A few weeks ago, The New York Botanical Garden hosted the annual Conservatory Ball in the Bronx, replete with its 250 acres of dazzling beauty and magnificent landscape, to celebrate its summer exhibition, Wonderland: Curious Nature.
This is always a great benefit because it is a grand dinner dance in the old fashioned sense. It is traditional in its perfection. And as you can see, everyone turns out in their best and brightest — Black tie and long dresses.
This party used to be the milestone ending the official social season in New York. It’s not anymore because the Social Season in New York doesn’t end. Many of those who attended (and still attend) the Conservatory Ball would afterwards then depart the city for their summer places (hence the idea of “the end”), whether to the beaches of Rhode Island, Nantucket and the Vineyard or the Hamptons and the North Fork of Long Island. Friends bidding farewell until Labor Day.
The evening always begins with cocktails in the blooming gardens surrounding the conservatory as the sun is setting. On the Conservatory Lawn, guests meandered through the topiary garden — a Victorian favorite — with Shrumen Lumen, kinetic mushroom sculptures by FoldHaus Art Collective, that dazzled audiences at the Burning Man festival and around the world, changing size at random and allowing everyone to experience the natural world from a fantastical point of view.
Other guests went straight for the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory to experience thousands of vibrant flowers with Victorian garden displays, transporting them to the era of Alice in 19th-century England.
This year’s garden-wide exhibition, a whimsical and botanical experience inspired by the classic story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, features a magnificent flower show, contemporary art installations, engaging daytime programming, fantastical tea parties, and exciting night experiences for the curious and adventuresome at heart.
We asked Jennifer Bernstein, NYBG’s Chief Executive Officer and The William C. Steere Sr. President, about this year’s exhibition: “This was an idea that the garden has been talking about for a long time, and it’s sort of a perfect fit because the Wonderland story is so inextricably tied with with nature. It’s really a journey through nature, and we were very excited about bringing that level of whimsy to the garden.” Jennifer also reminded us that the Bronx is the greenest borough in New York City, with more parkland than any other borough.
The Garden just launched a new podcast called Plant People, which Jennifer is hosting. “It’s an opportunity for us to talk to the experts here at NYBG and other experts in the world of botany and in the environmental world. And it’s a way of introducing and bringing awareness to the fullness of the institution.”
Something else we learned that night: The Garden has the largest botanical library in the world. “We have 8 million plant specimens in our herbarium, which are used by researchers in all kinds of world ways. We have collections that are hundreds of years old. We have collections that were made by Charles Darwin!” exclaimed Jennifer.
Perhaps most importantly is the Garden’s commitment the neighborhood. “We have a program called Bronx Neighbors, through which residents in the Bronx can have free access to the garden. Accessibility is really important. We have paid a lot of attention to that as an institution, to the physical accessibility of the garden. We have other programs like low sensory hours for various exhibits. So there’s a lot of ways people in our neighborhood can benefit from the beauty of the garden. Which is, of course, the way that many people know us.”
At the tail end of cocktails, we caught up with longtime NYBG supporter Gillian Miniter who stressed how important it is for children’s mental and physical health to spend time in nature, “I love the Botanical Garden. It’s a big, beautiful green space where people can go and lose themselves in the Bronx in New York City where most people don’t have back yards. And to be able to spend the day and see wonderful, beautiful natural things and feel like you are transported to another world is one of the things that makes the Garden special. And needed.”
And so with the bars closed and cocktails over, guests were ushered into the Conservatory Tent for a sit-down dinner and dancing, this year with music by DJ Runna, where everybody gets up and dances. And dances and dances and dances. That’s always the best party.
This year’s attendees included Honorees William D. and Fleur Rueckert and Lead Chairs Maureen K. and Richard L. Chilton, Jr. as well as Chairs Sasha and Edward Bass, Friederike K. Biggs, J. Barclay Collins II and Kristina Durr, Ravenel Curry and Jane Moss, Sharon and Bill Jacob, Jill Joyce, Bethany and Robert B. Millard, Janet M. Montag, and Deborah and Charles Royce.
This year’s Vice Chairs were Bosilika An, Hope Chilton, Cecilia Jacob, Stella Jacob, Kerry Joyce, Holly Lowen, Gillian and Sylvester Miniter and Arielle Patrick. They were joined by other New York notables, including Tina Leung, Sai De Silva, Muffie Potter Aston, Jennifer Creel, Sophie Elgort, Peter Som, Jessica Wang, Sophie Sumner, Michael Ward and Manel Garcia-Espejo, Marcus Teo, Eric Rutherford, Jessel Taank and Isolde Brielmaier, along with Eliza Reed Bolen and Oscar de la Renta Co-Creative Directors Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia.
In celebration of the evening, diamond jewelry creations from De Beers Jewellers graced a number of the evening’s guests, including Tina Leung, Jessica Wang, Sophie Elgort, Sai De Silva, Jessel Taank, Laura Kim, Sharon Jacob, Holly Lowen and Ashley McDermott.
The Conservatory Ball evening, sponsored by Oscar de la Renta, De Beers Jewellers, The Bancorp LLC, Bartlett Tree Experts and Hearst supports the support the core mission of the Garden, including internationally acclaimed programs in children’s education and plant research and conservation. The ongoing generosity of their loyal friends is crucial. It helps the Garden continue its mission of public education, scientific research, and stewardship of this landmark site.
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