Plants & Gardens Blog - Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Japanese Flowering Apricot

This early-blooming ornamental tree is ideal for small gardens or as an accent in larger landscapes.

A close-up of blooming asters, with a few small white flowers in the foreground and the background out of focus.

Urban Gardening | Ecological Gardening | The Climate Crisis

Q&A with Onika Abraham

Onika Abraham talks with BBG about the importance of community and cultural heritage to the sustainable urban gardening and farming movement.

By Sarah Schmidt

The Best Crabapple Trees for Your Garden

Experts recommend these ten Malus cultivars for their beautiful blooms, lovely fruit, and disease-resistance. Among the showiest of spring bloomers, crabapples are also wonderful foliage plants in summer and fall, and they provide beautiful fruit displays late in the season.

By Erik A. Draper, James A. Chatfield, and Kenneth D. Cochran

Urban Gardening | Ecological Gardening

Gardening with Rainwater

Gardeners can play a key role in conserving freshwater by harvesting rainwater. Almost half of all water used during summer is goes to outdoor use, but you can you reduce demand on our water supplies by collecting rain and using it in your garden.

By Robin Simmen

Birds, Pollinators & Other Wildlife

Birds of Brooklyn: Northern Cardinal

It won't be long before these familiar red birds start piping up at BBG. The cardinal is one of the only birds species in which both the male and female sing.

By Joe Giunta

Preserve Your Cut Flowers with This Simple Recipe

Your Valentine's Day bouquet will last a little longer if you use a preservative. Try this easy-to-make recipe.

By BBG Staff

Rhododendron leaves curled shut due to cold.

Kids & Caregivers | BBG Gardens & Collections

What’s Happening to These Leaves?

These rhododendrons aren't wilting. Their curled leaves are a response to the cold. Charles Darwin first wrote about such movements in plants in 1880, but this response is a still not well-understood.

By Ashley Gamell