NEW YORK, NY.- The New York Botanical Garden will host its Antique Garden Furniture Show and Sale, now in its 20th year. Show hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. As the country’s original and most important venue for authentic garden antiques, the show is a must for leading collectors and designers as well as buyers seeking expert advice.

The show opens with a Benefit Preview Party and Collectors’ Plant Sale on Thursday, April 26, from 6 to 8 p.m., sponsored by 1stdibs. Garden antique specialists will offer tours and booth talks daily as well as assist buyers looking for the perfect piece to complement a garden, landscape, or interior. Complimentary tastings--tea from Bellocq Tea Atelier and Mighty Leaf Tea Company, wine from The Naked Grape, and chocolate from The Chocolate Room--will celebrate the show’s 20th anniversary. Special presentations on Friday, Saturday and Sunday include French inspired floral designs, pots inspired by Tuscan traditions, the secrets of artisanal teas, and a book signing with In The Garden’s author Stacy Bass, as well as special activities for very young collectors throughout the weekend.

This year’s exhibitors feature antique cast iron and marble fountains, antique wicker furniture, cast iron and stone garden seating, statues, urns and vases, bird cages and bird baths, gates, antiquarian books on gardens, and architectural ornament. Most objects date from the late 18th century through the mid-1950s and include American, French, Swedish, Italian, Belgian, and English pieces. Massive terra-cotta oil jars—one ancient Roman, one mid-19th century—a garden by the sea, and French-themed booths are among this year's highlights.

The 2012 exhibitors who exhibited in the first Antique Garden Furniture Show and Sale in 1993 are Barbara Israel Garden Antiques, Aileen Minor Antiques, and Schorr & Dobinsky; of these, Barbara Israel and Aileen Minor have exhibited each year. New exhibitors are Côté Jardin Antiques of West Palm Beach, FL and Washington, D.C., Scott Estepp Gallery of Cincinnati, OH, Hamptons Antique Galleries of Stamford, CT, and Potterton Books of London, England, New York, NY, and West Hollywood, CA.

Among the highlights of this year’s show are colorful 1920s pendant lights and a bright red early 20th century elevator door at Ani Ancient Stone. A set of c. 1915 close woven wicker furnishings with Arts and Crafts woven decoration is at Antique American Wicker. One of the earliest objects is a custom copper armillary made in France, c. 1720 at Balsamo Antiques.

Eleanor and David Billet have an English c. 1930 cast stone lion fountain face, Blithewold Home has a set of six cast zinc French 19th century garden chairs, and a cast iron 19th century “Passion Flower” bench is at Joan Bogart Antiques. A Lily-Of-The-Valley pattern cast iron settee, c.1870, marked "C B Dale Co" from the Coalbrookdale Foundry in England is at Brennan & Mouilleseaux Antiques.

Four exhibitors feature garden antiques from France. At Côté Jardin Antiques a rare cast iron fountain in working condition of a boy holding a swan was made in 1875 at the renowned A. Durenne of Sommevoire foundry outside Paris. Also from France is a c. 1900 oval iron garden bench with a piecrust seat at Dawn Hill Antiques. Fleur shows primarily objects from France and also has a 19th century Louis XV style pair of zinc architectural finials from a dismantled castle outside of Geneva. French Country Living Antiques has life-sized carved stone deer, 19th century, from the woodland area or bois of the gardens of a chateau in the Loire valley.

Barbara Israel Garden Antiques exhibits a c. 1940 English lead fountain figure in the form of a young maiden holding a fish aloft, the fish piped for water, the maiden with a floral garlands running through her hair, her upper body supported by a base of stylized petals.

Judith and James Milne, Inc. show a 1920s metal weeping willow tree with three birds on branches from a private collection. Celebrating the Chinese Year of the Dragon, Aileen Minor has a pair of cast stone antique dragon sculpture from a Main Line Philadelphia estate. Also from Philadelphia is an 1871 cast iron three-tiered fountain depicting Pan at Francis J. Purcell, with patent and maker’s marks: PATENTED APRIL 11TH 1871; the basin is marked: C.HITZEROTH 3124 MARKET ST PHILADELPHIA.

Red Horse Antiques has a pair of c. 1930 six-foot-high sculptural wrought iron garden obelisks with flared tops. Rose Garden Antiques will show a section of faux bois pieces, including a set of four barrel stone faux bois chairs and round table with a twisted branch form support. At Schorr & Dobinsky, a group of five 19th century cast iron jardinières made in France have exceptional oxidized surfaces and bear foundry mark 'CORNEAU ALFRED A CHARLEVILLE': four are marked 'No 2' and one marked 'No 3'. Linda & Howard Stein will exhibit a large selection of Galloway urns and planters, including a tall glazed urn with unique deep blue decoration.

The most antique object in this year’s show is likely the massive terracotta oil jar at Village Braider Antiques. Measuring 69" high and 63" in diameter at its widest point, the jar is thought to be ancient Roman. Presented to Catherine L. Wolfe of Vinland in Newport on June 22, 1884, the oil jar is reputed to have been discovered in a 30-foot deep excavation at the church of St. Paul's Outside the Walls, Rome, which would date the jar earlier than the original 4th century church. A second massive Italian terracotta oil jar can be found at Barbara Israel Garden Antiques: c. 1870, the jar has a wrought-iron stand and measures 49” high and 48” in diameter.

The Antique Garden Furniture Show and Sale takes place in a tent surrounded by flowering trees, plants, and shrubs outside the landmark Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. The fee of $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, and $7 for children for an All-Garden Pass includes access to the show, Botanical Garden grounds, Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, Rock Garden, Native Plant Garden, Tram Tour, and Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. Advance tickets are available online at www.nybg.org