An Oasis in NYC

A few days ago, I had the pleasure of visiting the New York Botanical Gardens to view their current exhibition of Frida Kahlo's work. It was the opening weekend of the exhibition and the gardens were bustling with visitors. While Frida's work is always a treasure to admire, I couldn't help but to be in awe of the Gardens themselves.  Next time you're in NYC,  give yourself a day to explore the vast gardens and fall in love all over again with the 'Big Apple'; with over one million living plants on 250 acres, the gardens are from a horticulturist's dream.

 Rock Garden

Miniature Alpine Gardens

Rock Garden View 1

Rock Garden View 2

Plants in the Rock Garden: on the Left: Large Yellow Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorun)

Azalea Garden

Looking up at the stunning Conservatory dome

Conservatory View 1

Conservatory View 2

Conservatory View 3

Conservatory View 4

Conservatory View 5

Lily Pads in the Aquatic House

Hanging ferns and vines in the Aquatic House

Peonies on the walk to the Conservatory




To visit the Gardens: http://www.nybg.org/The Frida Kahlo Exhibition: http://www.nybg.org/frida/

• May 16- November 1
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 The Garden is open year-round, Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. (Winter hours: 10 a.m.–5 p.m., mid January–February), and the following Mondays:

• January 19 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)

• February 16 (Presidents' Day)

• April 6 (Spring Break/Passover/Easter Monday)

• May 25 (Memorial Day)

• September 7 (Labor Day)

• October 12 (Columbus Day)

• December 14 (Holiday Train Show)

• December 21 (Holiday Train Show)

• December 28 (Holiday Train Show)

The Garden is closed on Mondays with the exception of the dates listed above. It is also closed on November 26, 2015 (Thanksgiving) and December 25, 2015 (Christmas).

 Keep Exploring! xo, The Bayou Botanist

To Stroll alongside Bourgeois and Miró

Tall walls shield The Cullen Sculpture Garden from busy streets, but unfortunately, also hide the garden from many potential visitors. Once found though, the space greets visitors with pathways winding around elevated green islands of grass and trees and boasts over 25 works from the MFAH collection along with a rotating selection of works on loan. It is an perfect space to explore on a leisurely stroll or sit and have lunch at one of the many tables in an open courtyard area. 

Joseph Havel, Exhaling Pearls, 1993, Painted Bronze

Frank Stella, Decanter, 1987, Steel and Bronze

Fun Fact:  The Cullen Sculpture Garden opened to the public in 1986. Sculptor Isamu Noguchi was commissioned to design the Garden at the MFAH; Noguchi described his gardens as "a sculpture for sculpture." 

The Cullen Sculpture Garden is located at Montrose Blvd. and Bissonnet St. Open from 9AM- 10PM

To Learn more: 

https://www.mfah.org/visit/cullen-sculpture-garden/

Keep Exploring! xo,

The Bayou Botanist

An Oasis in the City

The entire experience of visiting the The Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens makes you feel as though you've been thrown back in time. To enter the estate you must cross over the buffalo bayou on a swinging suspension bridge.

Crossing the Bridge

You can no longer see the city skyline or hear the busy traffic even though you're in the heart of Houston. The 14 acre estate is a tranquil combination of formal English gardens, native woodlands, and lush vegetation lining walking paths. The Bayou Bend, formally the estate of the incredible Ima Hogg, was donated to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston in 1957.  It is now the house museum for American decorative arts and paintings. 

CLIO GARDEN

Azaleas along the paths

Bayou Bend Main House

DIANA GARDEN

THE WOODLAND RAVINES boast native plants and carry rainwater to the Bayou 

Fun Facts:
**Bayou Bend has 7 trees on its property that are considered "Harris County champions" (exceptionally large trees): Yaupon Holly, Flowering Dogwood, American Sycamore, Maidenhair Tree (Gingko), Two Winged Silverbell, PawPaw, Yellow Poplar, Winged Elm
** The River Oaks Garden Club has supervised the gardens since 1961.
** Ima Hogg is credited with bringing azaleas to Houston. (See Houston's annual Azalea Trail in April)
** The Bayou Bend is the first historic public garden in Texas to practice organic gardening. 

Upcoming Events in May:
Every Tuesday 1:30pm - 4:30pm  Sketching in the Gardens
Every Saturday 1:30-4:30pm  Photography in the Gardens
May 17     Texas Children's Art Festival  1-5pm (FREE)


Keep Exploring! xo The Bayou Botanist

Color Theory: James Turrell

Back in 2012, Rice University unveiled the permanent installation of "Twilight Epiphany" a Skyspace by international superstar James Turrell (you can also view his light tunnel at the MFAH).

The "Pyramidal" structure, made of grass, concrete, stone and composite steel, appears to rise out of the ground like sci-fi Mayan ruins.  The space has two levels that can accommodate up to 120 visitors at a time to view a sunrise and sunset light sequence every day (except Tuesday). The light sequence is romantic in its beautiful simplicity and acts as gentle reminder of the sublime in the everyday. Viewers treat the structure almost as a sacred space, where everyone whispers and watches spellbound as the colors fade into one another. 

The space is also "acoustically engineered to host musical performances" which I could only imagine would be a remarkable experience.  While the light sequence occurred, students would bike or stroll through the space while looking up; some just stayed for a few seconds; others lingered as though they just discovered something remarkable. 

Those interested in viewing Skyspace can reserve spots online for sunset (no reservation needed for sunrise).  Skyspace is located on Rice Campus adjacent to the Shepard School of Music in the Suzanne Deal Booth Centennial Pavilion.

To Learn More about Skyspace and times of light sequence. 

http://skyspace.rice.edu/about-skyspace/

Keep Exploring! xo, The Bayou Botanist

Higher Elevation

One of the Houston's newest Gardens, the McGovern Centennial Gardens, is a true gem. On 15 acres, landscape architect Doug Hoerr combined a rose garden, an arid garden, a family educational garden, a meandering path through woodlands, and a 30 ft land sculpture that allows visitors to have a 360 view of the garden.  Each individual space is unique encouraging the visitor to explore every hidden corner.   When the Garden's first opened a few months ago, I was sure it was still a secret but over the last few weeks the gardens have been full of visitors of all ages. So put on your favorite wide brimmed hat, bring your camera or a book, and enjoy a stroll through the gardens! Below are photos of a few of the points of interest from the McGovern Centennial Gardens.

Aerial Map: to view PDF go to McGovern's website here

Entrance to the McGovern Gardens

Chinese Pavilion 

Rose Garden

Arid Garden

A view from the Mound

Family Garden

Celebration Garden

Keep Exploring! xo The Bayou Botanist

Butterflies for Earth Day

For Earth Day, I decided to celebrate by spending the afternoon sketching in my favorite indoor rain forest, The Cockrell Butterfly Center .

Photo Credit Andy Hemingway  http://andyhemingway.com/

Unfortunately, I failed to realize that a few hundred grade school children would also be celebrating in my 'secret' sanctuary. . . It turned out to be one of my favorite visits ever. How quickly you forget what its like to be a young explorer, especially in a place like the Butterfly Center. The lush landscape is enhanced by winding paths, a 50 ft waterfall that ends in a cave, an orange iguana named 'Charro', and of course, hundreds of fluttering butterflies swooping from flower to flower.

Ferns next to the cave

In the Cave at the bottom of the path

Looking up

As I sat on one side of a bench along the path to sketch, I was constantly being engaged by curious passersby. It's funny to take in the different reactions to live drawing. Some stand a few feet away inconspicuously starring at what you're doing, other brave children come up close to view the work in progress and give a small critique. My favorite interaction of the day?:  One little boy very seriously asked if monarchs were poisonous, to which I definitively answered, 'No,' and then he ran away, apparently satisfied with my authority. I look forward to learning more about these graceful creatures over the next year as any other questions would currently be fielded.

A Sketch of the Butterfly Center 4-22-2015 4PM

Enjoy the Outdoors! xo The Bayou Botanist

Prints around Houston

There is something special about Spring time in Houston. Houstonians flock outside to experience as many glorious days of good weather as possible - hoping to avoid the torrential downpours and trying to forget the upcoming furnace that we call summer. Today, I attended a yearly event called "Rockin' Rollin' Prints 2015" held at St. Arnold's Brewery and sponsored by PrintMatters Houston. Participating artists produced 3' x 5' or 4' x 5' carved wood blocks based on the theme "Everything's Bigger in Texas." The event functioned like a well-oiled machine.  Volunteers inked the wood blocks, carried them to the area right in front of a steam roller (umbrella included), covered the wood block with a huge sheet of paper, covered the paper with protective layers, the steamroller chugged over and back, and voila!, a large print emerged that proved that once again 'bigger is better.' 

Learn More about PrintMatters Houston here: http://www.printmattershouston.org/

Volunteers, Wood Block by Artist Luisa Duarte, and steamroller about to get the job done.
See Luisa's website here:  http://www.luisa-duarte.com/

A row of the printed wood blocks

Inking in Progress

A few hours later, I arrived at the Japan Festival held at Hermann Park. Kites, paper umbrellas, traditional Japanese performers and music, Japanese flower arrangements, and the visitor's best cosplay costumes were all on display. 

Drumline along the reflecting pool 

It had something for everyone, but of course, I was particularly drawn to the Ikebana booth showcasing arrangements by students at the Tachibana School. The arrangements were elegant and stunning in their quiet presence. From the Tachibana School website describing Ikebana (the Japanese fine art of floral arrangement) : 

The central canon of ikebana for centuries has been Ten-Chi-Jin (Heaven-Earth-Man), where heaven is symbolized by the tall central flower, man by a medium branch placed at the side, and earth by the shortest branch, placed before the heaven branch. 

I couldn't leave Hermann Park without visiting the Japanese Garden. It's one of my favorite places to sit and reflect, sketch in one of the small teahouses, stroll next to the pond, or to watch the turtles sunbathe on the rocks. Make this garden the next location on your list for an afternoon retreat.  

From inside of the teahouse

Sketch from inside the Tea House, Japanese Garden, 4/10/2015

A new sculpture caught my eye as I exited the park. The whimsical piece was by none other that Yinka Shonibare (one of my favorite artists). Since 2014, Hermann Park conservancy has been placing new artworks around the Park to everyone's delight. You can view the current art installations on their website here:

 http://www.hermannpark.org/visit/interactive-map/

Yinka Shonibare MBE 

Wind Sculpture IV, 2013

Steel armature with hand painted fiberglass resin cast

240 x 134 x 31.5 inches

Detail of Sculpture

Sculpture and Kites

Get Outside and Enjoy the Spring! xo,  The Bayou Botanist