Garden News Archive

Native Flora Garden Expansion: A Link to Our Natural History

By Sarah Schmidt on February 28, 2013

Difficult as it is to imagine today, the New York metropolitan area was once home to a broad array of incredibly diverse plant communities. Much of Brooklyn was old-growth oak forest; the New Jersey Meadowlands were cedar swamps and sphagnum bogs; the eastern part of Long Island was a rolling, tallgrass prairie; and the wetlands now occupied by JFK

South African Spring

By Sarah Schmidt on February 26, 2013

Most spring bulbs may be weeks from blooming outdoors in the Northern Hemisphere, but their South African counterparts are in all their glory in the Warm Temperate Pavilion. Like tulips, daffodils, and other familiar spring-blooming bulbs, South African bulbs and other geophytes are dormant in summer, an adaptation that allows them to conserve

Recipe: Valentine’s Day Sweet Potato Cake

By Ariel Nadelberg on February 13, 2013

It’s hard not to love sweet potatoes. These tasty tubers are available year-round, and they contain complex carbohydrates, as well as beta carotene, vitamin C, calcium, potassium, and even protein. The Center for Science in the Public Interest ranks them the most nutritious vegetable out there. They also have the lowest glycemic index among root