Ground Hog Day

Punxsutawney Phil predicts six more weeks of winter. Okay so that’s not great news for gardeners, but readers won’t mind, will we? Here to sustain, encourage and inspire you are six new books in the library:




The American Meadow Garden: Creating a Natural Alternative to the Traditional Lawn by John Greenlee. Timber, 2009
Thinking of weaning yourself from the sod this year? Check out the possibilities…





The Complete Chile Pepper Book: A Gardener’s Guide to Choosing, Growing, Preserving, and Cooking by Dave DeWitt and Paul W. Bosland.
This will warm you up and get you cooking too!




Looking Closely Around The Pond by Frank Serafini. Kids Can, 2010
The absolute favorite among our botany students aged 5 to 8 years.





Power of Gardens by Nancy Goslee Power. Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2009.
California dreaming anyone?





The Sibley Guide to Trees written and illustrated by David Allen Sibley.
Sibley, bird illustrator extraordinaire, tackles trees beautifully just in time to prepare you for a springtime stroll through the park.





Succulent Container Gardens by Debra Lee Baldwin. Timber, 2010
So many times we get asked about the beautiful and unusual succulents growing here at The Hort.


Booklist from Katherine Powis, Librarian

Green Screen at The HSNY

If you haven't visited The HSNY at our new location in midtown Manhattan, you must put it on your 'to do list' as a wonderful place to spend the afternoon. Our Library boasts an extensive collection on gardens and gardening that includes fascinating horticultural magazines to inform and inspire gardeners, would-be gardeners and anyone interested in plants. The contemporary art Gallery, which is open to the public, combines an innovative curatorial strategy with a unique gallery space to showcase emerging and established contemporary artists in all media who create plant-based art, supported by a series of film screenings and other engaging events.

Along with all this, we have custom designed and built a green screen which adorns the south facing windows in our office. This 'screen' is filled with many wonderful varieties of Cacti, Succulents, Ferns, Begonias, Peperomia, and even Euphorbia. There is a wide range of shapes, textures and colors that are represented in the foliage of our plant selections, along with varied bloom times, to make the display last year round.

If you are an apartment dweller in New York, you are well aware of how limited space is. The green screen is a perfect solution for introducing live plant material into your environment. This screen can actually help conserve energy by providing a layer of insulation, and even act as soundproofing. Plus these plants will grow and fill in the window creating a privacy screen.

I suggest you stop in and see for yourself what a unique and useful addition this green screen has become in our loft space.