Filed under: Compost, Events, family activities, gardening, Nature, Queens, Rose Garden | Tags: botanical, botanical garden, botanical gardens, compost, composting, environment, family activities, flowers, gardening, New York, plants, public garden, public gardens, Queens, trees
The glorious month of May has arrived and QBG is bustling with blooms and activities!
The Kaltman Fragrance Walk’s lilacs are covered in heavenly scented blooms, while the Rose Garden is full of flower buds just about to open. The Woodland Garden’s trees have all leafed out, and shade-loving wildflowers like Solomon’s seal and bleeding hearts decorate the garden paths. Watch for other floral beauties around QBG like lupines, California poppies and bearded iris.
Enjoy a walk through our bucolic 39 acres and be sure to take part in the great activities planned this month – the Children’s Activity Table on Saturdays and Sundays (sponsored by TD Bank), discounted admission as part of National Public Gardens Day (May 11) and New York State Museums Week (starting May 31), plus a Native Plant Tour for NYC Wildflower Week (May 19).
And don’t miss the last weeks of photographer Audrey Gottlieb’s show “Vignettes from the Queens Project” and the artist’s talk also on the 19th.
Folks from the terrific NYC Compost Project in Queens are also busy – catch them at QBG on May 5 at Mama’s Expo, at QBG for a Composting Workshop in Mandarin (May 5), and on May 6 at the Green for Queens Earth Day Fair at the Central YM&YWHA.
Get all the details on our Events Calendar.
Remember Mother’s Day is May 13 and QBG is the perfect place to bring Mom for a relaxing afternoon. Even better, give her a gift that will last all year – membership to QBG!
P.S. We had a great time at Arbor Fest on April 29 and thank all for visiting! Check out the photos on the Arbor Fest Photo Gallery.
Photos: H. David Stein, Shari Romar
Filed under: Compost, family activities, gardening, MillionTrees NYC, Nature, Queens, Tree care, volunteer | Tags: botanical, botanical garden, botanical gardens, compost, composting, environment, family activities, gardening, gardening tips, MillionTreesNYC, New York, plants, public garden, public gardens, Queens, sustainability, trees
Welcome to spring! City trees are blooming and leafing out in parks and tree beds alike, bringing much-needed bursts of color to our landscape.
Now is a great time to offer your trees a bit of tender loving care. There are several things you can do to help your tree out, especially in this unnaturally dry and warm spring we are experiencing.
Young street trees (those which have lived less than 5 years in a tree bed) are in the most danger of suffering from lack of water. Keeping the soil moist will ensure that tree roots grow downward and establish themselves in the tree beds.
To prepare the soil for watering, remove any remaining mulch which may have collected animal waste and other pollution throughout the winter. Remove any trash as well. Take a cultivator or other small gardening tool and loosen up the soil throughout the bed, being careful to watch for roots that may be just under the soil. Loosening the soil is an essential step to making sure the water stays in the tree bed and doesn’t drain off into the sewer system.
Adding compost to the tree bed will help the soil retain moisture and provide air space for tree roots to grow. Work no more than an inch or two of compost in first 2 inches of soil. Either vermicompost (from and indoor composting bin) or compost from an outdoor bin or garden store are great additions to a tree bed. If mulch is available, add 1-3 inches of mulch over the loosened soil, maintaining a space of 6 inches around the trunk of the tree free of mulch. The mulch will help retain water in the bed as well and prevent it from evaporating on warm, dry days.
Now, the tree is ready to be watered! Young trees need 15-20 gallons of water a week, all at once. Slowly pour the water into the tree bed (or use a hose on a low-flow setting) until the bed is saturated. Pouring the water in the “moat” area near the trunk created by the mulch is one way to capture water in the tree bed. Let the water absorb into the soil before adding more to keep water from running off onto the street and sidewalk.
Example of a tree bed moat
Spring is also a great time to shape up your trees, literally. For decades, TreesNY has been training New Yorkers to safely (and legally) prune NYC street trees. Pruning helps keep trees healthy, safe, and beautiful. The Citizen Pruner course in Queens starts in May and takes place in Long Island City. To find out more and register, please visit treesny.org. If you have trees that need pruning on your block, you can also call TreesNY to alert Citizen Pruners in your neighborhood. If trees in your neighborhood are posing a danger, please submit a pruning request through 311.
Filed under: Events, family activities, gardening, Queens | Tags: botanical, botanical garden, botanical gardens, childrens gardening, environment, family activities, gardening, New York, public garden, public gardens, Queens, vegetables
The QBG Blogger could write a post with details about this new and very exciting program, but we’ll defer to the expert — the program’s coordinator, Maureen Regan. Check out the interview on New York 1 News, and be sure to stop by this Saturday’s Open House from 10am to 2pm.
Filed under: family activities, Food, Queens | Tags: botanical, botanical garden, botanical gardens, environment, family activities, public garden, public gardens, Queens, Queens food
Hello and good day Garden lovers!
With spring fully roused from her slumber, now is the perfect time to splash in the warmth of the Garden, and take a soul-easing stroll through the Fragrance Walk or Woodland Garden. And when your mind starts considering lunch or a snack, why not enjoy one of our local eateries?
Many QBG staffers take a quick walk up Main Street to a local favorite — QQ Cafe & Bakery (42-57 Main Street). Dishing up some of the best pork buns, dumplings, and cakes around, it’s perfect for a quick, inexpensive meal. Our staff chow connoisseurs particularly recommend the pickled cabbage bun!
Filed under: Events, family activities, gardening, Nature, Queens | Tags: bees, birds, botanical, botanical garden, botanical gardens, environment, family activities, flowers, gardening, New York, plants, public garden, public gardens, Queens
Spring is in full bloom at QBG! This is the perfect time to enjoy all the beauty of the season, and there’s no better place than right here!
The list of flowers in bloom is enormous but some highlights include crabapple and cherry trees, tulips, grape hyacinth, daffodils, magnolias, dogwoods and eastern redbuds.
Our bees are…well, busy bees! Stop by the Bee Garden and watch them buzzing in and out of the hives to collect pollen. Just as busy are the birds – our robins are looking for nest sites, the red-winged blackbirds trilling all around the Meadow, and migrating warblers are catching a snack as they continue their journey. Don’t forget to keep your eyes open for our charming Italian wall lizards as they warm themselves in the sun.
You can be just as busy at the Garden too! The QBG Store is stocked with great treats and gifts, and stop by the Children’s Activity Table on Saturdays from 1 to 4pm where kids can create a take-home treat. We hope you can make it for the Intergenerational Garden Open House on April 14, and be sure to mark your calendars for our 2nd Annual Arbor Fest on April 29 – an afternoon filled with family fun!
Filed under: gardening, Nature | Tags: botanical, botanical garden, botanical gardens, environment, flowers, gardening, gardening tips, Hamamelis, New York, plants, public garden, public gardens, Queens, trees, witch hazel
What is that stunning yellow thing in the Fragrance Garden?!
That’s a question all visitors to QBG have been asking, and the answer is none other than February’s favorite shrub, Hamamelis x intermedia, or hybrid witch hazel.
Witch hazel is an aesthetically funky plant and known for its winter interest. It’s a medium-sized shrub with wide-set branches and smooth gray bark. The habit is V- shaped, getting wider with age. Ridged leaves grow alternately on the branches – summer foliage is a soft medium green color, switching to vibrant orange in autumn. Witch hazel is great to look at even in winter when dusty red seed pods sprinkle the branches!
But what makes this plant stand out in the winter garden is the “big” show starting in late January until February, when the gorgeous bloomer opens up in flower – a sprinkling yellow, orange or red flowers all over the bare branches.
H. x intermedia is a cross between witch hazels native to Japan and China (Hamamelis japonica and Hamamelis mollis, respectively), both discovered in the late 19th century. The popular Hamemelis x intermedia ‘Arnold Promise’ (on display in the Fragrance Garden) was bred at the Harvard University Arnold Arboretum in 1928, and released for sale in the early 60’s. It does best in slightly acidic soils with full sun, but can take part shade. Besides being fun to look at, witch hazels are also quite pest resistant, and don’t need much maintenance other than slight pruning.
North America boasts several common native species – H. virginia, H. vernalis, and H. ovalis – historically used in several medicinal treatments. Today, most people recognize the topical astringent, sold in pharmacies everywhere.
Medicinal uses aside, witch hazel is simply a beautiful shrub. It charming flowers will be with us only a couple more weeks, so come on down to QBG and enjoy!
–Written by Aly Fox, QBG intern
Filed under: family activities, gardening, MillionTrees NYC, Nature, Queens, Tree care | Tags: botanical, botanical garden, botanical gardens, environment, family activities, gardening, MillionTreesNYC, NYC Civic Corps, public garden, public gardens, Queens, sustainability, trees
We’re so pleased to welcome Neil Barrett to QBG as our new Civic Corps member working on MillionTreesNYC. Neil offers us a glimpse into his backround below — or better yet, meet him in person at on our our MillionTreesNYC workshops!
Since arriving from Cornwall, England in October 2010, adapting to life in New York has required significant readjustment as I’ve looked to find both my feet and professional niche. However, when the opportunity to participate in the NYC Civic Corps program presented itself, I immediately recognized the potential of the program and grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
Aside from helping to speed up my integration into my new home, the Civic Corps program – grounded as it is in public service – also allows me to interact and develop relationships with the residents of New York, many of whom I probably wouldn’t have otherwise met. I find this aspect of the program especially appealing as it enables me to interface with those who, like me, are seeking to reconcile their personal environmental values through social engagement and civic participation.
My academic background includes a bachelor’s degree in Business Information Systems from the University West of England, a Trinity College London, Cert. TESOL, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Decision Making from the UK’s Open University. While my academic goals are currently on hold, I plan to resume my studies upon completion of the Civic Corps program with a view to completing my Master’s degree in Urban Ecology. Additionally, my work with the Civic Corps program at with the Parks department at Central Forestry requires an understanding of urban forestry and, to develop my understanding of this area, I’ve am also studying to become ISA (International Society of Arborists) certified, something which I am sure will benefit my wider MillionTreesNYC community outreach work.
In the meantime, I remain both excited and committed to continuing and extending the outreach work of MillionTreesNYC. From my base at Queens Botanical Garden, my primary focus will be to extend the MillionTreesNYC message and help educate New Yorkers about the many benefits a healthy urban tree canopy can bring to the city. Additionally, my work will also involve hosting tree care workshops and teaching basic tree stewardship skills. Through this work, I hope to develop and sustain tree stewardship networks, so that individuals and groups can then share their skills and knowledge with others, so that New York’s street trees remain strong, healthy and prosper well into the future.
Filed under: cooking, family activities, Recipes | Tags: botanical garden, botanical gardens, family activities, gardening, New York, plants, public garden, public gardens, pumpkins, vegetables
Patty, QBG’s Deputy Director, has been making everyone on staff very hungry as she describes the large batches of incredible soup simmering away for her family’s Thanksgiving Dinner this year. So we pried the recipe out of her (!) and are happy to share it with our readers – along with her modifications to the original recipe.
Pumpkin Lentil Soup
Lynn, QBG’s receptionist and plant hotline guru, passed along this recipe a few years ago. We’re not positive of its origins – a fundraiser cookbook is the recollection – but we’ve both added our own flourishes and the soup has since become a Thanksgiving tradition.
Basic Ingredients:
2 large onions, chopped
¼ cup butter or margarine
5 cups chicken broth
1-1 ½ cups cooked and mashed or canned pumpkin
½ cup lentils, washed and picked over
¼ tsp. ground pepper
1/8 tsp. each marjoram and thyme
Dash hot-pepper sauce
1 cup light cream
½ cup toasted sliced almonds
Directions:
In a large Dutch oven-type pot, sauté onions in butter until golden. This is the real secret to a tasty soup, so caramelize those onions!
Add broth, pumpkin, lentils, pepper, herbs, and hot pepper sauce.
Cover and simmer about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours or until lentils are tender. Cool slightly.
Puree – an immersion blender is perfect or use a food processor. Add the cream and salt. For thinner soup, add more broth or cream.
Reheat and serve with the almonds.
My first batch was for Thanksgiving 2009. I substituted cayenne pepper for the hot pepper sauce, and added more ground pepper while layering salt over several stages. Modified the herbs a bit too, by using a pinch of sage plus Herbs de Provence (rosemary, marjoram, thyme and savory) rather than just marjoram and thyme.
The soup was such a hit that I made another batch for QBG’s holiday party the same year. To accommodate some of the vegetarians on staff (and satisfy my culinary curiosity!), I used vegetable stock. Tasty still, but I do prefer using the suggested chicken stock.
Just prepared soup for this year’s Thanksgiving Dinner and couldn’t resist a new modification! To give a bit of a Latin flavor, I added two envelopes of Sazon. Yum –can hardly wait to serve it to the family tomorrow!
Lynn’s modifications show just how flexible and creative this recipe can be. She prefers to simply let the pumpkin flavors come through stronger, and likes to lighten up the calories in this heavy-duty eating season. She leaves out the almonds, salt and light cream, adding just a touch at the end — and only if necessary. Since hot pepper sauce might not be to everyone’s liking, she eliminates it completely which lets more pumpkin and lentil come through.
Enjoy, and from all of us at Queens Botanical Garden, Happy Thanksgiving!
Filed under: family activities, MillionTrees NYC, Nature, Queens, Tree care | Tags: environment, family activities, gardening, MillionTreesNYC, New York, public garden, public gardens, Queens, trees
We’re so happy to welcome our new residents — lovely street trees thanks to MillionTreesNYC! Interested in helping your local greenery? Find out more about our tree care workshops – great fun for the whole family and neighborhood.
Filed under: gardening, Great Reading, Nature | Tags: botanical garden, botanical gardens, environment, flowers, Founding Gardeners book, Garden reading, gardening, New York, plants, public garden, public gardens
We love our volunteers at QBG. They’re a fun group of folks working in all areas of the Garden. Plus they’re always reading great books! Sue Nicholas, Rose Garden volunteer, shares her review of her latest read, The Founding Gardeners:
I’ve had a wonderful summer working with Karl in our beautiful Rose Garden (though the weeding never stops…). I feel most fortunate to have this privileged fun and to see the wonderful results of his planning and our labor.
Now with winter coming, it’s time to catch of on my reading! I just finished The Founding Gardeners by Andrea Wulf. Focused on Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison and their respective “home places” (Mount Vernon, Peacefield, Monticello, and Montpelier), Wulf describes their common trait: all were passionate botanists with visions of an independent, agriculturally self-sufficient republic in the New World.
I was especially struck by Madison’s contributions — he was truly our first environmentalist. In May 1818 he delivered a famous speech to the Agriculture Society of Albemarle in Virginia, providing a voice to the principles of soil, forest conservation, and the delicate balance of nature. The benefits and importance of nature were not hot topics in the 1800s — nature existed entirely for human benefit (clearly no one realized that trees give off oxygen!). Madison’s alternate vision had wide repercussions — his speech was made into a pamphlet and read across the world and revolutionized farming methods.
All four founding fathers did not limit themselves to farming concerns. They also took the first steps in public gardens by trying to create a national botanical garden. Their initial attempt failed until the first national garden was created in 1870.
Founding Gardeners was brought to life on a recent trip to Richmond, Virginia for a family wedding at the very lovely Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. My visits to nearby Monticello and Montpelier were greatly enriched by reading Wulf’s engaging book, and I had a better understanding of the world in which these gardens were created.
As the gardening beds are put to rest and tools returned to storage for the winter months, enjoy the new free time by checking out Founding Gardeners. I promise you a good read!
This book available through QBG’s Amazon Associates store — a portion of your purchase will support our programs and gardens.
