Brooklyn Botanic Garden
990 Washington Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11225
(718) 623-7210
Open: Sunday and Saturday 10:00am-6:00pm/Monday Closed/Tuesday-Friday 8:00am-6:00pm
Admission: Depending on the time of year/please check the website
My review on TripAdvisor:
I have been a member of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden since 2002 and have never been bored on a trip to the gardens. In every season there is something new to see.
On a recent trip to the Gardens in 2021, the Garden was ablaze with the colors of almost a thousand purple crocuses that lined the hills on the Prospect Park side of the lawns. Beautiful purple and while colors were in full bloom and Mother Nature shined in the COVID era with all of us socially distanced but still enjoying the park.
Crocus Hills ablaze in purple in 2021
In the beginning of the Spring, Daffodil Hill is in full bloom and is a very impressive site. Hundreds of trumpet Daffodils line the hill of this side of the gardens surrounding the old oak trees. There are fields of yellow on yellow and yellow on orange flowers surrounding the paths against the backdrop of the green lawns. The whole hill is a sea of yellows and whites against the trees which are bursting with new buds. This beautiful scene lasts only about a week to two weeks at full bloom in the first weeks of April.
Daffodil Hill in Spring 2019 and 2021
Magnolia Plaza where all the old flowering Magnolia trees bloom in full force in the Spring. The bright white and pink flowers are quite brilliant in colors and the sweet smell of the trees is wonderful. When it comes to the end of the season, you will be walking into a snow shower of colorful petals practically ‘snowing’ on you. You can smell the sweet petals on the flowering trees, and it is the most amazing site with the daffodils on the hill in the background. The scents of everything are just enjoyable. It is Mother Nature at her best.
The next beautiful display is the Cherry Blossoms’ that bloom at the end of April. It is ablaze in all sorts of shades of pink and white. It brings the whole city out to see Mother Nature’s display of art. The big Japanese festival happens during this time and the park is full of all sorts of artists, dancers and musicians who have come to perform for the many members entering the park.
The Cherry Tree Esplanade in 2017
In 2021, the growing season on the Cherry Trees was hit with many days of rain that knocked the petals off the trees early. Still, I was able to get into the gardens by the end of the first week of May and they were still spectacular but limited in their petals. There are many species of Cherry Trees, so they are timed differently in flowering.
In 2022, the fluffy cherry blossoms were in full bloom, like a graceful wish. When I went to visit them in early May, they were in full bloom and all the paths in the main garden were awash with pink and green. With the lawn being a deep green, the effect was really beautiful, and people were all over the place taking pictures and smelling the flowers. I had to walk through the main lawn, the Japanese Garden and the back paths several times just to take it all in. The next rainstorm they would be gone again but for now you could bask in these gorgeous blossoms.
When the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is in full bloom with these trees, there is nothing like it. The Japanese Festival had been cancelled and the blooms in Washington DC had bloomed two weeks early and Branch Brook Park in Newark had already peaked so this is where to be at to see Cherry Trees at their finest.
The Bluebells and Ironweed are in full bloom in May 2021
Right off the Cherry Tree Arcade is the paths leading to the back part of the gardens and you will see all the purple and blue Bluebells and Ironweed as well as the purple corn flowers lining the paths. It is quite spectacular as you see hundreds of these flowers surrounding the trees and walkways. I had never seen this before.
In June, The Rose Garden festival takes place with hundreds of types of roses blooming in the same time period. This is when the members Rose Night happens with an evening of music, cocktails and looking over the flowering bushes all over the gardens. They even create a Rose Petal cocktail for the event that is interesting.
Recently in May of 2021, the Garden sponsored “An Evening of Remembrance and Reflection” with the anniversary of the George Floyd incident and New Yorkers came out to show their support. It was an evening of jazz that brought members out on this warm spring evening. It also gave everyone a chance to walk through the Cranford Gardens which were in full bloom and perfumed the gardens with sweet scents of the flowers. There were roses of all colors in full bloom about two weeks ahead of schedule. So it was nice to see all the flowers at full peak lining the pathways.
Rose Garden Rose Night in 2017 and at “An Evening of Remembrance and Reflection” in 2021
In July 2021, as the Gardens have opened to the public since the COVID pandemic rules have lifted, there have been weekly Jazz Concerts in the Cherry Tree lawn. Recently I attended the concert of the Brownstone Jazz Ensemble who performed with a few guest singers. It was a cool sunny summer night and the perfect evening to have a picnic in the Gardens and enjoy the music.
Becoming a member of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden has its advantages too. In August, in the height of the summer they have the member’s movie night where members from all over the area sit in the Cherry Blossom field to watch an outdoor movie. I have seen family films “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”, “The Goonies”, “Moonstruck” and “The Fabulous Mr. Fox” (which was not too fabulous of a film). It is a nice evening of relaxing on the cool grass, eating a light picnic dinner and sitting under the stars watching a film. Could there be any other New York moment to enjoy?
The Fall months bring the changing of the leaves on the trees and all the late flowers that come out in September and October. During the holiday season there is not much to see in the park, especially during the winter months outside but there is a tropical display under glass in the enclosed buildings on the property and the Bonsai Garden display of plants also in the glassed in enclosure. There are lots of walking tours of the new water gardens, rock gardens and of the Japanese Gardens.
The Japanese Gardens at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden
In the winter months though, there is a quiet elegance to the gardens. It is so quiet with all the plants in hibernation that it is nice to just walk through the gardens and imagine what they will look like in four months when Spring arrives again. Most of the gardens were shut due to COVID in December of 2020 but still you could walk around most of the gardens.
Don’t miss the Japanese Garden’s during the winter months as the pine trees and green bushes add a little Spring to the cold months of the Winter. There is still so much green in this area of the gardens. There is something to be said about walking around the gardens in the cool weather.
The complexity of the gardens show their true beauty from season to season when flowers and trees come into bloom and show their true beauty.
Being a member also has it privileges. You have a great restaurant in the late Spring and Summer months, the Magnolia Cafe, which has been closed because of COVID but will reopen soon. The Cherry Blossom Festival and Rose Garden Nights for members and the August Movie night which is really a treat. Hundreds of people picnicking on the lawn watching family friendly films like ‘The Goonies’ and ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’.
My blogs on the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens:
Private Members Movie Night 2019:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/9545
Rose Night 2019:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/9062
Rose Night 2018:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/7637
Private Members Movie Night 2017:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/6348
Sakura Matsuri-The Cherry Blossom Festival 2017:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/4957
This is when it is great to be a member of the Gardens!
History of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden:
Early plans for Prospect Park called for the park to straddle Flatbush Avenue. The City of Brooklyn purchased the land for this purpose in 1864. When Fredrick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux brought their final plans to the city for approval in the 1860’s, they had eliminated the problematic decision along Flatbush. The northeast portion went unused, serving as an ash dump (WIKI).
Legislation in 1897 as the city moved toward consolidation reserved 39 acres for a botanical garden and the garden itself was founded in 1910. The garden was initially know as the Institute Park. It was run under the auspices of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, which included (until the 1970’s) the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Children’s Museum and Brooklyn Academy of Music. It opened as the Brooklyn Botanical Garden on May 13, 1911 with the Native Flora Garden being the first established section (WIKI).
Harold Caparn was appointed as the landscape architect in 1912. Caparn designed most of the rest of the grounds over the next three decades, including the Osborne Gardens, Cranford Rose Garden, Magnolia Plaza and the Plant Collection. Construction of the Laboratory Building and Conservatory began in 1912 and the building was dedicated in 1917. The building-now simply the Administration Building-was designed in the Tuscan Revival style by William Kendal for McKim, Mead & White, the architectural firm that built the Brooklyn Museum, Manhattan Municipal Building and many other prominent New York City buildings. It was designated a New York City Landmark in 2007 (WIKI).
The Specialty Gardens & Collections include:
The Cherry Trees
Japanese Hill-Pond Collection
Cranford Rose Garden
Native Flora Garden
Alice Recknagel Ireys Fragrance Garden
Children’s Garden
Water Garden
Other Gardens:
Plant Family Collection
Steinhardt Conservatory
Fight For Sunlight!
Text Sunlight to 484848 to help protect Brooklyn’s Garden from new buildings that would block vital sunlight to our plants.
bbg.org/sunlight
Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Fight for Sunlight!
Brooklyn Botanical Garden’s Fight for Sunlight!
Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s plant collections are under serious threat from a proposed massive building development including two 39 story towers at 960 Franklin Avenue (the spice factory site) just 150 ft from the Garden.
The buildings for the ‘Fight for the Sunlight’ proposal (The proposal was struck down in 2022!)
Towers of this size would block hours of sunlight to the Garden’s 23 conservatories, greenhouses and nurseries. These facilities grow plants for the entire 52 acre Garden and serve as a hub for community and educational programs.
‘Fight for the Sunlight’ sign in the gardens
https://www.bbg.org/visit/event/fight_for_sunlight_exhibit
https://www.bbg.org/visit/event/fight_for_sunlight_2020_kick_off
Current zoning protects the Garden’s access to sunlight by capping building height at this location. These laws must remain in place to prevent irreparable damage to the Garden. Join us in signing a petition to City officials to protect the integrity and beauty of Brooklyn’s Garden.
Three ways to take Action!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/499243334158294/
Enroll in mobile updates by texting SUNLIGHT to 484848. We’ll text you new ways to get involved and important upcoming campaigns dates.
Sign the Garden’s petition at bbg.org/sunlight urging elected officials to protect the irreplaceable assets of Brooklyn Botanic Garden and oppose high-rise construction at this location. While you’re there, opt in to receive campaign updates so you can make sure your voice is heard on this issue.
Check out our Fight for Sunlight exhibit in the Conservatory to learn more about this project and why it has to be stopped. Share your support on social media using #FightFor Sunlight to tag your photos taken at the Garden.
bbg.org/sunlight
Disclaimer: Please call the Brooklyn Botanical Garden for more information on the gardens. The “Fight for the Light” campaign can be found online and on the Garden’s website for more information.
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 
The best time to visit the gardens is in the Spring and Summer. Daffodil Hill is full bloom now and it is amazing!
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