If you ever want to escape the concrete jungle that is New York City on the weekends to find some green, you can always head north a short distance to the Bronx.  Right now you’re thinking, the Bronx?  The green I speak of is the New York Botanical Gardens (NYBG), where at anytime spectacular seasonal exhibitions await you.  With 250 acres and 50 gardens and plant collections, there’s something to see in every season across the Garden’s landscape.

This weekend in particular is family weekend at the NYBG, which will be loaded with fall themed events and showcases, everything from Halloween gags, goblins and ghosts, pumpkin patches and scary scarecrows.  The family can also partake in the Edible Garden experience, which welcomes the best chefs in town, making dishes using fresh ingredients and teaching all about preparing and growing fruits, herbs and vegetables.  While at the Garden, visitors can enjoy plenty of samples at the Tasting Terrace, book signings, home gardening demonstrations, guided tours, and family activities. If you love food and want to learn more about it, this is the affair just for you.  This weekend is also about the spending time with loved ones, so bring yours out! Kids get inspired to learn all about good-for-you food that tastes good too, they’ll be able to get a little dirty and get digging in the vegetable gardens and sample from the Greenmarket, all promoting healthy habits within the future of America. 

About two months ago, I was asked to participate in the Edible Garden event, celebrating locally grown, seasonal food, of course I was delighted and agreed to help out and take my part center stage.  This weekend, I will partake by doing a demonstration at 4pm, located in the Conservatory Kitchen, where  the featured ingredient is Pumpkin.  I will be showcasing my casual culinary talents by making a velvety Pumpkin Maple Soup alongside my specialty of mix ‘n match herbal pestos, including Cranberry Sage Pecan Pesto and Red Basil Almond Cinnamon Pesto.  If you’re lucky, you might snag a sample.

For more information, visit http://www.nybg.org/eg/#family

or just come to the New York Botanical Gardens located at:

The New York Botanical Garden
200th Street and Kazimiroff Boulevard
Bronx, NY 10458-5126
Phone: 718.817.8700