Featured this summer is the Edible Gardens, a celebration of growing and eating. The impetus for this exhibit is to connect people with their food, said Gayle Schmidt, Education Coordinator at the Gardens. Edible Gardens aims to teach people where on the globe their food comes from, what part of the plant they are eating and what season produces what edibles.
Part of the program is teaching people how to cook the local foods they purchase from farmers’ markets throughout New York. Cooking demonstrations are planned for Thursday evenings in July and August, when acclaimed chefs will present locally inspired recipes at the Botanical Garden’s outdoor Conservatory Kitchen. In August, the demonstrations will be followed by classical chamber music next to the water lily pond.
The international aspect of the exhibition is “Tropical Fruits, Root and Shoots” in the sprawling Glass House. Entering the Glass House is like traveling to a warm southern country; inside the Glass House thrive tropical and semi-tropical plants from all corners of the earth. Among the exotic edibles are a cacao tree (chocolate plant), jasmine bush, rice stalks, taro, tomatoes, bananas, coconuts, orchids, hibiscus, agave cacti, tuna fruit, oranges and lotus in the courtyard ponds.
These plants are sustained by the care of dedicated staff; the tropical gardens require diligent attention. Sue Wu, a staff member for over ten years, reports that five employees work full time on weekdays and two on weekends to maintain the vibrant plants. Though the crews keep careful logs, she always checks the plants when she arrives to see which plants need attention.
The staff’s efforts are worthwhile, “It’s really nice…better than I expected,” said Jackie Fisher, a Brooklyn resident, she added that she loves the small details, like the blue water bubbling from a fountain and the bees in the rose garden. Visitor Bill Sara of Queens echoed this sentiment, “There is beauty everywhere,” he said, gazing at a blooming pond lily.
The grounds (excluding special exhibitions) of the New York Botanical Gardens are open year round to visitors at very reasonable rates and are free on Wednesdays. Also offered is an ongoing educational buffet with classes in Botanical Art and Illustration, Botanical Crafts, Botany, Garden Writing, Photography, Floral Design, Horticulture and Horticultural Therapy, Landscape Design, Container Gardening for beginners, as well as a children’s adventure garden and family garden plots. The Botanical Gardens also assists community gardens in the Bronx area as part of a Bronx area green-up plan. For further information visit http://www.nybg.org/.
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