Holiday Train Show at NYBG

The annual Holiday Train show at the New York Botanical Garden is something I look forward to every year.  After a stunning walk through the conservatory (which I will post about separately), through the tropical rainforests and desert lands, I walked into the main exhibit room and into a whole other world. Before me were 140 New York City landmark buildings and structures, each constructed entirely of natural materials: nuts, tree bark, fruits, pine cones and leaves.

Model of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory

Every now and then I would see one of the G-scale model trains going along part of the half mile track in and around one of these buildings or over one of it's bridges.

It's truly amazing that each of these buildings are built entirely of natural materials. The detail on the architecture is incredible, especially knowing it's created from dried plant parts. This is the famous statue on top of Grand Central Terminal train station in New York City:

And this is the Guggenheim Museum:

Here are some of the other structures, each one beautifully surrounded by orchids, cyclamen, kalanchoe, ferns, mosses and other plants:

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

Lyndhurst Castle

 

Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building and more

And the new addition this year is the Trans World Airline (TWA) Flight Center at John F. Kennedy Airport. Complete with planes, runway and terminal building:

 

If you live in the area, you still have time to see the show. It runs through January 9th at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. For more information, you can check it out on their website. Also look for a link on that page which provides a "behind the scenes" glance at how they put it all together. It's fascinating and beautiful!

Spooky Looking Plants

Happy Halloween!
On a recent visit to the New York Botanical Garden, I found some plants that looked down right spooky (with a little imagination of course). Have a look and let me know if you agree!

 The evil, staring one-eyed yellow lady...

 Help me! I'm being devoured by a purple monster! Said Mr. Bee.

 Beware of the purple tentacles of the scary monster hiding in the bushes...

 Oh no, the shrub is bleeding!

 Snakes, twisted and curling over one another on the ground...

 Bony, knobby fingers of a skeleton's hand...

 A mysterious, entrancing pink orb with laser beam eyes....

 Sea serpents emerging from the pond, looking for prey...

Beady little eyeballs, caked in blood...

 The moldy, green crevices of the brain...

 Creepy skeleton like creatures swaying in the breeze...

 A rat's tail!

 Icky, sticky spider web, painted purple to lure you in...

Hope you have a wonderful and spooktacular Halloween!

Orchids, orchids and more orchids!

Each year, the New York Botanical Garden in Bronx, NY holds an Orchid Show in it's conservatory. This year's theme was Key West Contemporary and is described on the nybg.org website as a show "where the dramatic beauty of a flourishing tropical garden is amplified by vibrant architecture that recalls this particular island's charm and ambience."

I've been to the show before during the daylight hours, but this year my husband and I attended one of the "Orchid Evening" events whereby guests are treated to a complimentary cocktail while a DJ's music sets the tone for a fun event. 

I've always admired orchids for their delicate and intricate designs, and seeing all these different varieties, such as Vanda (rainbow orchids), Dendrobium (cane orchids) and Cymbidium (Asian corsage orchids) made me wonder... what makes an orchid an orchid?

Doing a search online, I came across Merkles Orchids and a very knowledgeable duo about orchids. I learned from their site that a few things set orchids apart from other flowers. Each orchid has the same "parts" - three sepals, three petals, a column and a lip. The lip (or labellum) is actually the third petal, but since it looks so different from the other two, it gets a different name. All orchids have a lip and it's function is to aid in the pollination process. Think of it as a fancy landing pad for an insect to land and do it's pollination business. The second characteristic is the column, which contains the reproductive organs ("male" anther with pollen and "female" stigma). 

Merkles's site has some great close up images of the orchids so you can really see these parts. You can read about them in more detail here. For a plant that has an estimated 30,000 different species, it's really fascinating to think that they are all connected in these same ways. 

The show is on display at New York Botanical Gardens until April 21. 

New York Botanical Garden Conservatory

The Conservatory at New York Botanical Garden located just north of New York City in Bronx, NY is the Garden's crown jewel. It's a Victorian-style glasshouse that holds permanent plant exhibits as well as special and seasonal exhibits (like the Holiday Train Show and Orchid Show).

The permanent exhibition is called "A World of Plants" and it showcases tropical rain forests, deserts, aquatic and carnivorous plants. The day I visited, it was so cold outside and as soon as I entered the rain forest area inside the Conservatory, my camera lens completely fogged up!

The lowland rain forest showcases many beautiful tropical plants, epiphytes, trees that provide rain forest canopies and the plants that enjoy life below them.  

The upland rain forest showcases ferns, coffee trees, orchids, mosses and others.

In the desert section, plants from the Americas and Africa are on display. I had never seen Agave attenuata in bloom before and wow, it was stunning!

I wandered around the grounds for a bit after spending such a fantastic and exhilarating time inside the Conservatory. I was so happy to run into these lovely pine cone creatures!

It's such a great place any time of year. I can't wait to go back when spring begins to make an appearance and the garden comes alive.

Be sure to head over to Our Little Acre where Kylee is hosting the Conservatory World Tour, and take a virtual tour of some other fantastic conservatories around the country.