Treasures Abound at Botanical Garden’s Annual Antique Show

At the New York Botanical Garden’s annual antiques show, every piece of garden furniture has a story.

“When something has been around for 50 or 70 or 100 years or more it has a different energy about it,” says Karen Disaia, manager of this year’s antique garden furniture fair. “It’s not the same as buying six pots at Home Depot. It’s a much more interesting approach to design.”

The 23rd annual show kicks off Friday and runs through the weekend at the Botanical Garden in the Bronx, where collectors will find antique furniture, artwork, and sculptures from 32 vendors. Among the items for sale are weather vanes, bird baths, vintage benches, botanical prints, and garden-themed paintings.

The NYBG is also hosting a specialty plant sale alongside the antiques show. Visitors can stock up on colorful plants and unusual shrubs and trees, including Japanese maples and Itoh peonies.

Don’t have a garden? No problem, Disaia says.

“One of the things that people do is think of new ways to use things that have been outside for a hundred years—they bring it inside and it becomes a piece of art,” she says. “Because we would all like to have a bit of the outside inside.”

Tickets are $25 and available online or at the door. nybgrg