April 26, 2006
Alpines
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Rock gardeners are a little out of the mainstream. They slave over finicky alpines that, to the generalist, look from insignificant to downright homely most of the year. It's hard for regular gardeners to see the point--except now when many of the delicate specimens are at peak bloom. At this moment the Alpine House at Wave Hill is full of delicious surprises in wonderful colors. Most of the plants are displayed on raised benches, which makes for easy viewing, in contrast to their natural habitats. The lewisias, named for Captain Meriwether Lewis of Lewis and Clark fame, are in full glory right now. These tiny gems, with colorful umbels springing from basal rosettes, hail from the mountains of the American West. The National Audubon Society Field Guide to Wild Flowers describes their habitat this way, "this plant forms beautiful bouquets on precipitous cliffs, to which it clings by a massive root tightly wedged in a tiny cleft"--so much easier to go to Wave Hill and admire them in safety and comfort!
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Posted by gardenguidenyc at 06:10 PM | Comments (0)
April 21, 2006
Heady Fragrance
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There is one fragrance that says early spring to us, and no, it is not lilacs, which actually will follow in a week or so, depending on the weather: it is the incredibly strong, heady fragrance of the Viburnum x carlcephalum, which right now is blooming in many of our public spaces. Though not a particularly outstanding shrub in terms of its shape, the blossoms can be smelled from ten feet away, There is a lovely stand of them on the west side of the reservoir, underplanted with tiarella cordifolia, another next to the entrance to Riverside Park at 83rd Street, and yet another near the Fifth Avenue & 60th St. entrance to Central Park. The unusual choice of the viburnums for the Park are a reminder that the Conservancy continues to create stunning horticultural displays, not just routine municipal plantings. We promise that, once you have smelled the viburnum, you will be hooked!
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)
April 18, 2006
Crabapples
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Whether zooming up the West Side Highway or taking a leisurely stroll through the Conservatory Garden, you can't help noticing the crabapples blooming all over the city this week. Their abundant, slightly fragrant pink and white flowers are synonymous with the graceful beauty of old-fashioned gardens. New York City happens to have an unusually large collection of mature heritage crabapples, and the Parks Department has taken on the job of cataloging them and keeping them healthy. Simultaneously, Parks has embarked on a campaign to find sources for the old varieties so that they can continue to be planted and enjoyed. A particularly spectacular double allee of sixty trees can be seen framing either side of the central lawn at the Conservatory Garden (yes, as seen on the front cover of the New York Times on Monday, April 17), and another spectacular showing is in Riverside Park in the 90s. But there are more: up and down Broadway, and in front of scores of brownstones. Check out the Parks Department webpage for a document entitled Painting with Crabapples, which will give you the history and varieties of trees all over the city.
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 05:13 PM | Comments (0)
April 12, 2006
City Magnolias
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From the spectacularly grand specimens in front of the Frick Museum (Fifth Avenue and 70th Street) and in the Conservatory Garden in Central Park to the surprising display down the Broadway Malls, the city is truly fortunate in its many wonderful magnolias. In some years, a late spring frost will damage the flowers, but this year the trees are putting on quite a show. The Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia soulangeana), pictured to the left, is probably the most familiar, but the white-blooming Star Magnolia (Magnolia stellata) is equally lovely. And we were pleased to spot a grouping of three yellow-flowering Magnolia Elizabeth in Riverside Park, which was introduced by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in 1978 and is named after Elizabeth Scholz, the legendary former director of the Garden.
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 11:08 AM | Comments (0)