Paradise Garden: Georgia O’Keeffe’s Visions of Hawai’i on Display at NYBG for the 1st Time in NYC since 1940

What an epic story. Imagine thrilling plant explorations. Art - nearly 20 paintings not seen together in New York since their 1940 Debut. History. Exotic locale. Botany. Gardens. Endangered flora. Plus, a memorable denouement.

Georgia O’Keeffe may have spent only nine weeks immersed in the Hawaiian Islands in order to produce two images for a Hawaiian Pineapple Company promotional campaign - Dole - but it took many years to put together this extravaganza at The New York Botanical Garden, opening Saturday.

The New York Botanical Garden’s secret sauce for producing compelling, comprehensive events that celebrate the relationship and crossroads of fine art and nature (Kahlo, Manet & more) may have reached its zenith in the Georgia O’Keeffe: Visions of Hawai‘i show that opens May 19th and runs through October 28th.


This show is worth at least a two-day exploration because there is so much to see and experience. Yet, while the show is outsize the experience is an intimate one. When you enter the Gallery to see the 20 framed paintings hanging there, it’s exciting to consider that this is the first time this little known body of work is even on display.
It’s a jewel box of botanic art.

At the press preview, we were told the show was most likely sparked by a November 2012 feature in The New York Times that detailed the story behind O’Keeffe’s unlikely sojourn to Hawaii and her artful plant paintings as a result of an equally unlikely commercial commission.

A more recent March feature in The New York Times that I well remember as provocative reading, could’ve only amplified the Garden’s resolve to showcase the urgent need to sustainably manage threatened and endangered species. The article reported that out of the 1,280 endangered animals and plants recognized by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, 557 are in Hawaii. Conservationists have called it the “extinction capital of the world”. The show highlights the importance of plants in Hawaiian culture and the threat the native species face today.

Visions of Hawai’i focuses on the iconic artist’s immersion in the Hawaiian Islands in 1939, evoking the Hawaiian gardens and landscapes that inspired O’Keeffe. And just as O’Keeffe often painted elements as she imagined or saw them -- adding in elements - so too does the NYBG team employ their artful botanical and horticultural expertise to present an extremely lush flower show; exquisitely curated in the Garden’s Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.

 

The walk through the long borders of the Conservatory showcases the remarkable beauty and richness of Hawai‘i’s wild and cultivated flora.



The Hawaiian Paradise Garden is a “starting off or jumping off point” featuring plantings designed by the inimitable Francisca Coelho, former NYBG Vice President for Glasshouses and Exhibitions where she designed and installed the major flower exhibitions in the Conservatory. I believe this is Coelho’s first show since she “retired” from the Garden.

Her touch is evident throughout the exhibit.

The curated plant display is masterfully presented and inspired by O’Keeffes letters to her husband, world-famous photographer, Alfred Stieglitz, charting the chronology of her Hawaii adventure.



There are three flora presented in the show:

• Native Flora: of the more than 1,200 Native Hawaiian species, 90% are endangered and/or threatened 
• Canoe Plants: Cultivated plants that made their way to the archipelago more than 1,500 years ago by the Polynesians, including Bread Fruit, Cordyline, and sugar cane
• Modern Introductions: Plants that arrived with (white) settlers from the late 18th Century for agriculture and ornamentation. 

It’s interesting to learn that many of the plants had to be grown by NYBG, some were grown by others to the Garden’s specifications, while many more were loaned by other botanical gardens.



The colorful tropical garden plants on display there reflect those those Georgia O’Keeffe encountered and painted while in Hawai‘i including: ti plant, frangipani, bougainvillea, heliconia, hibiscus, bird-of-paradise, ginger, and many more tropical favorites.

Pineapple plant. Photo: courtesy Carolyn Campo

 



Coelho’s plant list contains more than 300 types of plants for the exhibition.

This is an inspired introduction to the profound importance of plants in Hawaiian culture.

During our overview, we watched the newly produced video for the show where Georgia writes to her husband how overwhelmed she is by the welcome necklace of flowers - the lei; she describes the astonishing presentation in fastidios floral detail.

Starting in June the outdoor Conservatory Courtyards will showcase a wide variety of Hawaiian plants in beautiful potted and ground-level trough displays.

Pineapples and bananas, among other favorites, will be on view in the Central Courtyard, while hundreds of hibiscus, as well as gardenia and bougainvillea, will fill the Hardy Courtyard - especially a variety of the Hawaiian state flower: Yellow Hibiscus, hibiscus brackenridgei.

Because the brackenridgei is so very imperiled and endangered it cannot be taken across state lines, so you will see the Chinese or “resort” hibiscus, according to Todd Forrest, Vice President, Arthur Ross Vice President for Horticulture and Living Collections.



The set pieces in the Conservatory are designed by Tony Award-winning scenic designer Scott Pask. Beyond the borders, planting beds arranged around an open-sided, thatched-roof pavilion inspired by a traditional Hawaiian hale designed by Pask, tell the story of the canoe plants—those useful plants brought to the Islands more than 1,000 years ago by Polynesian settlers.



Vignettes featuring native Hawaiian plants will teach visitors about modern efforts to preserve Hawai‘i’s imperiled flora, according to NYBG.



O’Keeffe wrote during her visit to Hawaii: “My idea of nature has not been beautiful enough.”
How sweet and authentic is that?

Her immersive works evoking the gardens and landscape of the Aloha state clearly mark her desire to honor and capture that distant beauty and her acclaimed “sense of place.”



Let’s see if I can break down the show into doable categories that will help make it easier to understand and visit because there’s just so much to take in at this epic show.

Botanical Art: In addition to the gardens and landscape art that evoke the spirit of Hawaii already noted, there are a series of outdoor sculptural art installations, designed by contemporary Hawaiian-Chinese sculptor Mark Chai, and fabricated to his exacting specifications in Brooklyn. Mr. Chai and his beautiful wife and manager Makana, were on-site at the preview.


Chai’s outdoor installations are inspired by the forms of the plants that O’Keeffe encountered while visiting Hawai‘i are on view in the Garden. The 13-foot stainless steel sculpture in the reflecting pool near the Leon Levy Visitor Center was inspired by the Heliconia plant.

In addition, the 12 wooden lanterns hanging and illuminated at night, along Garden Way, for evening events celebrate the Hawaiian canoe plants: Kukui (candlenut), Ulu (breadfruit), Ipu (gourd), Awaphuki (ginger), Ohi a ‘Ai (mountain apple), and Hala (screwpine).

O’Keeffe Fine Art: Because this is the first time these paintings are on view in New York -- not seen together here since their 1940 debut, this is a marked occasion for O’Keeffe enthusiasts. Her works depicting Hawaiian subjects garnered critical and popular attention when they were exhibited in 1940 at An American Place, the gallery of her husband, famed photographer Alfred E Stieglitz.

Entering the rotunda leading into the LuEsther T. Mertz Library Art Gallery there are four oversize images of some of her snapshots anchored on giant panels:

Seascapes, Sugar Cane Fields, a Morning Glory, and Lava.


There is also a digitized version of her sketchbook to indulge in.



All the works - 20 in total - were created in 1939 and include:

Heliconia:

Crab’s Claw Ginger (plant depicted is actually a “lobster claw” heliconia)

Pineapple Bud (both of which were used in the (Dole) Hawaiian Pineapple Company’s advertisements and which are held today in private collections.



Hibiscus with Plumeria (loaned by the Smithsonian American Art Museum); and a series of landscape paintings depicting Maui’s interior ‘Īao Valley and lava-studded shorelines (loaned by the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, and a private collector).

The exhibition spotlights a transformative experience in the legendary artist’s life, revealing O’Keeffe’s deeply felt impressions and the enduring influence of the Islands’ rugged topography, dramatic landscapes, and exotic plants.

You cannot miss these feminine, evocative, and really - never-before-seen paintings.




Working together with the Garden’s Curator, Joanna Groarke, the fine art gallery show was curated by art historian Theresa Papanikolas, Ph.D., Deputy Director of Art and Programs and Curator of European and American Art at the Honolulu Museum of Art, the exhibition features these 20 O’Keeffe depictions of Hawai‘i.

In addition, the Garden has published “Georgia O’Keeffe Visions of Hawai’i” landmark volume book, available now in the Shop or online. The fully illustrated exhibition catalog explores this little-known chapter in the artist’s career. It’s a an equally luscious introspective into not only O’Keeffe but the Hawaii of that period. It’s a hardcover coffee table book that beautifully contextualizes the exhibit and explores the pop culture of the time as it relates to Hawaii.



Visitors of all ages will learn about Hawai‘i through complementary events and programs, including a scholarly symposium, an original short film, a film series, and the Interactive Mobile Guide.

A brief backdrop -- In 1939, at the age of 51 (probably kind of “old” in those days), O’Keeffe traveled on the aforementioned commission to Hawai‘i to produce images for the Hawaiian Pineapple Company promotional campaign. Her nine weeks on O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i, and the Big Island of Hawai‘i resulted in stunning depictions of mountains and waterfalls as well as her signature close-cropped views of flowers and plants she observed there.

“Many things are so beautiful they don’t seem real,” she wrote.

At the time of her trip, O’Keeffe was among the most famous artists in the United States, best known for her depictions of the stark landscape and desert flora of her beloved New Mexico.

In the video documentary, you see newspaper headlines of the time, heralding her arrival to Hawaii. We were told that she was whisked into the Island’s High Society, she took took to wearing mumus.
At one point, she was a guest of Willis Jennings on his Hana plantation, where his daughter Patricia took to driving around O’Keeffe. Along with her own motor excursions, the artist painted quickly; often working right in the car.

The curators pointed out the sense of immediacy, brush strokes and liveliness in the paintings.



NYBG offers a rare opportunity to view the O’Keeffe advertising images as seen in the “Woman’s Home Companion” magazine - an example of the many media where her ad art appeared.



Georgia O’Keeffe: Visions of Hawai‘i explores this lesser-known chapter in her career, the enduring cultural impact of mid-century perceptions of Hawai‘i, and the natural history of the Hawaiian Islands—one of the most ecologically diverse places on Earth—hidden behind O’Keeffe’s depictions.

A Poetry Tour, organized in partnership with the Poetry Society of America, explores the relationship between nature and people in the Hawaiian Islands. The Tour highlights the work of contemporary poets in Hawai‘i, including former U.S. Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin.

Elsewhere in the Garden - in the Britton Rotunda, an original short film entitled “Off in the Far Away Somewhere: Georgia O’Keeffe’s Letters from Hawai‘i—narrated by Academy Award-nominee and NYBG Trustee Sigourney Weaver—features excerpts from O’Keeffe’s personal letters to her husband, famed photographer Alfred Stieglitz, written during her journey to and around the Hawaiian Islands.



The Britton Gallery features Flora Hawaiiensis: Plants of Hawai‘i, tracing the history of Hawai‘i’s flora, from unusual native plants, to those valued by the ancient Hawaiians, to the ornamental and agricultural plants O’Keeffe painted.



Displays showcase archival photos, illustrations, and letters from the LuEsther T. Mertz Library and specimens from the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium. The exhibit also highlights the work of current and former NYBG botanists in the Pacific Islands, including Collaborators in Hawaiian Botany, Drs. Otto and Isa Degener, who explored and documented the flora of Hawai‘i in their magnum opus, Flora Hawaiiensis (1932–80), and worked to conserve its ecology.

In the Ross Gallery, you can enjoy Georgia O’Keeffe’s Hawaiian Voyage, a display highlighting the artist’s journey from her departure at New York’s Grand Central Terminal through her nine-week island-hopping explorations of exotic flora and lush landscapes.

 




Food: Hawaiian-inspired food will be available for purchase in the Hudson Garden Grill and at STARR Events’ new Poke Truck, which will feature four different types of poke (including a Veggie Bowl), the trendy dish of marinated raw fish served over rice with Asian seasonings.

What, no Spam?

Public Programming Throughout the Garden during the exhibition, there is a rich program of performances, events, and activities for adults and children, celebrating the diverse cultural traditions of Hawai‘i past and present, as well as the beauty and variety of Hawai‘i’s flora.

During Aloha Nights, evening programs will spotlight the culture that captured Georgia O’Keeffe’s imagination. On select Celebrate Hawai‘i Weekends, NYBG, in collaboration with Hawai‘i Tourism United States, will feature performers, artists, and artisans from Hawai‘i, showcasing the time-honored traditions and unique cultural heritage of the Islands.

A scholarly symposium and a film series are also among the planned programming. 

In the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden (ECAG), a 12-acre indoor/outdoor educational facility, children and their families will be inspired to explore and observe nature—just as O’Keeffe did, and as many other artists and scientists do for their work. After walking through the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden entry arch featuring larger-than-life flowers and fruit painted in the O’Keeffe style, visitors will proceed along the main path to discover a child-sized model of the lava forms inspired by O’Keeffe’s painting Black Lava Bridge, Hāna Coast, No. 1 featured in Sun Central Plaza, with black sand representing the beach at the base of the structure for children to explore.

Families can participate in guided activities using real plants and plant parts such as pineapple bromeliads and banana palms to introduce cross-disciplinary activities on concepts of scale and perspective using scientific tools such as microscopes and hand lenses to look closely.

Children will then represent these close-up views of plant parts using watercolor paint on paper. Children will pot up a ginger rhizome, Zingiber officinale, to bring home a bit of the Hawaiian tropics to nurture and observe its growth.

A visually stunning Interactive Mobile Guide, available at nybg.org/mobile, complements the exhibition by transporting users to both the current Hawaiian landscape and back in time to the Hawai‘i that O’Keeffe visited in 1939. 

Features include multiple 360-degree videos of the plants and locations O’Keeffe observed and depicted in her work; personal accounts found in O’Keeffe’s handwritten letters; advanced location-aware technology that will help users engage with content automatically; and vintage photo frames that allow participants to create their own digital souvenirs and share on social media.

Celebrate Hawai‘i Weekends, Aloha Nights, Live Music and Hula, Lei-Making Demonstrations,
and More During Exhibition at NYBG

Georgia O’Keeffe and Hawai‘i: A Sense of Place
Symposium

Friday, May 18; 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Ross Hall

Moderated by curator Theresa Papanikolas, Ph.D., Deputy Director of Art and Programs and

Curator of European and American Art at the Honolulu Museum of Art, this distinguished

panel explores the importance of landscape as Georgia O’Keeffe’s creative refuge, inspiration,

and source of restorative power. The panelists are DeSoto Brown, Historian and Archivist,

Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu; Samuel M. ‘Ohukaniōhi‘a Gon III, Ph.D., Senior

Scientist and Cultural Advisor, Hawai‘i Nature Conservancy; and Carolyn Kastner, Ph.D.,

Curator, Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe.

Members $25/Non-Members $29

Weekend Performances, Demonstrations, & Film

Saturdays & Sundays, May 19–October 28

Every weekend you’ll be whisked away to the Hawaiian Islands with performances, events,

and activities that celebrate the diverse cultural traditions of Hawai‘i. Enjoy hula, plein air

painting, or see how a traditional lei is made. Explore Hawaiian culture through our Hawai‘i

Past and Present Film Series.

Programs include:

Hula with Music; 12, 1, & 2 p.m.

For full schedule of performance groups, visit nybg.org

Oh - and that denouement? O’Keeffe sent the pineapple company two of her artworks upon returning to New York. The “Dole advertising executives were exasperated to learn that she had painted almost everything except pineapples, including papaya trees, heliconia plants and even fish hooks. So the company had a whole fresh pineapple couriered to her by seaplane, which she graciously did paint.”

Ahhh, the seductions and vagaries of the world according to plants.

Mark your schedule to visit this show. Many times. You’ll enjoy each and every artul discovery inspired by nature --- and the plants…

NYBG's Todd Forrest, Artist Mark Chai, NYBG's Gregory Long

 

New York Botanical Garden Winter Series final lecture 3/24 with Luciano Giubbilei

The 16th Annual Winter Lecture Series: Chelsea Gold presented by the New York Botanical Garden is coming to its springtime final lecture. Tomorrow, Thursday, March 24, will feature a highly anticipated talk by Luciano Giubbilei.

It might well be a sell out so be sure to get to the Garden early, if you didn’t purchase the series tickets.

The Chelsea Gold featured in the series highlights the fact that all three speakers are winners - winning multiple times, in fact - at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show - that Olympics/Super Bowl/WorldCup annual garden design event -- but bigger. I for one vote they trade in the moniker, though. It should be the RHS Chelsea Garden Show. Yes, there are acres of flowers but all those petals, blooms, and leafy greens need to be shown in context -- in a design. And that’s where these garden compositions and the landscape architects and designers work their magic. For those lucky folks who have made the Chelsea pilgrimage, the NYBG series is a terrific peek behind the scenes of this flower blockbuster show. For the more plebian among us, the talks are a revelation into the process of designing a garden period. And designing for the Chelsea Flower Show. The speakers reveal their inspiration, their plant palette selections and the construction. We learn so much.


The first two speakers in the Chelsea Gold lecture series were Ulf Nordfjell, the Swedish landscape architect who interpreted his Swedish design aesthetic and his passion for ecology and the environment to his projects. He won his first Gold Medal in 2007 for his tribute to another famous Swedish plantsman: Linnaeus. He said the aim of the Linnaeus exhibit was to encourage the younger generation to pursue careers and interest in the sciences and to foster a curiosity about nature and research. “Linnaeus was the world’s first ecologist. In his pre internet world Linnaeus used a flower to distinguish all his photos…” Nordfjell won Gold again in 2009 for his Daily Telegraph and 2013 for his Laurent-Perrier gardens. He noted how he approaches his garden design as storytelling. Me too!
He said in Sweden, “We are about connecting people to nature.” This resonates with all who encounter his gardens.

He couldn’t ignore the issue of Climate Change, noting that while Sweden possesses a variety of micro-climates, it is indeed getting warmer there. “We have warmer summers and flooding.”

At Chelsea he chooses to produce modern garden with timber, steel and granite. There was a red wall -- brownish red - common to timber resin. He planted in layers: Maples, lilies, and so on. He used four thousand plants! He used pruned trees and shrubs noting it was quite common for 18th century rich people in Linnaeus’ time to have gardeners to maintain the necessary pruning.

For the 2009 Gold Medal & Best in Show with The Daily Telegraph Garden his initially reaction when they asked him, a Swede, to do the garden that they were “thinking suicide!” However, he researched the 19th century Hidcote Garden - transforming a very British garden tradition. Except that here, “Everything is fake,” he joked With 19 days to do the garden - in the rain and cold - he just wanted to survive. A trick he consider for judging days sunday night & monday morning was to use the compost to make the plants warm. “The plants are then happy and open up their blooms and blossoms - in time for the judges. The real devils of the show,” he added. He uses lots of bulbs with ornamental grasses, too - -helps cover the decaying, seasonal leaves...

He - and his team of more than 150 did the Perrier Jouet garden in a week! It was a haute couture garden inspired by two women: a French who started modern gardens in Sweden in the 50’s and 60’s used simple plants and soft, pale colors; the other is a LA designer who used breakout designs. Modern, minimalist with romantic touches.

Nordjfell also showed some of his private client gardens and public parks. He pointed out we need to safeguard the parks. “Margaret Thatcher took away all the greenhouses,” and many countries cut back funding to maintain the green spaces. He also noted that Food is most important in Europe plant trend. That and romance and more personal styling. “The young are looking back to history; they’re more aware of materials we’re using.” He added that the water issue - it is increasingly a very scarce resource is also a very major concern in Europe - and globally. “

The second speaker in the series was Sarah Price, a British garden designer, a co-designer of London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and a 2012 Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal Winner for her Daily Telegraph Garden (those newspaper folks at the Daily Telegraph sure know how to pick a winner!)

Sarah’s talk was “Gardening in the Round.” She was/is a fine artist and a painter. She showed airy, ethereal images of nature that are near her home in Wales that inspire her. Oh, those heather hillsides. She also gets a lot of her inspiration from the ornamental, native grasses of the US that she first saw in Piet Oudolf’s gardens. She sees the beauty and mystery in the environment and translates that narrative to her gardens. And she’s funny.

Sarah showed insights into her background that are the critical, basic elements of her compositions.

She uses color gradations and likes gardens without defined borders. She sketches plant forms and gets height balance out the plant shapes. She said that Chelsea launched her career.

She uses lots of nine centimeters plants so little to no deadheading. The dense planting and compatible, “no soil” reduces the need for watering.


Don’t miss “The Art of Making Gardens” Luciano Giubbilei talk at the Garden tomorrow. I learned yesterday that my garden and fellow landscape design group friend, Linda Tejpaul, of Magnolia Design, LLC, that her son had Luciano do their gardens! How lucky they have their own Chelsea Gold!    

Oh, be mindful - there is construction work at the Mosholu Gate at NYBG - and if you're arriving by train - you will have to walk the .5 mile to the next gate.  And security is not courteous about this inconvenience.  (Couldn't have made a side pathway for visitors who arrive on foot?)

Register for 4th Annual Green Industry Intern "Hortie Hoopla" at The New York Botanical Garden

THE 4th ANNUAL NYC-AREA GREEN INDUSTRY INTERN FIELD DAY IS JULY 20


The annual Green Industry event designed exclusively for interns has proven to be an overwhelming success. Largely the brainchild of Charles Yurgalevitch, Director, School of Professional Horticulture (SoPH), this year marks the fourth time The New York Botanical Garden’s SoPH will host a day brimming with talks, networking, and fun -- to celebrate and educate the interns about the myriad career options available within the noble field of horticulture.

WHO: For Tri-State area horticulture interns working in the Green industries. The annual “Hortie Hoopla” event provides attendees the opportunity to network and increase awareness of the many professional career opportunities in the diverse field of horticulture.


WHAT: A FREE, fun-filled, inspiring day hosted by New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) School of Professional Horticulture


WHEN: Wednesday, July 20, 2016. Registration: 11 am; Talks: 12:30 pm; Activities till dusk.


WHERE: New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY


SPEAKERS:

Keynote Speaker Kelly D. Norris, Director of Horticulture, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden,, nurseryman and award-winning author


Karen Washington,, community activist called “urban farming’s de facto godmother” by The New York Times


Quill Teal-Sullivan, Garden Manager at Meadowburn Farm, a 130-year-old designed landscape in Vernon, NJ - the Garden State.


ACTIVITIES:
Self-Guided Exploration

Garden Tours

Plant ID Contest

Evening BBQ with games and prizes

Tour of NYBG Library 

To register: Contact Eric Lieberman at NYBG: elieberman@nybg.org

Food and drink generously provided by:

Bartlett Tree Experts

Mario Bulfamante & Sons

Floral Landscape Services

Landcraft Environments, Ltd.

NY State Arborists Association

Riverside Park Conservancy

Trees New York

The Bronx Brewery

New York Botanical Garden Announces 25th Antique Garden Furniture Fair

While it still remains very much the “winter of our discontent” -- to quote the poetic; climate change notwithstanding there have been a few winter wonderland magical storms.

Nevertheless, February - that holiday-rich month (think Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year 2016/Lunar New, President’s Day, Mardi Gras - and more, all eyes are looking ahead to Spring.

So getting news of this year’s NYBG’s 25th Anniversary Antique Garden Furniture Fair and its Kick Off with Exclusive Benefit Preview Party and Renowned Collectors’ Plant Sale on the Evening of April 28, 2016 was a lovely seasonal hug. If you love gardens - and being inspired to design garden room indoors and out - this is the event you must attend. Plus, you can rub shoulders with the likes of Martha Stewart, Bunny Williams, and Virginia Newman - Pennoyer Newman Distinctive Garden Pots

NYBG news says it’s “Featuring 30 of the Country’s Leading Exhibitors Showcasing the Finest Garden Antiques for Purchase, The Fair Continues All Weekend, April 29–May 1.

The New York Botanical Garden’s 2016 Antique Garden Furniture Fair: Antiques for the Garden and the Garden Room opens with a Benefit Preview Party and Collectors’ Plant Sale on Thursday, April 28, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Do not miss this rare opportunity to secure the best plants to take home -- and rub elbows with the horticulture and design world’s hoi polloi.

According to the Garden, “The country’s original, largest, and most important venue for authentic garden antiques, this year’s Fair features playful bee-inspired designs by celebrated interior and event designer Ken Fulk. As Designer Chairman for the 25th Anniversary Fair, Fulk will create a showpiece featuring items from exhibitors that will inspire and enlighten visitors about marrying antiques and modern design with their everyday aesthetic.

Amid 600 guests from the philanthropic, interior and landscape design, architecture, and art worlds, Preview Party attendees can indulge in a Silent Auction and NYBG’s renowned Collectors’ Plant Sale, which features hard-to-find beauties, beloved varieties, and horticultural treasures propagated from NYBG collections, all chosen for their rarity and charm.

Lilacs, Japanese maples, and herbaceous peonies, selected to celebrate the recent expansions of these historic NYBG collections, are among the unique offerings that will be available exclusively to Preview Party guests.




The Preview Party presents enthusiasts and collectors the opportunity to examine the plants, peruse thousands of garden antiques from more than 30 leading exhibitors from across the United States offering their finest pieces for sale, and to make early purchases, while enjoying cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, in advance of the Fair’s opening to the general public. For Preview Party tickets and information, please call 718.817.8773 or e-mail cbalkonis@nybg.org

All proceeds benefit NYBG’s Fund for Horticulture, directly supporting the work of the curators and gardeners.

The Antique Garden Furniture Fair continues at NYBG from Friday, April 29 through Sunday, May 1, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Named “Best in America” by experts and long held as the most distinguished stage for authentic garden antiques and rarities, the Fair is a must for leading collectors and designers, as well as purchasers seeking advice from professionals. Included are outdoor sculpture, fountains, sundials, bird baths, gates, garden benches, antique wicker, urns and planters, botanical prints, and architectural ornament, displaying centuries of classic design inspiration gathered from America, Europe, and Asia. These antiques are not only great for the garden, but also for the garden room.

Weekend visitors to the Antique Garden Furniture Fair can browse and purchase unique items of the highest quality and provenance and enjoy a program lineup that includes talks, tours, and eclectic live musical sets. There will be exhibitors offering an array of interesting ways to bring the outdoors inside by creating garden rooms in your home. Experts will be on hand to answer questions on current decorating styles. They will also discuss trends in the acquisition and appreciation of garden ornament, as well as assist buyers looking for the perfect piece to complement a garden, landscape, or interior. On-site shippers are available to facilitate Tri-State New York and New England deliveries during the Fair and other shipping needs in the weeks following.

At the entrance to the Antique Garden Furniture Fair, a Specialty Plant Sale features an extensive selection of unusual, colorful plants representing some of horticulture’s finest growers. A variety of shrubs and trees, perennials, annuals, and herbs will be available. Visitors may purchase refreshments here as well.

The year 2016 marks The New York Botanical Garden’s 125th Anniversary. The Antique Garden Furniture Fair, taking place in a tent amid flowering trees, plants, and shrubs, with the institution’s landmark Enid A. Haupt Conservatory as its glorious backdrop, is one of many public celebratory events commemorating this historic milestone.

The Antique Garden Furniture Fair is the ideal venue for learning about garden antiques and building personal collections. Admission to the Fair on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, April 29 through May 1, is included with the All-Garden Pass, which also provides access to the Botanical Garden grounds, seasonal gardens, attractions such as the Haupt Conservatory, and Tram Tour. Advance tickets for the Fair are available for purchase online at nybg.org

Garden Design in Ecuador: How Fragrance & Edible Gardens Add to Garden Magic at Hacienda Cusin

Hacienda Cusin Chef Romano & Jefferson in the new Edible Garden bed

As many of you know, I’ve been completely smitten with Ecuador, and Hacienda Cusín especially tugs at my heartstrings ever since I first embraced this fairy-tale kingdom last year working with a group of professional gardeners, or I should say, jardineros, whose link is the New York Botanical Garden Landscape Design Alumni Group.  I wrote more than a few posts last year chronicling our work on the ornamental gardens: Creating Garden Border Beds - in Ecuador - at Hacienda … If Walls Could Talk: Garden Design in Ecuador's Hacienda …

So given the opportunity to return, I was very keen to dream a bit in order to contribute our talents to add to the magic and mystery and charm of Cusin.

First, I needed to assemble my team as Cusin preferred two smaller groups this year rather than one bigger group. In addition to Linda Tejpaul, Magnolia Design, who was part of the Cusin team last year - the invites were a slam-dunk/no-brainer for me. I immediately asked the ever-talented, dynamic horticulturist, landscape architect, NY Parks Horticulture Manager at Randall's Island, and founder Live Rice - EunYoung Sebazco --who is also the first person to grow rice in New York City -- along with Sarah Owens, who I worked with at Brooklyn Botanic Garden where she is the former curator of the Cranford Rose Garden, and has just launched her super-successful Sourdough: Recipes for Rustic Fermented Breads, Sweets Cookbook, inspired by the botanicals.
As luck would have it, Sarah was going to be in Central and South America beginning in December, so she could meet us there. Sarah and EunYoung had also worked with me for years as part of the Duchess Designs fine gardening team. So we all knew and admired one another’s horticulture and passion for the garden -- both ornamental and edible. All replied an enthusiastic “yes!”

Garden Designs

Fragrance Garden

It was then time to come up with a plan for this year’s Cusin garden design. Reflecting on last year’s experience and recalling the picture perfect landscaped gardens that bejewel the colonial elegance that is Cusin, I thought there really isn’t much to improve or change or modify… We of course do a ton of garden “editing” and fine gardening that involves pruning, weeding, creating new compositions - especially as the plants grow so fast here. But I was looking to contribute in another way too. One of the elements I thought was missing was the sensual element of fragrance.

The gardens here are so sensory: igniting one’s sight, touch, and hearing -- given the birds that orchestrate a sweet serenade during the day and the tree frogs offer a kind of syncopated cantata at night. But fragrance - while here and there - could be amplified. Thus the concept of a Fragrance Garden came to be. I asked the team to research fragrant plants that are native to Ecuador and/or that would do well here. Bonanza! I also did up a quick garden design rendering (not to scale) to share with Nik, Cusin’s owner to better demonstrate our design concepts.

The location of the Fragrance Garden is next to the Biblioteca (where I’m writing from now), adjacent to the Edible Garden - and opposite a suite of rooms/cottages where I stayed last year for a week. The fountain is in the center of a four-quadrant axis with the garden beds lining those paths. I thought we could make this more of a destination garden rather than a pass-through visual -- with the fragrant plants enticing both guests and pollinators.

Edible Garden

There’s no denying that I believe edible gardens both rival pure ornamental gardens for their beauty but also offer the best tasting food. A double delight. Again, last year I discovered this astonishing fruit and vegetable garden, visiting it many times during my work holiday here - even getting a tour from the head gardener: Luis. I took a kind of inventory in order to research and learn more about the plants. That list became useful this year.

See, I thought we might augment the edible garden, adding more local or native plants that, in turn, could better inform Cusin’s menu and recipes. I was thinking big here, I know. But given that my book: The Hamptons and Long Island Homegrown Cookbook-- was prompted as a way to explore how locally-grown ingredients inspire chefs, along with my food and drink writings for Garden Glamour and the Examiner - you can’t blame me for thinking that in some small way, we might kickstart an effort to embrace more of a cultural cuisine - making Cusin a culinary destination - to celebrate the flavors and bounty of Cusin -- along with its other charms. Besides, I’d reported on and/or have food friends who have contributed to their own country’s culinary culture ascendence, including Brooklyn (I know, but Brooklyn often does think of itself as a separate country), Denmark, Spain, and Peru. If they can do it, I figured why not us and Ecuador.

The team - that by that time the reception staff at Cusin had nicknamed, El Grupo Duchess, because of my Duchess Designs -- enthusiastically jumped in to research local Ecuadorian recipes and the plant ingredients found in their recipes. This was exciting!

Duchess Designs: Angel - Cusin's driver picked up our group at the airport in Quito

I knew right away I wanted to include the market treat I’d had last time: figs in honey with a kind of mozzarella cheese on homemade bread… mmmm.

(By the way, the local treat is guinea pig -- but I’ll have none of that, thank you! But a man on our trip to see the raptors and Condors ordered up one and Cusin accommodated. What an Instagram moment. Culinary? Not so much…)

Guinea Pig entree!

However, there are so many delicious recipes that use the bounty of this rich land, including potatoes, fruits, edible flowers, and sugar cane (panella), along with rice and dairy. Otavalo, where Cusin is located is a dairy - and rose-growing area - so the milk and yogurt are especially good.

Still in New York, the team produced a list of plants for the Fragrance Garden and the Edible Garden, along with herbs and companion plants. And recipes to illustrate how the plants can be used in the menus.

With these and the two garden design renderings, we were “ready” to meet with Nik the owner.

Fragrance Garden - it's actually on the axis - but not bad considering I did  it from memory! 

Edible Garden

Long story short here - he approved! Nik gave us the confidence and a plan on how to make it all work. Happy Day! Oh - and we planned to do fine gardening and add to the beds around 25 - a casita/cottage that is at the far end of the Edible Garden. I did my morning yoga on top of this room last year. What an inspired view. Well, really, the vistas from most any spot are heart-clenching, breathtaking, and tranquil at the same time.

Working in the Garden

Let me add that we are one of two teams of gardeners who will work here this “winter.” The Mel team that comes after us is the team Linda and I worked with last year. So once Nik approved the project plan, I shared with them.

Travel arrangements were made: Linda, EunYoung and me flew out from JFK direct to Quito via TAME airlines. Nice flight. We met Sarah at the attractive new airport where Angel, from Cusin, met us. It’s a twisty, turny, not-so-long drive to Cusin. Beautiful scenery that astonishes at every point: volcanoes, nature, and the clouds…

We hit the ground running on Friday morning. We met with Cusin’s brilliant manager, Cesar.

Cesar, Cusin's incredible manager

I had a set of plans and plant lists to review with him. Nik had already briefed him, so we set about determining how to implement the project plans. Cesar was very supportive for everything and challenged us to create the homegrown dinner menu for Thursday night guests, using the ingredients from the garden and the market. It couldn’t get better! He also asked that we look to include herbs and medicinal plants for a kind of physic garden element. We also planned our nursery shopping to get some of the plants to produce our proposed designs.

We were honored to have the project accepted and looked forward to making them proud. Cesar walked the gardens where we would be working our designs, pointing out the area where we could create the new edible garden bed, along with confirming the gardens that were part of our design proposal.

Next it was work in the gardens. Finally, getting into the rich Ecuadorian soil. As I mentioned, plants grow really fast here. In addition, pruning is a horticultural art - especially so here because every garden is a showcase - guests are always exploring the gardens - so no luxury of hard pruning because there can’t be any “holes” or cutting back hard. No problem for EunYoung - she took a leggy “wall” of fuschia and had it looking healthy and magazine-worthy in no time.

"before" pruning of fuchsia 

"After" artful pruning - now guests can see out to the Edible Garden & wall 

EunYoung divided the liriope too.

Meanwhile, I weeded and transplanted and divided the strawberries there in the pathway bed.

"Before" 25 Garden Bed path

Sarah & Linda pruning 

EunYoung & Sarah transplanting Alstroemeria

Austrian guests at Cusin: children love gardening!  This lad picked up the trowel & was an El Grupo Duchess team member before I could say, "Guten Tag!"

EunYoung dividing & planting strawberries

Puppies in the Jardin! 

Puppies were cute until they started romping on the new plantings!!

We got some surprise "help" from two adorable puppies .  I name one, "Toffee" & Sarah named the other one, "Fudge!"

"After" 25 Garden Bed - Alstroemeria transplanted tall - & new color-coordinated low alstroemeria added depth to design

I love that it looks like the plants are reaching out to one another in a kind of "bloom embrace!" 

Linda and Sarah were busy working on the entrance area to the casita - that was separated by a lovely wall from us/the side beds.

Front entrance area of Room 25 

Front entrance to 25 after fine gardening 

I also saw that the side roof prevented any plants from growing there but we needed a bit of beauty to cover what was an otherwise blank spot. I spied one container with impatiens - they grow like trees here -- and pulled that over. My design eye thought it needed another pot positioned at an angle or caty-corner so that it would better camouflage yet still get needed rain to the second pot. We got one and a palm on nursery shopping expedition. You can see the “before” and “after.”

"Before" 

"After" with pots & plants - making a lovely composition

We also cleaned up this architectural jewel - jokingly referred to as the"dry hot tub" that  was once used to cleanse the cows.  We're thinking of a folly for this beauty...

I think it was after lunch that we moved on to the Edible Garden. Cesar had already determined the space so it was left to create a design within that area. We worked out the egress from both sides and around a center tree. We managed to create two parterre-like beds and the other space was sculpted and yet allowed for more of an open bed for edibles and herbs.

"Before" edible garden bed 

The path from one main artery to another took a bit of a winding path - to allow guests to better pause and enjoy the edible plants looks and fragrance - and to allow the chefs easy access to their recipe ingredients.

"Before" edible garden bed

Sarah starting in on the new bed

Sarah, Cusin jardinero Vincente, & me

Sarah, Vincente - he lent some of their big tools - we could only bring hand tools in luggage - & Linda 

First stage: outlining/digging beds & paths

And then Linda reminded us that Japanese gardens used winding paths to thwart the evil spirits. But only good spirits in Cusin garden!

Sneak Peek to "After" with Edible Garden micrograms & pepper plants

Planted new edibles 

The next day we shopped the local nurseries for fragrance and edibles.

EunYoung, Linda, & Sarah inspecting citrus & stone fruits at the nursery

So many pretty pots to choose from

El Grupo Duchess - successful nursery buying trip

Eye Candy nursery plants in Ecuador

Not too much of edible plants were available - so being the plucky horticulturists that we are -- we determined we could get the local/natives at the market in Otavalo and grow them!


After all, EunYoung brought microgreen seeds that we started on Friday and they were sending up shoots by Tuesday.

EunYoung explaining the microgreen's propagation to Luis & Jorge - some of Cusin's top garden talent

Cusin's rich compost helped get the seedling up & growing in a week

After purchasing some chocolate mint plants (just two! -- not to take over) and some medicinal plants, we walked to where a family was selling red beans we recognized from our research, oka, and lima beans. The lima beans are BIG here. We learned so much from the family, especially given Linda’s Spanish language skills. The women were busy shelling peas while the father taught us how to prepare the seeds and oka for planting. It was a fantastic learning experience for all of us.

a kind of lima bean - to be planted after drying and yellow part turns black

Our market "teacher" shows us Oka - a kind of sunchoke.  I love this taste!

So, we secured a few Oka to plant - with direction from our market teacher

Food market in Otavalo

More market images:

Next post: Preparing the beds and planting.

*And if you want the plant lists we prepared, please just write me.