Even an Urban Spring is Pretty Impressive: Check Out the Botanical Garden

Even in New York City, it’s possible to appreciate spring, in the parks, window boxes, and even small areas on streets where trees are in bloom.
But if you really want to appreciate it, a trip to the New York Botanical Garden may be in order.
For starters, you can catch the Orchid show before it closes on Sunday (“The Orchid Show: Cuba in Flower.”) It looks at the exotic tropical flowers of Old Havana.
Also there through Sunday: “The Presence of Trees: An Exhibition of Photography” by Larry Lederman. The images on display were taken mainly at the Botanical Garden as well as in Westchester; it’s in the Arthur and Janet Ross Gallery.
Opening on April 16, check out the 4th Annual Auricula Theater of Primroses, where primroses galore will be ablaze in the Nancy Bryan Luce Herb Garden. The Auricula is a type of primrose with amazing flowers—presenting them is a tradition that goes back to 17th Century England. The show closes May 9, 2010.
Coming up at the end of the month: “Emily Dickinson’s Garden: the Poetry of Flowers” (April 30-June 13, 2010.) Spread across 250 acres, the exhibition offers a look at Dickinson’s love for nature, as well as her life story.
All this, of course, is in addition to ongoing permanent collections and programs, from the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden to a Home Gardening Center and displays of flowering cherry trees (catch them before they’re gone!)
The New York Botanical Garden is at the Bronx River Parkway at Fordham Road. Call (718) 817-8700 for more information, or log onto their website at nybg.org.

Feel the Miniature Magic at the Botanical Gardens Holiday Train Show

Yes, it’s far uptown; it can be a pain to get to; and it’s off the beaten track–but trust us, a visit to the New York Botanical Gardens around the holidays is seriously not to be missed.
For starters, there’s the annual Holiday Train Show with Gingerbread Adventures--and you've honestly never seen anything like it.
The little model trains zip around a kind of idealized New York City, where everything is crafted entirely out of natural materials. That Brooklyn Bridge? Sugar pine cones. The torch on the Statue of Liberty? A pomegranate. Bark, leaves, seeds, fungi--it all goes into the incredible replicas of New York landmarks, from the original Yankee Stadium and Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, to the Brooks Brothers store flagship. New this year: A miniature, meticulously detailed version of the original Pennsylvania Station. The details on the replicas are mesmerizing, and everything is lit by holiday lights.
While you’re there, check out the Gingerbread Adventures in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. Ooh and aah at the display of handcrafted gingerbread houses—then tour a display of the spices that are used to make them. Nibble on cinnamon and ginger, and keep a field diary of your favorite finds.
The Garden’s 250 acres are done up for the holidays—plus there’s the “Little Engine That Could” puppet show and, coming in January, the “Thomas the Tank Engine” display.
For hours and more information, check out their website at nybg.org, or call (718) 817-8700.