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The NYBG

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Written By Peter Morris

 

For those in the know  - The New York Botanical Gardens - is a truly magical place to get lost in or even find yourself in ! For me after working all week with plants - guess where you will often find me - they also have a bar and a great restaurant !

  

TOP 20 FACTS

 

1. The tallest tree at NYBG is a 155-foot tall Liriodendron tulipifera, located in the Azalea Garden.2. Puffed rice was invented at The New York Botanical Garden by botanist Alexander Pierce Anderson in 1901.3. Garden scientists collaborated with Thomas Edison on the development of rubber tires made from goldenrod in the 1920s and 1930s.4. The Garden has been teaching educators since 1917.5. 17,000 panes of glass cover the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory’s 1-acre site.6. The tulip tree, also known as the “mother tree,” is the most distinctive part of NYBG with two double rows of twenty-four tulip trees standing tall outside of the Library building.

7. Since the inception of the program, NYBG’s Bronx Green-Up has helped establish more than 300 community gardens.

8. The two-and-one-half-acre Rock Garden—one of the largest in the world— displays thousands of colorful alpine flowers and plants form all continents except Antarctica.9. The Rock Garden contains at least one species of plant starting with every letter of the alphabet, from Abelia chinesis to Ziziphora clinopodioides.10. The oldest accessioned plants at NYBG include Japanese winterberry (near the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden), columnar tulip tree (along Magnolia Way), and European beech (near the Oak collection)—all planted in 1895.11. Living collections contain more than one million plants.12. Hummingbirds battle for territory in the salvia-filled Perennial Garden every September.13. 1,200 cubic yards of fallen leaves are picked up each year.14. The Ladies’ Border pays homage to the women pioneers who strategically designed the floral appearances of the Botanical Garden.15. Many of the snowdrops in the Azalea Garden smell like honey.16. NYBG’s 50-acre, old-growth forest is the largest extant tract of the forest that once covered much of NYC.17. The oldest tree at NYBG is a 275-year old red oak (Quercus rubra) located in the Thain Family Forest.18. The Amazon is a major area of plant exploration for the Garden.19. The Bronx River was dammed, in the late 1700’s, to provide waterpower for the Snuff Mill, within the Gardens.20. Sculpted in 1905, the Lillian Goldman Fountain of Life, outside the Library Building, depicts a joyful sea nymph and a pair of heroic seahorses pulling a seashell chariot through the crest of a wave while a startled mermaid and merman hurry out of the way. 

Thank you to The New York Botanical Gardens for all of this amazing information - and thank you for being there for all of us to enjoy !

 

PLANT SPECIALISTS

GREENING NEW YORK FOR OVER 51 YEARS !

  Article written by our Staff Horticulturist, Peter B Morris, BSc, MSc, MBAAll photographs used with permission @SHUTTERSTOCK 

Peter Morris

Peter was born and raised on a beautiful green island in the midst of a tropical rainforest. He was introduced into the world of plants at the age of six when his grandmother, an avid Spanish gardener herself, asked him to help her grow seeds for her pepper garden. He was hooked! By the time he was a teen, he had his own rose and orchid collection numbering in the hundreds. Botany was in his blood, and that is what he set out to study.

His passion brought him to NY in the late seventies to further his education. His tenacity allowed him to work full time at Plant Specialists while he completed a MS in Plant Biology. As a manager at the time he felt unsatisfied with his knowledge of business and business processes. Peter felt compelled to learn, so he then pursued and completed an MBA in Quality Management within a few short years.

Peter’s other passion is teaching. His natural ability is quickly consumed by our staff in all subjects in Botany, Horticulture, and Landscaping. He created an immense reference library of more than 3,500 plants providing an invaluable resource for our staff.

Peter’s breadth of knowledge and wisdom allows him to effectively diagnose the needs of plants. Sometimes just by walking into a garden he can create a prescription that fixes even the hardest issue. He is our Staff Botanist, Diagnostician, and all around Mentor. Recently, he has put his immense knowledge and skills into developing a new department that focuses on Plant Healthcare. As he puts it, “Magic through Science”. The PHC staff that surround him have avidly consumed his teachings. Substantially developing their own plant wisdom, many have taken on difficult plant health issues with spectacular results.

Plant Healthcare has been an instant success with customers! The proper treatment of insects and diseases including Organic methods has made pest control a necessity for every plant. Correcting hormonal imbalances caused by planting in containers or refurbishing soils leached of nutrients by irrigation systems are big challenges PHC has become quite comfortable addressing. The scientific approach to the complex demands of keeping plants healthy in our harsh city environment has made many a customer say WOW!

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