The lawn and formal gardens on the Brooklyn Parkway entrance.
The beautiful fountain at the end of the formal gardens at the main entrance.
The daffodils in full bloom at the entrance of the gardens.
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 2024, 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 2024
The purple crocuses in full bloom in 2024.
The beautiful purple crocuses in full bloom.
The crocuses only last about a week or two and with the inconsistency with the weather in 2024, they lasted only about ten days and then the weather went back down to the low 40’s. While I was taking pictures of the crocuses, I walked around the gardens and came across the Snowdrops and the Ironweed flowers were also in bloom. These sensitive flowers are only in bloom for just about two weeks.
The Snowdrops in full bloom in the gardens in 2024.
The Snowdrops up close.
The Ironweed just as beautiful. To see these graceful flowers in bloom are a real treat.
The Ironweed flowers in bloom right by the stream.
The Ironweed flowers in full bloom.
An Azalea that was early blooming in the garden in 2024.
The Virginia Bluebells came out just as the Daffodils were at their peak in bloom. When you walked around this part of the Gardens, it was quite spectacular with colors.
The Virginia Bluebells at their peak during the Eclipse.
The Virginia Bluebells in bloom in early April.
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.
Daffodil Hill in the Spring of 2023
The Hybrid Oak plaque of this gracious oak tree.
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 2023
Daffodil Hill with the Magnolia Plaza in the background
Daffodil Hill in 2024
Daffodil Hill in March 2024 was in full bloom even in the cold weather.
The beauty of Daffodil Hill in March of 2024.
The Daffodil Hill plaque in the garden.
Another beautiful flower was in full bloom all over the garden on the hill across from Daffodil Hill. I was not sure what these tiny flowers were called but they blanketed the hills and lawns around the greenhouses during the Solar Eclipse in 2024.
The tiny yellow flowers in bloom during the Solar Eclipse.
These tiny yellow flowers were in full bloom on the day of the Solar Eclipse in 2024.
I visited the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in March of 2024 and took the 1:00pm ‘Highlights” tour of the garden. The tour guide was shocked that we had almost twenty people on a tour on a cool Friday afternoon but we were an enthusiastic bunch. We got to see most of the garden and the one hour tour went from one hour to an hour and a half.
We toured the Bonsai Garden first and we admired these well pruned trees some of which are over thirty years old.
The Bonsai Tree display in March of 2024.
The beautiful flowering trees of the Bonsai display.
The flowering and well pruned trees of the Bonsai gallery.
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. All the trees were just bursting with colors of pink, mauve and white.
Magnolia Plaza in the Spring of 2023
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 beauty of the Magnolia trees in the Magnolia Plaza
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.
Day Seventy-Four “Cherry Blossom Festival-Sakura Matsuri”:
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 Blossoms in 2023
The Cherry Blossoms were just blooming in April of 2023
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.
The Cherry Blossoms in the Japanese Gardens in Spring 2023
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. This was the same at the height of their blooming in 2024.
The Cherry Blossom Lawn in 2024.
The lawn was packed with visitors that afternoon in early April 2024.
The beautiful canopy of blossoms that afternoon were just breathtaking.
People like myself just relaxed on the lawn and enjoyed the sunshine and the blossoms.
Spring has arrived in the gardens in April 2024.
The Cherry Blossom canopy path.
The canopy of trees.
The blossoms were amazing this year
The Golden Rods were also in full bloom when the Cherry Blossoms were and it made quite a site.
The beauty of ‘Golden Rod Hill’ in the early Spring April 2024.
I had not seen the Cherry Blossoms in full bloom in Brooklyn in over three years, concentrating on seeing the ones in Newark, NJ’s Branch Brook Park and Washington DC Tidal Basin. All three are quite amazing in their own way.
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.
The Japanese Gardens in Spring 2023
The Japanese Garden in the Spring of 2023
Later in 2023, the gardens sponsored an open-air art show with artist Jean-Michel Othoniel entitled “The Flowers of Hypnosis-The Gold Rose”. These interesting golden globe sculptures were located in different parts of the gardens especially in the Japanese Gardens and pools.
The Jean-Michel Othoniel exhibition
One of the sculptures in the Frangrance Garden
The sculpture “The Golden Lotus” in the Japanese Garden Pond
The sign on the event
The “Golden Lotus” sculptures at the Japanese Gardens.
“The Gold Rose” sculptures in the Japanese Gardens.
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.
In 2023, the Cherry Blossoms in the gardens were the last ones to bloom behind both Washington DC and Newark, NJ. The species that is dominate in the gardens are the last to bloom and the big pink fluffy flowers were just sprouting in April of 2023.
The bluebells were blooming at the same time and showed their beauty in the gardens just as the trees started to sprout their buds. It was natures way of welcoming in the Spring. It is amazing to see all of this knowing that I was just in the gardens five months ago walking through the Christmas Light Show.
The Bluebells and Ironweed are in full bloom in April 2023
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 May 2025, the Bluebells had really spread through this section of the gardens and had taken over this corner of the gardens.
The sea of light purple was spectacular
The crowds really enjoyed looking at the flowers
It was a gorgeous day
These flowers really spread
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.
The Cranford Rose Garden in bloom
The Cranford Garden shows its true colors in early June and pre-COVID, Rose Night was when all the roses were supposedly at their peak. They were at their peak about two weeks earlier but the display was still amazing.
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”, “The Fabulous Mr. Fox” (which was not too fabulous of a film) and in 2023 “The Muppets take Manhattan”.
Day Eighty-Seven “Members Movie Night 2017 and 2022:
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?
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was the best film in the gardens.
“The Goonies” was another popular hit with the members.
“The Moonstruck” trailer
The “Muppets take Manhattan” trailer
“A Bugs Life” Trailer
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.
The Rock Garden in the Spring 2023
The Rock Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens
The robin’s arrival in the garden means that Spring in on its way
The Rock Garden in the June 2024
The Rock Garden in June 2024
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 Cherry blossoms as you enter the Japanese Gardens
The Japanese Garden in Summer 2023
In March of 2024, the tour took us through the late Winter/early Spring Japanese Garden. Things were just coming into bloom.
The Japanese Gardens just starting to bloom in March of 2024.
The Japanese Gardens just coming into bloom.
The Japanese Garden in the middle of the afternoon.
White Cherry Tree in the late Winter/early Spring
The Japanese Pieris Tree in the gardens was in full bloom on this early Spring day
The Japanese Pieris tree was in full bloom in March 2024.
The Paper Bark Cherry Tree was in full bloom too and smelled of Butter and Lemon. It had the most amazing fragrance.
The Paper Bark Cherry Tree has the most amazing smell.
I passed this little bird chopping away at the berries left on this tree.
The Holly-Leaved Hellebore in full bloom by Daffodil Hill.
The Holly-Leaved Hellebore was in full bloom at this time.
The complexity of the gardens shows their true beauty from season to season when flowers and trees come into bloom and show their true beauty.
The beauty of the Spring at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens
The Frangrance Garden was in full bloom both in the Spring and later summer months. The beauty of this garden is the array of flowers and plants that make a perfect design in the small space flanked by a small fountain of a boy who always looks so mysterious.
The Frangrance Garden in the late summer
The Frangrance Gardens in the Spring
The beauty of the Frangrance Gardens.
The mysterious little boy in the fountain.
The plaque near the fountain dedicated in Memory to Leon Gilbert.
Walking through the Children’s Garden when it was at the end of the season and harvest time, you could see the last of the summer vegetables being picked and some fall vegetables coming up.
The Children’s Cottage where the magic happens.
The Children’s Gardens in the Summer months.
The Marsh Gardens
The Marsh Gardens
The Marsh Gardens
The flowers by the Lilly Pond in the summer of 2023.
The Lotus Pools are in full bloom in late July and the pools were wash with pinks, purples and yellows both in the main pools and the fountain by the Rose Garden. This was in the summer of 2024.
The Rain Garden by the Washington Avenue entrance.
Being a member also has its 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’.
The gift shop at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens
The gift shop on Rose Night 2024
The gift shop on Rose Night 2024
The Lightshow in December 2022
The Lightshow in December of 2022
The Japanese Gardens during the Lightshow in December 2022
The lightshow during the holidays is an experience.
During the Summer of 2023, the Gardens had a wonderful exhibition in the greenhouses “Plants of Little Caribbean”, which highlights the important culinary plants that grow in the region. Some of these plants are staples of the Caribbean food supply.
The “Trees of Little Caribbean” exhibit
Plants of the Caribbean
Plants of the Caribbean
Plants of the Caribbean
Plants of the Caribbean
Plants of the Caribbean
The greenhouses are home to many exotic plants and trees.
Another special event that happened in 2024 was the viewing of the Solar Eclipse. The Gardens were packed with people viewing the first major Eclipse in almost 100 years.
I finally settled in and sat in a small incline across from Daffodil Hill so I could admire the flowers in between the glimpses of the solar eclipse. We lucked out and it started off as a sunny day. We had some cloud coverage during the show but with the glasses on, it was an interesting show.
The sun as the celestial show begun.
The problem with the eclipse was that we were too far away from the path to really see the show so you could only see it through the glasses. The sun still looked like it was shining.
Just as the moon started to cross the sun.
The clouds kept rolling in and out, but it was not as gloomy as they thought the weather would be that afternoon.
The start of the show as the moon started to cross the sun.
Only through the glasses could see the passing which took a little over two hours to finish and it was not a complete eclipse from our viewpoint. It was still interesting to see.
The crowd was really getting into it and everyone was becoming the experts by the end of the afternoon.
In between the moon crossing the path of the sun (you could not look at this all the time), I admired the flowers blooming around us.
The Magnolia Gardens right across from the incline where we were all sitting.
It was a nice break from looking at the sun. I picked the best location in the garden to both view the eclipse and the flowers.
The moon crossing the sun at the midpoint. You could see nothing without the glasses.
The sun was totally covered by about 3:20pm and then started its movement away from the sun.
The moon moving away from the sun.
By 4:20pm, the eclipse was over, and most people left the gardens by that point. Others just relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful sunny afternoon that we were finally having. It had been such a cold early Spring (so much for Phil’s prediction). with temperatures in the low 40’s until just recently.
Some of the crowd lingering at the end of the show.
I left the gardens around 5:00pm after most of the crowds left and enjoyed one more walk around the gardens. Some of the flowers were at their peak and would not be in bloom when I returned the next time. I wanted to enjoy them now.
Leaving the Magnolia Garden.
Passing the Japanese Gardens when the crowds were gone, I finally got to enjoy the paths.
The path by the Japanese Garden
The Magnolia trees around the corner from the Frangrance Gardens.
The Cherry trees in the Japanese Gardens were in full bloom and were quite a show themselves. It was so colorful reflecting off the pool.
The beauty of the Cherry trees in full bloom.
The paths around the Japanese Gardens pool were crowed.
The vibrant light and dark pinks and mauve of the trees.
The Japanese Gardens at their peak bloom.
I went to the “Lightscape” show again during the Holidays in 2024 and they were even more amazing than the last time I went:
On the Sunday of the last day of the Christmas season, I visited the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to see their lightshow ‘Lightscape’ which I had seen a few years earlier. It was the last night to see it and it was crowded and really cold.
The problem was that the weather had turned really cold and it was in the low thirties even in the early evening. So I really had to bundle up for these visits. The show itself was well worth the trip.
The map would take us all over the gardens
The lit tree army the entrance of the gardens
Then I entered the ‘Canopy of Light’ with its magical lights and music
At the entrance of the show was the breathtaking ‘Canopy of Light’
The beautiful multi lights with music
The lights moved to ‘Let it Snow’
I continued down the path to the Japanese Garden and saw the most spectacular light and water show in the lake of the garden.
The colors and fountains swayed to the music
What gorgeous colors
The movements and music were wonderful
The amazing water show in the Japanese Garden
The end of the show was beautiful
I ended up seeing the water show twice because I knew they would not let me turnaround to see it again. The I turned down the path.
The lights in the trees were amazing
The field of white lit roses
A closer look at the white roses
I continued down the path to the next display
I next moved on to the main lawn where the sculpture ‘Singularity’ was displayed. You could not stare at it too long or it could hypnotize you.
The sculpture ‘Singularity’
The sculpture ‘Singularity’
I walked around the Water Lilly ponds whose flowers would bloom again in the summer but had sculptures of Butterflies floating around in them.
These were called ‘Butterfly Effect’
The ‘Butterfly Effect’
I love the way the sculptures swayed and moved in the pond to the music. The Yellow Magnolia, the Garden’s restaurant was open that evening and was packed with people eating dinner. There was no way of getting in so I moved on down the path.
The pathways were lit with all sorts of colors
The next sculpture was ‘One Small Thing’ and the sculpture ‘Halo’ that lit the way in the back of the Gardens.
‘One Small Thing’
The lights alone the path for ‘One Small Thing’
The came the sculptures for ‘Halo’
The next interactive and musical sculpture was ‘Alumine’ which looked like trees in a Dr. Seuss book. Colorful and fun!
Walking through the ‘Alumine’ sculptures
The experience of walking through ‘Alumine’ is like walking through ’Whoville’ in the winter
The lights here changed color every minute and were so amazing.
As I left ‘Alumine’, the next series of sculptures were light shows with dazzling colors and music. This is what made this show stand out more than the shows of the past.
The beautiful lights lit the path through dormant trees
The colors kept changing
As I walked down the path, I entered ‘Rainbow Road’ with it colorful disco lights and energetic soundtrack.
The outdoor lights and music makes you feel like you are in a discotheque
I stayed here the longest to listen to the 70’s soundtrack
The music was fantastic that night
I moved on to the area of the gardens between where the crocuses will grow in two months and near Daffodils Hill was another amazing display entitled ‘Anemonia’. These sculptures looked like futuristic lamps.
The ‘Anemonia’ sculptures
The ‘Anemonia’ lit beautifully
The next light display rivaled the ‘Happy Waters’ was ‘Interface’, a display of memorizing lights and music. I stayed for three shows as it was so dazzling.
The ‘Anemonia’ sign
The lights and sounds of ‘Interface’
The sights and sounds of ‘Interface’
The show ended with some of the spectacular lights
I then walked through the ‘Neon Network’ to get to where the Cherry Blossom Esplanade dazzled everyone in April with its beautiful, fluffy pink blossoms. It was other bright colors showcasing this part of the gardens.
The ‘Neon Network’ sign
Walking through the ‘Neon Network’
The ‘Neon Network’
Walking through the ‘Neon Network’
The ‘Neon Network’ led to the last spectacular displays of lights in the Cherry Blossom Esplanade, ‘Winter Reflection’, a celebration of lights, trees and snowflakes.
The colors of ‘Winter Reflections’
The colors of ‘Winter Reflections’The
Video on ‘Winter Reflections’:
The tree brightly lit in ‘Winter Reflections’
The dazzling colors of ‘Winter Reflections’
To really appreciate the shoe of ‘Winter Reflections’ you had to walk up the pathways overlooking the Esplanade.
The pathway through the Cherry Esplanade was spectacular
The lightshow for ‘Winter Reflections’ was most entertaining from the top of the hill
The video of the show from the top of the hill show it’s true beauty and entertainment:
One of the most memorable show off ‘Lightscapes’
After I saw the show twice before I headed out of the gardens. I walked through the ‘Winter Cathedral’ which had been the biggest part of the light show a couple of years ago. This is most impressive.
The ‘Winter Cathedral’ at the end of the tour
The lights are so spectacular in the evening
The last display before I left the park was the ‘Lantern Garden’ at the original area of the gardens entrance.
The sign for ‘The Lantern Garden’
The ‘Lantern Garden’ at the end of the garden
The ‘Lantern Garden’
I exited the gardens after almost two hours of walking around and it started to get cold outside. It was still really busy in the gardens as the later ticket holders will still coming in.
The exit of the show at the Eastern Parkway entrance
In January of 2025, I attended a talk about the plants associated with the Lunar New Year by member Sabrina Lee. Ms. Lee who is a docent at the Gardens pointed out all the plants that were part of the Chinese New Year tradition.
Docent Sabrina Lee giving the talk on Chinese New Year at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
The Orchid and Clementine plants for gift giving
The Bamboo plants which are part of the celebration
What I learned from the talk was the symbolism that comes from these plants and why they were they were so important to the holiday.
Then she gave us about forty-five minutes to travel to through the various exhibits in the Steinway Conservatory and visit the various plants associated with the New Year which were marked with special red Snake signs.
The Chinese Rain Bell plant
The Banana Tree
The Aloe plant for healing
The Banana tree
The Papaya tree
The Golden Shrimp Lollipop plan
The Starfruit plant
As we walked through the various halls of the Conservatory with the warm tropical halls, we got to see other plants in bloom and growing in the temperature controlled climate.
The Cactus display
The beautiful tropical flowers
The lushness of the Tropical exhibition
Ms. Lee even gave a beautiful calligraphy page with the symbols of the New Year After the Tour was over, I walked around the gardens which were still covered with snow from the recent storm. It made all more beautiful.
The beauty of the Japanese Garden in the Winter
The Japanese Garden during the Lunar New Year
The pond at the Japanese Garden
Then I visited the gift shop at the Gardens that was decked out for the Spring.
The new ‘Terrarium’ gift shop
Even the gift shop was in full bloom that day
I am always amazed by these Gardens. Even in the dead of Winter there is always something
The summer months offer all sorts of activities but the weather has been a pain. Either it is too hot or it rains. They have cancelled two evenings concerts on us.
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 cherry blossoms starting to bloom
The Magnolia trees in full bloom in 2023
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
The Water Garden in April 2023
The Water Garden in April 2023
Other Gardens:
Plant Family Collection:
The Bonsai Collection
The Bonsai Collection
The Bonsai Collection
Steinhardt Conservatory
The Reflection pool by the Steinhardt Conservatory
The Garden Fountain
The Lion Fountain
The beautiful tulips in bloom by the reflection pool
The magnificent Fish Fountain by the reflection pool
Fighting Developers trying to build around the gardens perimeters:
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.
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!
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.
Magnolia Plaza and Daffodil Hill in Spring 2023
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.
Springwood, the home of the Roosevelt family in Hyde Park, NY
I have visited the childhood home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt many times over the years. It is an interesting part of not just Hudson River Valley history but of American history.
Parts of the house were built in the late 1700’s and added on later by the families who lived in the house. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s father bought the house and continued to add on to it. Most of the estate is still intact as well as the homes that the President built separate from the main house to give he and his wife some privacy from his mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, who owned the home until her death.
The entrance to Springwood was decorated for the holidays
Visiting Springwood is like a step back in time. Unlike the grand mansions of the Mill’s and Vanderbilt’s up and down Route 9, Springwood looks more like a home just on a larger scale. The self-guided tour takes you through the first story of the house which includes the dining room, living room, sitting rooms and offices of the President and of his mother, who ran the staff and the household.
The inside of Springwood as you enter the foyer which was decorated for Christmas
The house is done in dark woods, representing a time before the Victorian age when the Federalist look was in and the later additions represent the trends in Victorian style. The furnishings were functional and very homey not like the elaborate ‘over the top’ furnishes in some of the other mansions. The Roosevelt’s were old money Hudson River Valley compared to the Vanderbilt’s who money was earned after the Civil War and did not have to prove themselves to Upper Crust Society.
The Living Room/Parlor of the house where people would gather after dinner
I was impressed with the amount of sporting goods, stuffed animal species and just the general hominess of the house. It looked like someone still lived there. The downstairs area for the servants and the kitchen are functional and not huge. This is a house that was built for a family and for entertainment but not on the scale of the Astor’s or Vanderbilt’s. It ran for a growing family that lived in the house.
The Library and the Dining Room were decorated for Christmas as well as the foyer was decked with garland and bows. I am not sure how many times the family celebrated Christmas here being in the White House but I am sure that the family came home for the holidays. Mrs. Roosevelt, Franklin’s mother, ran the roost so the house functioned a certain way while she was alive.
Our first part of the self-guided tour was of the Living Room, Dining Room and Library on the first floor. The Living Room was smaller than most of the homes in this area again reflecting that the mansion was a home not a showplace. It was used all year long by Franklin’s family and was built to accommodate the growing family that he and Eleanor had created.
Th tour guide told us that the house was set up for Christmas the last year that FDR was alive and they had taken it from pictures and accounts that the family had done that year. The Dining Room had been set for Christmas lunch circa 1940’s with elaborate china and silver and even a children’s table so the kids would not be left out.
Christmas lunch at Springwood
The full Dining Room with the kids table in the background
The Library was decorated for the holidays as it had FDR’s last year alive and everything the site did was based on those pictures and accounts from family members.
The Library has gone through a full renovation and was decorated beautifully for the holidays
The Library was a very comfortable place to relax and socialize
The Christmas tree and the family presents in the Library
At the holidays when I visited in 2019, the house was going to be closed in April of 2020 for a full restoration and renovation of the lights, interior alarms and plumbing for about a year so the only Christmas decorations in the house was a tree in the library (the books had started to be removed from the shelves) and the formal dining room had been set for dinner. The rest of the mansion was in the process of being packed up so we didn’t get to tour it that time. During December 2022, the whole house was finally opened post-COVID and renovation and you could see it all in its glory.
Springwood at Christmastime
Even the upstairs bedrooms looked like any other American home at the time but a touch bigger. I could see by Eleanor’s room that she did not spend much time there. You can see where the adjustments were made when the President developed polio. I am glad that the man showed determination and did not let that stop him in his life. It proved to me that a disability limits you only if you let it.
The upstairs held the bedrooms of Mrs. Roosevelt, Franklin, Eleanor and the all the children. Each room was carefully cleaned and refreshed during the renovation so they look pristine now as if the family was still living there.
Eleanor Roosevelt’s Bedroom
Sara Roosevelt’s Bedroom
The Pink Room is where the King and Queen of England stayed when they visited the Roosevelts
The Pink Room where dignitaries stayed
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Bedroom
Franklin’s bedroom
The modern bathroom with indoor plumbing
There was a large household staff to take care of things on the estate and in the house. The kitchen was the last stop on the tour in the basement. There must have been a lot of action here with such a big household to feed.
The kitchen at Springwood
The kitchen at Springwood was a busy place with so many people in the household and visiting
The grounds were interesting. The formal rose gardens are beautiful when in season and the estate does have views of the river. On the grounds of the estate as well is the Presidential Library, Museum and the gravesites of the President and his wife, Eleanor. Thes are located in the Rose Gardens that they loved so much.
The Springwood Estate
The Stables were very elaborate and held the trophies and ribbons of the family’s champion horses. The stables are now long empty but still display all the glories of the past when this was still a working farm.
The Stables
The inside of the Stables
The only problem we faced on our visit in the Summer of 2019 was that the house was that a sweltering heat wave hit the Valley and the humidity hit 98 degrees. The house was boiling hot because they could not open the windows for fresh air and the whole house smelled musty and old. That is the bad part of all that wood trimming and paneling, it does smell when it is hot.
Still the ranger talked about the history of the house and the role it played not just with the government influence during WWII but at the holidays and how Sara Delano Roosevelt had influence on her family.
Still it was an interesting tour that takes about 45 minutes and is an important part of the foundation of a very important family.
History of FDR at Springwood:
Franklin’s father, James Roosevelt purchased the 110 acre estate in 1867 for $40,000. The property included a house overlooking the Hudson River and a working farm. FDR was born in the house on January 30, 1882, the only child of Sara and James Roosevelt. Growing up with a view of the majestic Hudson River, he developed a love of the river and the valley through which it flowed. By age eight, he was sailing the Hudson. As a young adult, racing his ice yacht “Hawk” was a favorite winter pastime.
Franklin accompanied his father on daily horseback rides. During these times, he became immersed in the land, its history and particularly the trees. In later years, he expanded his parents’ land holding to nearly 1,500 acres and planted over half a million trees. His interest in tree farming translated into a New Deal program, the Civilian Conservative Corps (CCC). The CCC provided jobs to unemployed men age 17-28. Over 10 years, enrollees planted over three billion trees and built over 800 parks nationwide.
Surrounded by the rich agricultural heritage of the Hudson Valley all his life, FDR felt a strong affinity with farmers. One of the first New Deal programs instituted during the Great Depression, the Agricultural Adjustment Act, was designed to help farmers retain their land. His subsistence homestead projects relocated poverty-stricken families into government subsidized rural communities that provided decent housing, cooperative work and farming and schools.
When Franklin Roosevelt married Eleanor Roosevelt in 1905, they resided in both at Hyde Park and their New York townhouse. Franklin and Eleanor had six children, one who died in infancy. FDR supervised the expansion and redesign of the house to accommodate his growing family and his political ambitions, ensuring it reflected the Dutch Colonial architecture of the Hudson Valley.
FDR contracted polio in 1921 and was paralyzed from the waist down. He held out hope for a cure but was never able to walk again unaided. The multi-level home was adapted to his needs with ramps along the short steps. The trunk lift, installed years before the onset of FDR’s polio became his transportation to the second floor.
In 1932, FDR was elected to the first of an unprecedented four terms as President of the United States. His presidency redefined the role of government in America, establishing programs designed to improve the lives of all Americans. These programs included Social Security, the Federal Deposit and Insurance Corporation, the Securities & Exchange Commission, the establishment of minimum wage and unemployment insurance.
During his 12 years as President, FDR led the nation through an economic crisis of enormous proportions and the Second World War. He continually returned to this home he loved, seeking strength and relaxation. He entertained foreign dignitaries here including British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. In the small study, FDR and Churchill initiated a document known as the “Hyde Park Aide Memoire”, that outlined possible future uses of the atomic bomb.
On the afternoon of April 12, 1945, FDR died from a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, GA. He was laid to rest on April 15th in the rose garden here. One year after his death on April 12, 1946, the home was opened to the public. At the dedication, Eleanor Roosevelt said, “I think Franklin realized that people would understand the rest and peace and strength which he gained here and perhaps go away with some sense of healing and courage themselves.”
(Home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt National Historic Site pamphlet)
History of the Springwood:
The estate was part of the 1697 agreement of the English Crown that gave 220 square miles to a group of nine businessmen from New York City. To ensure that everyone had access to the river, the land was divided into “Water Lots”, one of which was deeded to William Creed, one of the nine partners.
The central part of Springwood is believed to have been formed from a large farmhouse which was constructed around the year 1800 in the Federal style. In 1845, the estate was purchased by Josiah Wheeler, a merchant from New York City. Wheeler undertook a remodeling of the house, giving it a then fashionable Italianate style with a three story town at the south end as well as front and rear piazzas spanning the entire length of the house.
In 1866, the estate which has been reduced to one square mile, James Roosevelt bought the house and expanded the main house adding the servants wing, two more rooms and the carriage house. James Roosevelt passed away in 1900.
In 1915, FDR and his mother, Sara made the final additions and renovations to the house for the growing family and for entertaining political and family friends. Sara Roosevelt used the New York firm of Hoppin & Koen and doubled the size of the house by adding two large fieldstone wings (designed by FDR), a tower and a third story with a flat roof. The clapboard exterior of the house was replaced by stucco and most of the porch was replaced with a fieldstone terrace with a balustrade and a small columned portico around the entrance. The inside layout of the house was redesigned also to accommodate FDR’s growing collections of books, paintings, stamps and coins.
The grounds were also changed with the planting of almost 400,000 trees all over the estate in a thirty year period. Today large portions of the estate have been turned over to the Forestry Department of Syracuse University.
(Wiki)
Disclaimer: The history of the Springwood and of FDR are living there was taken from Wiki writings and the pamphlet of The Franklin Delano Roosevelt National Site and I give their writers full credit for the information. Please see the attachments from the National Park site for more information.
Lindenwald estate of Martin Van Buren at 1013 Old Post Road
During the beginning of the Halloween season, I decided to explore the Hudson River Valley mansions while the foliage was out. I had never been as high up as Kinderhook, NY before and I wanted to visit the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site. This was the estate Lindenwald-Martin Van Buren home.
The tour is really informative and discusses our eighth President’s life in Upstate New York. I had not released that he was not born a wealthy man. He was a barkeeper’s son to Abraham Van Buren and his wife, Maria Hoes. His mother had been married before, so he had three half siblings and four other siblings growing up.
The Lindenwald Estate
He had worked his way through Law School and joined the local political scene of Upstate New York. From the what the tour guide told us; he was a self-made man. He had won the first election but not reelection. His further attempts at Presidency were not successful so after his time in Washington DC, he retired to his home in Kinderhook, NY and remained here until he died in 1862.
President Van Buren’s son’s and daughter in law’s bedroom. Abigal Van Buren’s portrait sits prominently in the bedroom.
When we took the tour, the tour guide said that the house had many other owners after the President’s death and that was the reason why there was not much left in the house. There is period furniture from the time he lived here but not from the President himself. There are a few pieces from the family that were donated later. They even replaced the wallpaper in the dining room that was from the original French company that manufactured it (it seems that they have records going back almost 400 years).
The original Dining Room wallpaper
The grounds are beautiful with the golden and orange leaves on the trees and what is left of the crops in the back fields. There is also the graves of Peter Van Ness and his wife, the original owners of the house.
Lindenwald’s Dining Room
The house is not far from downtown Kinderhook so take time to visit the town and the historic sites of the President. There is a lot to see.
Downtown Kinderhook, NY
History of the Martin Van Buren Home & of President Van Buren:
Kinderhook is most noteworthy for its native son. Martin Van Buren, the eighth President of the United States. Van Buren was born here in 1782 and began his road to the White House as a teenager campaigning for Thomas Jefferson in 1800. Van Buren held many positions in New York State government before becoming a United States senator. in 1821. He was elected President of the United States in 1837 after serving as Secretary of State (1829) and vice-president (1833-1837) in Andrew Jackson’s administration. Van Buren was one of only two men to serve as Vice-President, Secretary of State and President. The other was Thomas Jefferson.
President Van Buren’s office at Lindenwald
Van Buren was the first President to be born as an American citizen. Previous Presidents were born prior to the American Revolution. President Van Buren was an accomplished politician, but his Presidency was characterized by the economic hardship of the time-the Panic of 1837.
The Guest Bedroom
This banking crisis occurred only five weeks into Van Buren’s Presidency and tarnished his administration. Van Buren ran for reelection in 1844 and seemed to have a advantage for the nomination. However, his opposition to the annexation of Texas contributed to his defeat at the Democratic convention. The nomination eventually went to James Polk. As the question of extending slavery into the territory captured in the Mexican War became heightened, Van Buren broke with his party and ran for the Presidency as a candidate of the Free Soil Party in 1848. Following the campaign of 1848, Van Buren returned to his farm, Lindenwald, where he remained until his death in 1862 from bronchial asthma and heart failure at age seventy-nine.
(Lindenwald-Van Buren Home pamphlet)
Lindenwald House:
The house was built in 1797. The knocker on the old front door of this famous mansion bears the date 1797. This however refers to the building of the small and much less imposing building, which was the beginning of this Mansion and was erected by Peter Van Ness. There was still an earlier house on the place when Peter Van Ness bought it about 1780. The house of 1797 was greatly improved by Judge Van Ness, a son and still more improved and enlarged by Mr. Van Buren on his return from Washington when he named it ‘Lindenwald’.
The Lindenwald Parlor for the family
Many of the most distinguished men of the period of the Van Ness and Van Buren families entertained here, among whom were Henry Clay, Washington Irving and Samuel Tilden.
The Lindenwald Living Room
Lindenwald is situated about two miles south of Kinderhook on the Old Post Road from New York City to Albany and sits about 400 to 500 feet back from the road, surrounded by old fir and pine trees. Two separate driveways lead up to the house.
The Lindenwald Kitchen
The Lindenwald kitchen in preparation for dinner
The house is brick, painted yellow and seven windows wide. The main building had two stories and a large garret. Three chimneys rise above this main or front part of the house, two to the north and a wide one to the south. The middle of the front is pedimented and there is a dormer on each side of the gable, which in the bedroom story below has a large triple central window with a curved pedimental top and two windows on each side. The two windows on the south side are in the room where Van Buren died.
President Van Buren’s bedroom
Before the center of the main story is a small, covered portico with an easy flight of steps and balusters. To the left is the living room or double parlor to the right the sitting room and dining room.
The spiral staircase to the tower
The oblong house is four windows deep on the north side. A colonnade or arched porch separates it from a domestic building, mainly kitchen and laundry. This undoubtedly was the Peter Van Ness original home. The library was added in the rear of the south side by Mr. Van Buren and next to this he built a tower, like a donjon keep with an Italian summit, the openings few and slitted, the object, stateliness and the view.
The Breakfast Room
Beyond the front door is a fine straight hall. The four doors opening off of it are of early carpentry. At the rear, nearly concealed in the side of the hall under sort of an alcove is the stairway, wide and low and long stepped. The main feature of the hall, is the foreign wallpaper in large landscapes, representing hunters on horseback and with guns and dogs breaking into Rhenish vales, where milkmaids are surprised and invite flirtation, the human figures are nearly a foot high, the mountains and woods, rocks and streams, panoramic the colors dark and loud.
The wallpaper at Lindenwald
The servant’s Breakfast Room
After the death of President Van Buren the house was sold several times.
Another bedroom at Lindenwald
(Lindenwald-Wiki)
The Cemetery where the President and his family are buried a few blocks from the Downtown.
President Van Buren’s grave in the cemetery in Kinderhook, NY
Martin Van Buren’s parents gave who were moved here to be near the President.
Hannah Van Buren was moved here to be near her husband.
When I was in Cape May, NJ recently and came across the Cape May Fire Department Museum when walking around the town. It is interesting little museum that tells the history of the Cape May Fire Department.
The museum decorated for Christmas 2022
The museum showcases the history Cape May Fire Department since its creation in the late 1880’s. There have been some serious fires over the years that have destroyed sections of the Cape May resort community.
Hotel fires displayed at the Cape May Fire Museum
Some of the resorts oldest and grandest hotels that were made of wood have been leveled by spectacular fires. The department has framed the articles around the building.
The inside of the Cape May Museum
There is also large collection of patches from fire departments all over the country, displays of equipment from all eras of firefighting and some displays that are dedicated to retired firemen from the department with their equipment.
Patches and Bunker gear
Some fascinating old fire equipment is on display as well. All of this is marked accordingly along the walls. In the middle of the museum there is an antique pumper to admire that has been fully restored. All the pieces of equipment are dated and described so that you can see the transition in fire fighting over the years.
The Chief’s desk
Cape May Fire Department News:
The museum is open and free to the public. Please come and enjoy the history of the City of Cape May Fire Department. Shirts can be purchased inside the Station. The career personnel on staff will be happy to assist you. The antique Fire Engine is a 1928 American La France and is house inside our museum.
The 9/11 exhibit at the Cape May Fire Museum
The back of the historic engine in the museum.
Disclaimer: I credit the Cape May Fire Department for this information, and I give them full credit on it. Please call the Department for hours of their museum.
The Cape May Fire Museum in front of the new Firehouse in Cape May
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 