Plants & People
-
Plants, Sunlight, and Buildings
Plants have evolved in a complex world and are very sensitive to particular and subtle cues. Decisions about where we put buildings and how we build them have a much larger impact than we often realize.
By Sarah Schmidt -
Seed Starting: Preserving Our Cultures (Video)
Starting heirloom fruits and vegetables from seed saves money, promotes biodiversity, and safeguards our cultural legacies. Join Owen Taylor, seed farmer and founder of Truelove Seeds, to learn tricks of the trade for starting your own.
By BBG Staff -
She Hid Seeds in Her Hair: The Power of Ancestral African Foods (Video)
Christopher Bolden-Newsome, farmer and codirector of the Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia, presents the Wilbur A. Levin Keynote Address at Making Brooklyn Bloom 2021.
By BBG Staff -
Plant Journeys through the African Diaspora (Video)
Kimberly Curtis leads us on a journey across continents, linking garden to kitchen while focusing on the properties and stories of three important healing plants indigenous to Africa: moringa, castor, and hibiscus.
By BBG Staff -
Plants and the Pandemic
The pandemic shifted our perspective regarding our homes and forced us to take a look at what we personally need to thrive. Many people turned to plants.
By Michelle Inciarrano -
Preserving African Heritage through Plants and Agriculture
Christopher Bolden-Newsome talks about the enduring legacy of traditional African food, crops, and agricultural technique in his keynote address during this year’s Making Brooklyn Bloom.
By BBG Staff -
Day of Remembrance: Is This a Good Time to Plant a Memorial Garden?
With the anniversary of the COVID shutdown this month, some communities want to memorialize beloved neighbors with plantings. Here are some things to consider.
By Nina Browne Mimi Jorling -
Brooklyn Botanic Garden in 1918: A Time of Pandemic, War, and Poverty
The Garden was founded in 1910, and just a short while later, the influenza pandemic emerged. School group attendance dropped to near zero and the conservatories closed, though for a different reason than they have now.
By Kathy Crosby -
Using Carnivorous Plants for Wedding Centerpieces
Including pitcher plants, flytraps and other carnivorous plants in floral arrangements is very doable, and the results make wonderful, distinctive wedding centerpieces. Read about how I created our centerpieces and how you can do something similar.
By Will Lenihan -
Making a Midcentury Wedding Bouquet: A Cut-Flower Quest
The author decided to re-create her mother's wedding flowers for an anniversary celebration and learned that the floral industry has changed a lot in 60 years.
By Joni Blackburn