With weeks of abnormally warm weather, there are colorful surprises in flower at the Botanical Garden. In place of the barren or snow-covered landscapes commonly associated with January, snowdrops, witch-hazels, grape-holly, Dawn fragrant viburnum, camellias, winter honeysuckle, and Japanese apricot are all in flower. Some are quite showy, including the lush rose-colored flowers of camellia ‘Spring’s Promise’, the exuberant yellow sprays of grape-holly, and certain witch-hazels and viburnums.

The floral display is in unusually good condition for early January due to the mild weather and lack of ice and snow. In addition, daffodils are emerging from the ground and certain trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants are starting to leaf out.

Some of the plants now flowering at the Botanical Garden are:

Ajania (Ajania pacifica)
Baby’s breath spirea (Spiraea thunbergii)
Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens)
Daffodil (Narcissus ‘Rijnveld’s Early Sensation’)
Dawn viburnum (Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’)
Hellebore (Helleborus ‘Early Purple’, Helleborus niger)
Giant snowdrop (Galanthus elwesii)
Grape-holly (Mahonia)
Japanese apricot (Prunus mume ‘Peggy Clarke’)
Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica ‘Spring’s Promise’, ‘April Tryst’)
Periwinkle (Vinca minor)
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) — some are already past bloom
Spring and autumn flowering cherry (Prunus subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’)
Winter honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima)
Winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum)
Witch-hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’, Hamamelis x intermedia
‘Orange Peel’, Hamamelis vernalis, and Hamamelis mollis)

Experimental “global warming” garden

Signs of spring are in many places across the Botanical Garden’s 250 acres, but nowhere are they more in evidence than in the Garden’s experimental Ladies Border, a 260-foot-long and 30-foot-wide bed on the southeast side of the landmark Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. This historic border, a sheltered, warm spot with southeastern exposure, re-opened in 2002 in a daring experimental redesign by Lynden B. Miller, the renowned public garden designer, and the Garden’s horticultural staff. It features plants not typically found in the Garden’s geographical zone and allows the Garden to test the hardiness of plants and to expand the wide diversity of its plant collections. Lynden Miller says that it is intended “to stretch people’s imaginations” about what they can grow in this region.

Todd A. Forrest, Vice President for Horticulture and Living Collections, refers to the Ladies’ border as a “global warming” garden. It tests conventional horticultural wisdom by observing which plants can be grown in this growing zone today and how different plants handle changing weather conditions. Since the new redesign, plants have endured drought as well both severe and mild winters. The border is a living, evolving experiment, with different plants tried out, successful ones transplanted into the Garden’s other gardens, and new plants brought in.

Camellias, grape-hollies, and Japanese apricot are among the highlights of the Ladies Border, as are several thriving crape myrtles and even a Himalayan fan palm. Many of these plants are among the ones breaking into flower and/or leaf in the current warm spell.

The Botanical Garden is also testing the hardiness of conifers among the plantings in the Benenson Ornamental Conifers. Cultivars of the cedar of Lebanon and Deodar cedar, considered marginally hardy in New York City, have thrived since the collection opened in 2004. Five weeping giant sequoias, also not considered hardy in New York, have survived near the entrance pavilions for nearly five years.

Gardening in a Changing Climate, April 20-22, 2007

This spring, The New York Botanical Garden is planning a special educational and horticultural weekend about gardening in today’s changing climatic conditions. On Friday, April 20, a symposium for professional horticulturalists kicks off the weekend with a series of demonstrations and presentations by climate change scientists and the Garden’s horticulturists. Among the speakers at the symposium will be Cameron P. Wake, Ph.D. Research Associate Professor at the Climate Change Research Center at the University of New Hampshire; David W. Wolfe, Ph.D., Professor of Plant Ecology in the Department of Horticulture at ; and Peter James Del Tredici, Senior Research Scientist at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. Both Drs. Wake and Wolfe are working with the Botanical Garden on climate change issues and how they relate to horticulture. The symposium will be followed by a series of public programs and demonstrations for the home gardener on Saturday, April 21, and Sunday, April 22, which is also Earth Day.

The New York Botanical Garden is a museum of plants located at Bronx River Parkway (Exit 7W) and Fordham Road. It is easy to reach by Metro-North or subway. The Botanical Garden is open year-round, Tuesday through Sunday and Monday federal holidays, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. April through October, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. November through March. The best way to enjoy the Botanical Garden is with the Combination Ticket, which includes admission to the grounds, Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, Rock and Native Plant Gardens, and Tram Tour, and costs $18 for adults; $16 for students and seniors; $5 for children 2-12. Grounds admission is free to everyone on Wednesdays all day and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. For more information, please call 718.817.8700 or visit our Web site at http://www.nybg.org

The New York Botanical Garden is located on property owned in full by the City of New York, and its operation is made possible in part by public funds provided through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. A portion of the Garden’s general operating funds is provided by The New York City Council and The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The Bronx Borough President and Bronx elected representatives in the City Council and State Legislature provide leadership funding.