The night after I experienced the Rockefeller Tree Lighting Ceremony, I left the Lotte Palace Hotel to head over to the New York Botanical Garden or NYBG. Now celebrating its 125th anniversary, the NYBG is considered an iconic living museum with 250 acres supporting over one million plants. I’m a train buff, and I had been often told that the NYBG’s 25th annual Holiday Train Show was something not be missed.

Getting There: I hadn’t visited the NYBG since I was a kid so I anticipated that I’d be traveling a while through multiple subway connections to get to the garden’s Bronx location. Instead, I was happy to see that it took me all of 20 minutes from Grand Central via Metro North. I took the local Harlem Line to arrive at the Botanical Garden Stop.

Once there, I crossed the street to the Mosholu Entrance and was met by NYBG’s Nick Leshi who graciously took me around. Thanks Nick!

As we traveled around the grounds, I could see that, even at this time of year, the NYBG was still dotted with beautiful unusual plants including the Beautyberry.

 

The show is located in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and once inside, I could see that the trains were great.

However, the true stars of this very popular exhibit were the small recreations of NYC’s past and present iconic buildings and bridges.

Made of natural items including bark, nuts and berries, they were spectacular in their unique creativity.

When: The Holiday Train Show runs through January 16, 2017. To fully enjoy all that the show has to offer, expect to spend at least an hour there.

Cost: Click HERE for info about tickets.

Bar Car Nights: the garden holds after-hours events for the 21-and-over crowd.  Visitors can take in the train show with a wintry cocktail, or stop for any of the pop-up musical performances on the garden’s grounds. When: December 16, 17, 23, 30, 2016. January 7 and 14, 2017.  Hours: 7 to 10 p.m.

 

Another Exhibit to See:

While I was there I also visited the NYBG’s Redoute to Warhol: Bunny Mellon’s Botanical Art.  The exhibition consists of nearly 80 works of art ranging from rare watercolors by renowned botanical artists such as Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues and Pierre-Joseph Redouté to 20th-century paintings by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol.

I especially loved Ms. Mellon’s collection of paintings and items relating to the Dutch tulip mania of the 17th century. During the height of this craze, one plant could cost a fortune.

Also part of the exhibit was a detailed ledger filled with a long list of items that needed to be exchanged for a single bulb.

Great time!