On
April 30, 2009, The New York Botanical Garden hosted its seventeenth
annual Antique Garden Furniture Show Preview Party & Collectors' Plant
Sale. The Preview Party was held in the Conservatory Tent, adjacent
to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, and attracted over 1,000 guests.
Named the “Best in America” by the experts, this spectacular
show featured 35 of the nation's leading garden antique dealers
who offered unique items of the highest quality and provenance. The
dealers agreed to exhibit only materials exclusively chosen for this
show, making it the most unique of its kind. In addition, garden enthusiasts
were afforded an extraordinary opportunity to enhance their gardens
with a sale of rare and exotic plants and enjoyed a Silent Auction
of one-of-a-kind plants, jewelry, garden ornaments, and other select
items.
This year's Preview Party chairmen were Mrs.
Coleman P. Burke, Barbara Cirkva Schumacher, Howard Slatkin, and Mish
Tworkowski. The Chairmen's Committee were Mrs. Timothy M. George,
Mrs. Stephen Graham, Mrs. Anne Grauso, S. Christopher Meigher III,
Mrs. George B. Moore, and Suzanne Rheinstein. The Antique Garden Furniture
Show chairmen were Barbara Israel and Bunny Williams. The Collectors' Plant
Sale chairmen were James Benenson, Jr., Peter R. McQuillan, Marjorie
G. Rosen, and Joseph Singer. This year's event was underwritten
in part by Adam R. Rose and Peter R. McQuillan and Garden Design magazine.
The Preview Party Designer Committee was chaired by renowned landscape
architect, Mario Nievera, as well as the event designer, Renny Reynolds.
Designer Committee members included celebrated names from the worlds
of interior design, landscape design, architecture, and fashion. Guests
had the rare opportunity to meet and greet these designers at the Preview
Party.
The Preview Party also included a special viewing of The Glory
of Dutch Bulbs: A Legacy of 400 Years, before it opened
to the public, in the landmark Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Co-curated
with Henry Hudson 400, The Glory of Dutch Bulbs: A Legacy of
400 Years is the first in a series of events organized in New
York City to celebrate the anniversary of Henry Hudson's legendary
voyage. Magnificent displays of bright flowering bulbs and companion
plants inspired by the great tulip and lily gardens of Holland were
on view. The Major Sponsor of the exhibition is Mr. and Mrs.
Marvin H. Davidson. Bulbs and planting design provided by Anthos
and International Flower Center.
All proceeds from the Antique Garden Furniture Show Preview
Party and Collectors' Plant Sale, which raised $370,000, directly
support the work of the curators and gardeners who are responsible
for making The New York Botanical Garden one of the most important
horticultural showplaces in the world.
