerings through teaching, opening up our state-of-the-art facilities and continuously evolving collections to young people with the motivation to look, see, touch, and experience. Getting the kids out of the house this mid-winter break is important–keep their minds sharp by sending them into the field!

Winter Science Camp for 8- to 10-year-olds runs between February 20 and 24. Cost: $225 for non-members, $200 for members. Call 718-817-8181 to register or email our Registration Office. Space is limited, so register early!

Tags: Education, NYBG, Winter Science Camp

This entry was posted
on Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 at 3:52 pm and is filed under Around the Garden, Learning Experiences, Programs and Events.
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Article source: http://www.nybg.org/plant-talk/2012/01/garden-programming/this-winter-break-send-the-kids-into-the-field/

Related Posts:

• A Winter Oasis is On Its Way!
• The Conservatory Rain Forest: Chocolate Lovers’ Lane
• Snow-Day Salsa