You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Wave Hill House’ category.
Marilyn Young is Horticulture Assistant at Wave Hill.
Important players in the glorious pageant of spring are the early flowering magnolias. In his special report on the major trees of Wave Hill, arborist Bill Logan of Urban Arborists notes that our magnolias are “the strongest collection in the garden”.
To this ”particularly fine group” came an exciting new addition this spring. In 2009, in honor of the Year of the Trees, Logan prepared a report on Wave Hill’s major trees. Included with his suggestions for future planting was the addition of a large, overstory tree Magnolia acuminata to help complete this family of trees’ representation. Our new cucumber magnolia, as it is commonly called, was selected by Scott Canning, Wave Hill’s Director of Horticulture, along with Brian McGowan, Assistant Director of Horticulture. The site chosen is on the lawn above and east of Wave Hill House. It was planted on April 26. Still full with buds then, it blooms a little bit later than the early ones.
Historically, this type of tree was used by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in its program for developing cultivars, providing the big breakthrough in breeding yellow-flowered magnolias. One of these special cultivars is located south of Wave Hill’s front gate, by the lower entrance to the Herbert & Hyonja Abrons Woodland. There the glorious Magnolia x ‘Elizabeth’ bears creamy yellow, sweetly scented flowers. This grand tree is a cross between M. acuminata and M. denudata.
A venerable specimen of this second variety is the white flowered beauty just inside the main entrance, on the lawn in front of Glyndor House. The day this photo was taken it was enjoying the petal-falling moment. Underneath its tall branches, gradually greening with new leaves as the white petals fall, someone has drawn up a chair for a splendid spring seat.
Marilyn Young is the Horticulture Assistant at Wave Hill.
The favorite comment about the winter décor this year overheard at Wave Hill House was “I can do that!” Yes, indeed, that is a good part of our natural yet festive decorations. Gathering from your garden is like going to market before you cook a special meal: Let what is available be the inspiration. We have a multitude of sweet gum balls from our Liquidambar trees just up the hill and I gathered a big bag and box full of these when our Nally interns were raking them up this fall.
Taking further inspiration from a Martha Stewart Living article with a wreath made of these ornaments from nature and sprayed silver, Stephanie Ehrlich and I picked our palette of lavender and silver. With consideration of the woodwork and table in the Mark Twain room, we added a vignette of red and brown and silver, wanting to do something a little different than just the standard seasonal colors. Re-purposing is another important consideration and we have a treasure trove of containers from past galas and parties to choose from in the attic of Glyndor House. That is where we found the silver bowls that make the rich warm reds and browns pop, as they say.
Several objects from last winter’s decoration can be seen, and we have decided to make a tradition of having our pair of reindeer reappear each year in a new and different color.
We picked up additions at the 28th Street Flower Market under the guidance of the mayor of the flower market, our Friends of Horticulture co-chair Maggy Geiger, who generously purchased a new stash of delightfully joyful items to supplement what we already had. Another florist wholesaler, someone upstate who Laurel Rimmer, our Assistant Director of Public Programs, uses for her program supplies, was a good source for ample ribbons, faux berries and silver sparkle to complete it all.
Above the handsome mantelpiece are three of the pieces in Nature’s Palette, an exhibition of wonderful work created in Wave Hill’s year-round workshops for adults and families.
One more important note is to always bring the decor back from too glitzy to a more natural tone for Wave Hill, such as the twig wreaths that accompany the silver stars on the walls and the beautyberries from the Callicarpa bodinieri for the mantelpiece in the reception area.
Happy holidays!
This post from the second week of the internship is the collective report of the Forest Project Summer Collaborative’s newly formed “Social Media Team”. Irene, Yuna and Yura are high school 11th graders; Camilla and Erica are 10th graders.
The second week of the Forest Project Summer Collaborative (FPSC) was also the first week of Plant Science and GIS courses at Lehman College for the FPSC high school interns. Plant Science, a four-credit course, takes place Mondays, while GIS, a three-credit course, is on Wednesdays. Everyone was eager to finally begin their classes and learn new things. On Monday, July 12, 17 crew members headed towards Lehman College (instead of Wave Hill) at 9am. When they arrived, they were greeted by Dr. Suroj Tiwari, a Lehman College Adjunct Professor who has worked in Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil researching ethno-botany. The first class consisted of an introduction to the course; the students learned about the intricate structure of plant cells and the details of mitosis, or cell division. Dr. Tiwari also taught his new students the chemistry that is basic to the course, explaining the chemical molecules of plants, such as lipids and proteins. The important of this information will become clear as the course progresses. Dr. Tiwari explained how each class would reveal the links and the bonds between plants and society.
Let’s not forget about what the GIS interns were doing on this beautiful Monday! While the Plant Science students were furiously taking notes at Lehman College, the GIS students had Wave Hill’s grounds to themselves. They began working on a special project to restore our nursery, which has become overgrown and needs much work. For their special project, GIS students used tools such as rakes and shovels to remove the invasive species that had taken over the nursery, giving the baby native plants, such as dogwood and maples, room to thrive. This was a real emergency rescue mission to aid the plants so dominated by invasives and this incredibly hot summer. After a long day of arduous work, the GIS students cooled off by playing with the hose.
This past week, each work crew has completed a great amount of work on each individual site. There were storms, which has had both positive and negative effects. On Tuesday, the crew members engaged in a regular day of field work, which included weeding invasive species, building trails and working around an obstacle course of poison ivy and thorny multifloral rose bushes. A sudden downpour of rain sent both Lelia and Debbie’s crews running to the gazebo for shelter. There, the two crews set their tools aside and passed the time playing Korean games until Barry came to the rescue with ponchos. Draping their fashionably colorful ponchos over themselves, the crews headed back to the Wave Hill House, where they watched King Corn, a riveting documentary about the influence of corn on society and the surprising extent to which corn is incorporated in our diets.
The following day, the crews were missing the eight GIS members, who were at Lehman College starting a course in geography and mapmaking. There they engaged in intensive hands-on activities, working with 3D computer models. They also worked with Google Earth, an innovative resource that maps global imagery via satellite. Teaching them is an amazing pair of professors, who happen to teach together and be a married couple. After class, the GIS students relaxed on the college campus and enjoyed picking and eating blueberries. Meanwhile, the Plant Science crew members went through a typical day of field work. After lunch, however, a downpour of rain obstructed their work, so they studied for their own college course at Lehman College, through an engaging game of Botany Jeopardy arranged by Corinne, Environmental Educator and Plant Science Facilitator. The winners of the game received pots as prizes.
This Thursday, the crew members experienced their first “site shuffle,” with three crew members rotating to another crew to see how the other sites are like and how each is coming along. Mikey’s site, for example, has many garlic mustard plants, a pest that plagues Wave Hill’s grounds, but it needed more trail work than weeding. Two of the crew members went “log hunting,” searching for logs that weren’t too rotten and could be used as trail bars to mark the trail edges or as water bars to help prevent erosion. The log-hunting expedition, however, was hampered by the storm; the dampness made it hard to find good enough logs, and one of the two logs that were brought back turned out to be rotten. However, it was “enlightening and fun,” as one of the crew members put it.
This week, crew members working at the Day Lilies’ site have been weeding honeysuckle veins which are incredibly long and seem as if they will never end. Another type of weed common to the site is the first- and second-year garlic mustard. First-year garlic mustard is tiny, so it is difficult to weed; the group weeds it together so it can get done quickly. Other unforgettable weeds: porcelain berry, wine berry and multiflora rose (which has been nicknamed Mr. F.). Porcelain berry grows on a tree’s canopy and chokes it, eventually killing the tree. This vine has to be pruned from the bottom and the roots should be pulled out. Wine berry and multifora rose usually grow near each other. These invasive plants are herbaceous, meaning they die out at the end of the growing season, and are very thorny. For many of the crew members it was a challenge having to fight the thorns and take all the bushes down. While some crew members worked on weeding, others were in charge of pulling out trees like the sycamore maples. The group as a whole accomplished a lot, and the site looks very different now. There is more space for mulching and planting to be done. By the end of this week, the Day Lilies crew is hoping to start doing some trail work on the site, but there is still a lot that needs to be done.
At Debbie’s worksite the crew worked diligently on the removal of the few weeds remaining. Located west of Wave Hill House around the border of Riverdale Park, Debbie’s worksite is low lying and prone to being swampy and moist. This past week, the dampness was more pronounced due to the storms during the week. This area has been a mecca for invasive species, such as multifloral rose (Mr. F), garlic mustard, and bishop’s weed. Hiding between invasive and native plants, poison ivy has nestled in surreptitiously. To prevent an increase in this potentially dangerous ivy, Debbie’s crew placed mugwort over the P.I to suffocate it and halt its growth. Debbie’s interns also placed mulch over areas they had weeded. The distinctively foul smell of leaf mulch sickened workers, but the end result will eventually nourish the soil beneath it. Hopefully, this will restore the site’s ecosystem and make the soil a lot healthier for the future.
At Nadilyn’s site, the main objective is to pull out all the mugworts in the meadow, which took up more than half of the field. Behind these pesky, invasive weeds laid beautiful, alluring flowers that did not get enough sunlight or attention. Only after having worked for two weeks were we able to remove all the mugworts and discover these beautiful flowers. The good news is that the pulled mugworts are not all that useless―they are high in demand in places where poison ivy is abundant, as at Debbie’s site. The outcome of all the hard work and effort was more than satisfying. By Thursday, Nadilyn’s crew had created several interconnecting paths to serve as a shortcut to the forest and also had a sufficient work area. Now that the not-so-friendly mugworts are gone and the flowers are visible, there has been a significant increase in the number of butterflies and bees in the meadow. On this particular Thursday, we decided to work in the forest next to the meadow for a change. We pulled out second-year garlic mustard and multifloral rose bushes, which were much easier to pull out than the mugworts because the soil was damp. It is exciting that these new pathways will create an opportunity for visitors to walk through the middle of the meadow and experience it in a whole new way.
Stay tuned for next week’s blog, when we will have videos of the work sites!
This post was provided by second-year crew leader and former intern Michael J. Vasquez, who describes the first week of this 30th-anniversary year of the Forest Project Summer Collaborative internship.
July 11, 2010: Looking out across the lawns, into the woodlands and then out towards the Hudson River and the Palisades, I am always overwhelmed and awestruck by the view. Wave Hill is such a beautiful and amazing place. The fact that the Forest Project Summer Collaborative (FPSC) interns can have a part in keeping Wave Hill such a beautiful and awe inspiring place is a wonderful opportunity.
July 5th, during 105 degree weather, many people were home in their air-conditioning, recovering from their Fourth of July festivities. Not so with the Forest Project interns. They were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on Wave Hill grounds by 9am, some even earlier, and eager to begin their summer of forest restoration and maintenance. Starting on the vast lawn below Wave Hill house, in the already warm weather, interns tossed a ball of yarn from person to person forming a web in the center of the circle, as they braved the heat, memorized names and got to know fun facts about each other. Team-building games continued as the day progressed and interns put together tents while blindfolded, did a creative drawing activity and worked together to use dragon cookies to make their way across a field, without the dragon snatching any.
The week continued, as did the soaring temperatures, but this did not stop the determined interns and their Crew leaders from getting in as much work as possible on their sites. The first Tuesday morning after orientation day, crews were at their sites uprooting mugwort, battling garlic mustard and attempting to tame extremely low, hanging branches. It was way too hot to work in the field that afternoon, so more indoor bonding and team-building games took place, including a Forest Project favorite, Mafia, played in two larger groups.
Although site work was done only in the morning, the four crews accomplished over a day’s amount of work. Heaps of weeds and pruned branches piled high at each site, bags of second-year garlic mustard filled dumpsters and Cushman load after Cushman load, as well as a few wheel barrow loads, and were then taken down to the compost pile. During that first half-day of field work alone, the Forest Project interns far surpassed our expectations, especially considering the high temperatures.
Did the pace of work slow during the week? Of course not! Crew leaders and interns had set a standard with their work from day one and had no problem being even more productive with each passing day. I would say that the first week at Wave Hill was incredible, and by Friday it was evident that FPSC is not only about hardcore forest and ecological restoration, but also about education, fun and forging lifelong friendships.
Marjorie Lune is a Wave Hill School Programs Intern this spring. She is a student in the Bank Street Graduate School of Education’s Museum Education Program.
On my third day interning at Wave Hill, I went birdwatching for the first time with Dan Trudeau, a Wave Hill Environmental Educator, in preparation for an upcoming school program. We went over bird identification tools, and he shared a game that we play with the kids to introduce them to the different bird calls. And then we headed out with binoculars.
It was a cold, clear day, just right for birdwatching. Of course, some birds migrate so we knew we wouldn’t see as many different species as we will later on this spring. On the other hand, most of the trees are bare so the birds are easier to spot.
Immediately, Dan spotted a few European starlings up in the top of a tall tree. I could see them, but they were just small, dark figures. I tried to see them through the binoculars, but had a hard time switching between noticing the figure and placing them in my binoculars. I tried several times, but I struggled to focus on the same location.
I lowered my binoculars and looked around hoping to see something that would be easier to focus on. As I turned I saw a big bird flying high up in the sky behind the house. I said, “Look, there’s a bird, what’s that?” Dan turned to look where I was pointing and said, “That’s an American bald eagle!” I put the binoculars up again—and this time I immediately focused on the right place. I guess a bald eagle is more of a motivation than a starling. The eagle was just drifting and turning, floating on the currents of air. We watched him until he was out of our sight; he never flapped a wing. It was incredible. I’ve never seen a bald eagle in the wild before. It was so beautiful. I could clearly see the white head and tail feathers, and the way it turned on the wind.
When we could not see the eagle any longer, we moved on to see what other kinds of birds we could find. We heard some bluejays, and saw a robin, a couple of fat mockingbirds sitting in a bush and a little brown house sparrow hopping on the ground. As I was watching the sparrow, Dan suddenly said, “Oh wow!” I turned around just in time to see the eagle swooping low over the tops of some trees near Glyndor House. Dan ran up the stairs to the upper terrace of Wave Hill House to try to get a better look. I followed, just in time to see it glide up and back over toward the river. It was so exciting. One of Wave Hill’s gardeners told us that three of them had been seen that morning. It made us wonder whether we saw two different eagles or the same one twice.
This was my first official birdwatching expedition. I can’t believe that I was lucky enough to see an American bald eagle. I guess you could call it beginner’s luck.
Daniel Trudeau is a Wave Hill Environmental Educator.
We’re awash in warblers here at Wave Hill. Numerous sightings of Yellow-Rumped Warblers have been among the highlights of our recent bird-watching walks with elementary school students.
These frantic little guys have been going crazy over the plentiful seeds and berries here at Wave Hill for the past week. They typically pass through New York State in huge numbers on their annual migration.
We first noticed the brown and yellow birds thrashing noisily in the bayberry shrubs outside Wave Hill House, and we’ve been seeing them all around the grounds ever since.
The Yellow-Rumped Warbler’s telltale field marking is – not surprisingly – a yellow splash of color on the tail that seems to flash at you as the bird flies away, earning them the nickname, “butter-butt.” Yellow markings on the chest near the wing and on top of the head are also key identifying features.
This fine images comes courtesy of Alan D. Wilson at www.naturepicsonline.com.
When these warblers pass through again next spring, they’ll be sporting different plumage – a classier gray, black and white outfit. But like many migratory species, they don’t stay in one place for long at this time of year. Come out and see them before it’s too late!
It’s never too late to share our connections with nature! This posting from Courtney White, Director of Education & Public Programs, dates from late July.
Early Tuesday morning, I ran into Nancy Talley, a Wave Hill gardener who has done an amazing job on the Conifer Slope, near the Sally and Gilbert Kerlin Learning Center. With a big smile, she shared that she had just come from looking at the work in the woods done by the Family Art Project children at our weekend workshop, A Tiny Village Among Trees. I immediately knew that I needed to head that way before starting the day.
I turned the corner of Wave Hill House to find a Red Admiral butterfly’s beautiful colors standing out in the mist. It fluttered away into the woodland path, and I followed. Determined to find the tiny dwellings, I soon forgot about the butterfly and all of a sudden an American Robin began to call from above. It was not the typical “cheerup, cheerily, cheerily”; instead it was much more demanding, as if wanting all of my attention. I thought to myself that I must be near a nest and should move on to find the children’s work.
I moved, and the Robin moved. I moved again, and the Robin moved again. Finally, I stopped and gave my full attention to the sounds above me, “cheerup, cheerily, cheerily,” “feebee, feebee”, “what-cheer, what-cheer, what-cheer”, “tee-shaay.” Right above my head on the same tree branch, as content as could be, sat the American Robin, along with a Northern Cardinal, a Black-capped Chickadee and a Sparrow. I had never seen such a thing and watched with delight. In time, each flew away. Standing in awe, I looked back down to the ground, only to discover that I was standing among the children’s most amazing work—small twigs supporting a dried evergreen roof, a hammock perhaps for a newborn mouse, itsy ladders to the lowest branches, bitty beds for ants, centipedes or spiders, and so much more.
As I walked away, reflecting on the beauty of the children’s creativity and imagination, I thought how these birds must have enjoyed all the excitement, too. I was glad to see this special place with the birds. I walked back up the hill…and the Red Admiral returned to follow.
Anne Hunter, Wave Hill’s Forest Project Manager, provided this post. The Forest Project Summer Collaborative is a paid ecological-restoration internship for teens.
This week, the fabulous arborists from Riverdale Tree Service who maintain our magnificent tree collection—Gerry and Sal—rescued five, two-month-old baby squirrels. The youngsters had been living in the spectacular, but hollow, Linden tree (Tilia americana) outside Wave Hill House. This stunning, approximately 110-year-old tree had become hazardous, and sadly had to be removed from the grounds. Gerry and Sal discovered the squirrels after the babies had taken a traumatizing ride to the ground when the main trunk was felled. With no mama in sight, they carefully placed the youngsters in a box lined with woodchips and leaves.
Wave Hill Education and Visitor Services staff jumped into action to care for the homeless young squirrels, sheltering them until a wildlife veterinarian could be contacted. By the end of the day, the squirrels were safely transported for care. They will be weaned, and then placed in an outdoor nest for a “soft release.”
Wave Hill School Programs Manager Armina Del Toro offers safe transit
Do not attempt to raise or keep wildlife. Seemingly abandoned young birds and mammals may be retrieved by parents—give them a chance to do so while keeping dogs and cats away. Wild animals should only be confined as long as they need assistance, and then properly released. If you do find an injured or orphaned animal, it is important to contact a legal wildlife specialist as soon as possible.
Seeing young squirrels up close was an amazing, unforgettable educational experience!
Andrew Appel is Wave Hill’s Performing Arts Programmer. He and pianist Vassily Primakov spoke with John Schaefer, host of WNYC program Soundcheck, about the Hudson River Historic Concerts series, part of Wave Hill’s celebration of the Hudson River Quadricentennial during the fall of 2009. The interview took place in WNYC’s studios at the beginning of September.
There is only one thing I love more than talking, to many people about things I adore, and that thing is listening to a marvel of a pianist play Chopin. Our trip to the WNYC studios this afternoon was pure delight.
John Schaefer and I were able to tell all of New York about the series of recitals beginning on Sunday, Sept 13, in Armor Hall – great historic recitals, performed originally by the giants of the early 20th century concert stage and recreated by fine artists of today. And then Vassily Primakov made it all come to life with two, almost unbearably beautiful mazurkas of Chopin played with full poetry. And to think that we can all soon spend a Sunday afternoon listening to Vassily play Chopin masterpieces looking over the Hudson and Wave Hill’s gardens! I guess I love that the best. In the meantime, enjoy the podcast.
John Schaefer is front and center in this snapshot, Vassily at far right, myself far left.
Laurel Rimmer is Assistant Director of Public Programs. Among her many contributions are botanical drawings of plants found at Wave Hill, such as the bottlebrush buckeye drawing below, and the photographic portrait beneath it, too.
The bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) demands attention in the landscape. Not a plant for small city gardens, this southeastern native matures into a multi-stemmed shrub eight to twelve feet tall with an infinite spread, advancing slowly and politely over time. Large compound leaves, showy summer flowers and a dense mounding habit give it a distinctive look in the landscape.
The showy flowers of Aesculus parviflora appear at a time when few other woody plants are in bloom. At Wave Hill, our plants bloom in late June and early July, their large, upright flower panicles temporarily luring butterflies away from the bounty of perennial flowers in other areas of the garden. From a distance, the entire shrub appears to be accented with fuzzy, white rhinoceros horns. Upon closer inspection, the individual flowers have a dainty spidery appearance. Nuts in pear-shaped capsules develop in late summer; they are enjoyed by squirrels but are poisonous to humans. Our large old bottlebrush buckeye dates back to the Perkins era; look for it on the hillside between Wave Hill House and the Aquatic Garden.
Bottlebrush buckeye grows best in rich, moist, well-drained soil in sun to part shade. Once established, it requires no pruning or other special attention. Despite its ease of culture it is not a common plant in the nursery trade, in part because of its rather poor appearance as a young containerized plant. To the untrained eye it resembles a couple of gangly sticks with a few tufts of leaves on top. Gardeners who are familiar with the plant, however, can look past its youthful awkwardness to see its true potential as a beautiful and unusual landscape specimen.
