the Lotus Garden

09/23/2026

We're excited to once again be participating in Open House New York! Come up the stairs and visit us on Sunday, October 18th, between 10 and 2. Gardeners will be on hand to give tours and answer questions.

09/20/2026

It's beginning to look a lot like fall

09/20/2026

Book recommendation for a rainy day: A fascinating history of the role gardens and gardeners have played in communities over the centuries. Social safety nets in Berlin for the marginalized, self-provisioning in DC, survival in the post-Soviet countries. Contemporary, historical, thought-provoking, inspiring. And available to borrow at the NYPL.

09/19/2026

Art, music, poetry, garden tours, books!

15th Annual Harvest Arts Festival — Full Schedule

September 18–27, 2026 · Over 50 events in 30 community gardens

Harvest Arts Festival 2026 Schedule 15th Annual Harvest Arts Festival — Full Schedule September 18–27, 2026 · Over 50 events in 30 community gardens Every event is free. No tickets, no registration, just walk in. Please support our work if you can — donate to LUNGS. Last updated: September 8,...

08/21/2026

R.I.P. our Grande Dame Peach, done in at long last by last night's storm.
Jeff sent this note:
Forty-three years ago Mark Greenwald and Carrie Maher went shopping for things to plant in the newly created Lotus Garden.
One of the first actual purchases for the garden was the peach tree. “We knew it was a rooftop garden, we couldn’t have huge things in there, so we went out to a nursery and bought this tree that was labeled Dwarf Peach Tree,” Mark recalls. “It wasn’t supposed to get more than about four or five feet high. It was going to be a cute little thing in the middle of the garden. Within two or three years it started growing and growing and growing until it was ten feet high and fifteen feet wide and bearing unbelievable amounts of fruit. That tree just got into its happy zone.”
It stayed in its happy zone so far beyond its expected lifespan of 8 to 12 years. What a privilege it's been to have had it in the middle of our garden for so long!
And thank you for the glorious harvests, including our very last one this summer. We'll miss you, old friend.

08/15/2026

If you want to follow the upcoming waterlily weighoff, here's the IG to follow:

08/07/2026

Congratulations to our Yonkers neighbor, Untermyer Gardens, on its selection as one of the recipients of a Jean and John Greene Prize for Excellence in American Gardening from the Garden Conservancy, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to American garden preservation. One of the nation’s leading awards for garden preservation, the Greene Prize recognizes design, preservation, and scholarship. Untermyer intends to use the contribution to help support the restoration of the Color Gardens that have been lost since 1946. The other recipien, Filoli, will use the grant for a capital campaign to help support its restoration.

Untermyer Gardens and Filoli win the prestigious Greene Prize from The Garden Conservancy, securing $45,000 grants for historic garden restoration.

08/04/2026

Can't wait!! The 2026 Waterlily Weigh-Off runs from August 17 to August 26, 2026, with winners announced on August 28. Led by the Denver Botanic Gardens, global public gardens, zoos, and a new home-grower category test how much weight giant Victoria waterlily leaves can support. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbV-ukNRfR6/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

07/30/2026

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/realestate/plant-family-botanical-illustrations.html?campaign_id=2&emc=edit_th_20260729&instance_id=179490&nl=today%27s-headlines®i_id=176525236&segment_id=223846&user_id=0ddfd45d92f22972da7912fa5a5d6ef0

A botanical illustrator extends a seductive invitation to learn the subtleties of the 600-odd plant families on the planet.

07/25/2026

Our grande dame peach tree has revived this year and graced us with a harvest. There are still a few left on the table, so stop up soon and enjoy a hyper-local peach! Ask any gardener you see about her story; she has quite a history. We're all tickled and so proud of her!