Monthly Archives: March 2007

A Visit to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

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[Updated 2007.03.04: Added links to related posts, and to BBG.]

Today I dragged my better half to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It was a brief visit; it was sunny and warm when we left the house, but cloudy and chilly by the time I finished buying my seeds at the gift shop.

Shadow and Light, Bonsai Museum, BBG

The Bonsai Museum

Four-way stone, Bonsai Museum, BBGBasin, Bonsai Museum, BBGAcer palmatum, Bonsai Museum, BBGJumiperus chinensis var. sargentii, Bonsai in literati style, BBGBonsai, detail showing wire wrapping in placeThree trees, Bonsai Museum, BBG

Bonsai Museum, Steinhardt Conservatory, BBGJuniperus chinensis, Bonsai, Informal upright style, BBG

The Desert Pavilion

Desert Pavilion, Steinhardt Conservatory, BBGDesert Pavilion, Steinhardt Conservatory, BBGDesert Pavilion, Steinhardt Conservatory, BBGPelargonium crithmifolium, Desert Pavilion, BBG

The Tropical Pavilion

Tropical Pavilion, Steinhardt Conservatory, BBGAnthurium infructescence with fruits, Tropical Pavilion, BBGPalm, Tropical Pavilion, BBGWatercolors, Tropical Pavilion, BBG

Croton leaf, Tropical Pavilion, BBG

The Japanese Garden

Torii and pond, Japanese Garden, BBGFIltered View, Japanese Garden, BBG

Torii and Pond, Japanese Garden, BBGFiltered View, Japanese Garden, BBG

Miscellaneous

Artist and subject in the Trail of Evolution greenhouse. BBG offers classes in botanical art and illustration. I think one or more classes were in session when we visited. We saw several student-artists throughout the garden.

Artist and subject, Trail of Evolution, BBG

Magnolia in bud at, where else, Magnolia Plaza. I’m guessing bloom for the Star Magnolias is just two weeks away, depending on what weather we get.

Magnolia buds, Judith D. Zuk Magnolia Plaza, BBG

The Shakespeare Garden. I hardly ever spend any time in this garden; I usually pass through it on my way to another destination. The entrance to this garden is just across from the Japanese Garden. It also connects with the Fragrance Garden.

Shakespeare Garden, BBG

Related Posts:

Finally, Spring

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Eranthis hyemalis, Winter Aconite, flowering in the front garden this afternoon.
Eranthis hyemalis, Winter Aconite

Everything is delayed about a month from where I’d expect it to be. I would have had the first bulbs blooming last weekend, were it not for the blast of ice and snow we got. The most recent storm reached us last night. It eased off this morning, giving way to partial sun and clouds and temperatures in the upper fifties. Perfect for the crocuses to open up.

Crocus tommasinianus
Crocus tommasinianus

And here are two shots showing the flowers in situ in the front garden.

Crocus tommasinianus and Eranthis hyemalis

Crocus tommasinianus and Eranthis hyemalis

Meta: Rabies More Popular Than Sex

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Update 2010.01.03: Corrected all links to the old Gowanus Lounge domain to the new memorial domain.

Looking at charts of the visits and page views to my blog over the past month, it’s obvious that something unusual happened on February 20 and yesterday, March 1. The first chart is from SiteMeter, the second from StatCounter.
blogstats_sitemeter
blogstats_statcounter
What happened? I got some link love.

I posted about the condoms on 2/16. Gowanus Lounge, another but oh-so-much-more-popular Brooklyn blog, picked up the story on 2/20, and New York Magazine added it to their Web site the same day. And yesterday, New York Magazine picked up the rabies post.

Here’s a table showing the number of visits as reported by StatCounter and Google Analytics. Site meter doesn’t give me a way to view the numbers, and I can’t find a way to capture the Flash-based Google graphics. The numbers are remarkably close, within 5% of each other, so I have some confidence in them.

Source Visits, 2/20 Visits, 3/1
StatCounter 99 124
Google 94 123

I was surprised when the rabies post out-tracked the condoms post. It’s not really a fair comparison. The New York magazine item, a daily feature called Neighborhood Watch, was titled “You, With the Pet Raccoon! Time for Your Rabies Shot” and had a stock photo of a raccoon with gaping jaws. It was also on their home page for most of yesterday. Most of the hits to my blog yesterday were referrals from the New York Magazine home page.

Festival of the Trees #9

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[Updated 2007.03.04: Added link to FotT #10 Call for Submissions.]

Festival of the Trees #9 is up on Larry Ayers’ blog Riverside Rambles.

I’m pleased to say that my recent post, Landscape and Politics, about the threats to privately-owned and -managed green space in Brooklyn’s 40th City Council District, made it onto the list. I’m in good company. Many of my favorite nature and garden bloggers, and many more new to me, are in this Festival. I look forward to browsing through them over the next few days.

FotT #10 will be at Roger Butterfield’s Words and Pictures; the Call for Submissions went up March 4 though I haven’t seen a formal call for submissions yet.

And FotT #11 will be right here on Flatbush Gardener! I’m excited about that, because it will be my first time hosting a carnival.

Links:

Happy National Invasive Weeds Awareness Week

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It’s a day for news. I don’t know how I missed this, but February 25 through March 2 is National Invasive Weeds Awareness Week. The NYC Department of Parks and Recreation issued a press release Monday:

During National Invasive Weeds Awareness Week, the Department of Parks & Recreation reminds all New Yorkers not to plant invasive weeds, which are threats to New York City’s parks and green spaces. … Invasive species are sold in the City and are commonly added as ornamental interest to landscapes and gardens. …

… Over an extended period of time, an invasive species planted in a home garden has the ability to spread to other natural areas, degrade land, and disrupt natural habitat. Unlike native plants, invasive weeds have no natural predators in non-native natural environments, which allows their population to grow unchecked. One invasive species is the Japanese Barberry (some varieties), which is commonly planted in gardens for its pale yellow flowers and bright red berries but which pose a severe ecological threat in natural habitats by altering soil pH, nitrogen levels, and biological activity in the soil, thus reducing wildlife habitat. Another invasive weed is the Purple Loosetrife, commonly planted for it’s beautiful purple flowers but which outcompetes and replaces native grasses and flowering plants in wetlands areas, thus forming a dense, homogenous clump and reducing habitat for waterfowl.

Invasive weeds have plagued New York City’s natural environment for centuries, arriving with the first migration of Europeans to the continent and currently transported through trade and commerce. Invasive weeds that thrive in the New York City are able do so because the City’s climate is similar to that of their country of origin. Many common invasive weeds in New York City hail from Korea, Japan, and parts of China, where average temperature, amount of rainfall, and rainfall distribution is similar to that of New York City.

Gardeners should check out the Parks Department’s Do Not Plant list of species invasive in the New York City area.

Links:

News: Raccoon Tests Positive for Rabies in Manhattan

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The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced today that a raccoon has tested positive for rabies in Manhattan. Rabies is prevalent in Staten Island. it seems just a matter of time before it’s detected in Brooklyn.

A raccoon dropped off by two New Yorkers at the Manhattan Animal Care and Control Shelter tested positive for rabies yesterday, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reported today. The Health Department is trying to identify these individuals, who may have been exposed to rabies while handling the animal. Rabies is a fatal disease, but it can be prevented if exposed individuals get rabies shots. There has not been a case of human rabies in New York City for more than 50 years.

The individuals brought the injured raccoon, wrapped in a blanket and placed in a pet carrier, to the East 110th Street shelter on the evening of Friday, February 23rd. They were described as a white man and woman in their thirties wearing medical scrubs. They left before giving any contact information to the shelter staff. [Okay, so how do you know they were New Yorkers as you state in the first paragraph?!] These people should seek medical care immediately and call 311 to notify the Health Department. The Health Department is also alerting City doctors and veterinarians of the possible exposure.

It is not known if this raccoon was living in Manhattan, which has had very few cases of rabid animals compared to Staten Island and the Bronx. It may have been transported from another borough. This raccoon is the first animal that has tested positive in Manhattan in 2007; one bat tested positive in 2006. DOHMH warns New Yorkers to avoid contact with stray cats and dogs or other potentially rabid animals such as raccoons, skunks, or opossums and to ensure that their pets’ rabies vaccinations are kept up to date.

To protect yourself against rabies:

Rabies is most often transmitted through the bite or scratch of an infected animal or when saliva of the infected animal comes into contact with an open wound or mucous membrane (such as nose or mouth). Simple contact with a wild animal will not result in rabies.

  • Do not touch or feed wild animals, stray dogs or cats, or bats.
  • Keep garbage in tightly sealed containers.
  • Stay away from any animal that is displaying unusual behavior or appears ill, particularly if the animal is behaving aggressively or if a wild animal acts unusually friendly. Call 311 to report animals that are displaying these or other unusual behaviors.

To protect your pet against rabies:

  • Make sure your dog or cat is up-to-date on its rabies vaccinations.
  • Do not leave your pets outdoors unattended.
  • If your pet has been in contact with an animal that might be rabid, contact your veterinarian.
  • Feed pets indoors.

If you are bitten by an animal:

  • First, wash the wound with soap and water IMMEDIATELY.
  • Talk to a doctor right away to see if you need tetanus or rabies shots. If you don’t have a regular doctor, go to a hospital emergency room.
  • Call 311 to report the bite.

Related Content

Raccoons in Brooklyn, 2006-07-31

Links

Press Release