Congratulations and heartfelt thanks to every block in our annual Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest for sowing the seeds of greener, healthier communities! Semifinal judging is July 13–20. The final round is held the week of July 24. Please note: This list does not include blocks still vying for Best…
Chrissy Word is a New York City naturalist and environmental educator. She is the director of education at City Parks Foundation and a cofounder of both the NYC Pollinator Working Group and Butterfly Project NYC.
Arvolyn Hill (she/her) is an outdoor educator and community herbalist. She is the manager of the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden at the New York Botanical Garden and a continuing education instructor at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. She also runs a small batch herbal apothecary called Gold Feather Shop. IG: goldfeather_
BBG members gain access to exclusive events, member discounts at participating businesses, and special deals with other gardens and collections all over the world.
Don’t miss the welcome return of daffodils, cherry blossoms, crabapples, bluebells, and more! Extended hours and new programs let visitors make the most of this special season. Advance tickets recommended. Free admission for members.
Cherry trees usually begin to flower in early April. An individual tree may only bloom for a week or two, depending on the weather. Of course, if they were in bloom all the time, they wouldn’t be so special.
Join us for a meditative stroll through the Garden. Enjoy a hot drink and snack before embarking on a walk with birder, poet, and educator Indigo Goodson-Fields. Listen for the calls of migratory and resident birds and see if you can spot them among the trees!
Event RSVP
This invitation is for four and is nontransferable. Enter the email address for your President's Circle membership to register.
President’s Circle members provide essential financial support to the Garden and enjoy a deepened connection through special behind-the-scenes tours, private previews, and exclusive receptions. Learn more ›
Stephanie Pace is a gardener at Brooklyn Bridge Park where she maintains the plantings on Pier 3. She has a BS in biology from St. Edward's University and earned her certificate in horticulture at BBG, where she was a horticulture intern. Before gardening professionally, Stephanie taught children's gardening and science programs for the Brooklyn Children's Museum, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the New York Restoration Project.
It’s more fun together!
“The contest has caused a resurgence of pride, friendship, and cooperation among the residents.” —2017 Participant
Gather your neighbors and enter your block in Brooklyn’s friendliest competition.
The Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest is free and open to all residential blocks, commercial blocks, and community gardens in Brooklyn.
Participants can attend a free workshop, How to Green Your Block, at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and host a free interactive, walk-and-talk block visit, led by BBG staff, to learn about their block’s greening opportunities. Contest winners are revealed in August, and dozens of prizes are awarded for greening efforts.
Garden together to make your block more beautiful, friendly, and green!
Sustainable Practices Award
This annual award goes to a block or community garden engaged in a highly visible ecological practice such as use of subirrigated planters, rainwater capture, found materials “upcycling,” companion planting, drip irrigation, community composting, and gardening for pollinators and other wildlife.
Prizes
First prize is a $300 check for each top residential and commercial block winner. All other winners will receive cash prizes ranging from $100 to $200, and each will be awarded a recognition certificate.
Winners will be announced in August at a press conference held on the winning residential block.
Contest participants who attend the fall recognition ceremony will also receive a gift bag of fall bulbs and a certificate of recognition for their participation.
Rules, Prizes & Judging Criteria
Rules for Residential Blocks
The purpose of the contest is to promote streetscape gardening in the borough of Brooklyn through block associations and other community groups. For more information, email [email protected] or call 718-623-7250.
Entrants must represent more than one person, i.e., block association, civic group, or neighborhood organization. Ad-hoc groups are welcome!
Entrants enter each block both sides of the street, corner to corner. If you represent more than one block, enter each block separately.
Entered blocks are judged solely by what can be seen from the street.
There is a separate category for commercial/business blocks. However, storefronts on residential blocks are eligible for the Greenest Storefront award.
The first-prize residential winner from last year may not enter the contest this year.
Monetary awards (in the form of a check) are given in all contest categories to block organizations that win or place. Awards are also given to individuals for best window box and greenest storefront.
Prizes for best window box are awarded to individuals on entering blocks. Any window box–sized container is eligible, whether placed in a window or not.
Rules for Commercial Blocks
Entrants must be a merchant association, development corporation, business improvement district, or other nonprofit business association. Ad-hoc groups are welcome!
Each commercial entry represents one side of the street only, corner to corner. If you represent more than one side of any block, enter each side separately.
Entered blocks are judged solely by what can be seen from the street.
The first-prize commercial winner from the last year may not enter the contest this year.
Monetary awards (in the form of a check) are given in all contest categories to block organizations that win or place. Awards are also given to individuals for best window box and greenest storefront.
Prizes for best window box are awarded to individuals on entering blocks. Window boxes must be positioned at a window to be considered for this award.
Contest Judging Criteria (Residential and Commercial)
Citizen Participation
What efforts indicate community involvement, such as street tree maintenance, signage, community gardens, or shared gardening areas? Are most buildings visibly participating in greening and gardening? Are children taking part in greening efforts?
Street Tree Stewardship
Has soil or mulch been piled inappropriately at the tree’s base? Are trees receiving enough water? Are there tree guards, and are they well designed? Are there appropriate plantings or mulch in the beds? Do tree limbs need inspection or pruning by the Parks Department?
Plant Suitability and Variety
Are the “right plants in the right place,” i.e., sun loving in the sun, shade loving in the shade? Are there diverse kinds of plants, trees, shrubs, and flowers? Are native plants being used?
Horticultural Practices and Maintenance
Are plants receiving adequate water? Too much? Are weeds under control or outcompeting other plants? Are shrubs pruned appropriately? Is there a lot of litter on the block? (Blocks won’t be penalized if the judging visit is the same day as sanitation pickup and garbage cans are on sidewalks.)
Soil Stewardship and Mulching
Is mulch being used appropriately around plantings? Is it the right depth and distance from plant stems/trunks? Are groundcovers being used? Is the soil exposed and/or compacted? Does it appear that compost is being used?
Creativity and Total Visual Effect
What creative efforts to green up and beautify the block are noticeable? What is the visual effect when you view the whole block? Does the block use color effectively? (Remember, green is a color with many shades!)
Neighbors who are just beginning to garden together are welcome in the contest! Want to spark and sustain more interest in gardening? Here are some tips from Brooklyn’s Greenest Blocks:
Enter your block in the contest and hang your We’ve Entered! signs.
Get the word out. Share your contact info and dates for upcoming block meetings, events, and judging.
Hold a block association meeting.
Invite your neighbors to share ideas, and serve refreshments if you can! To get started, check out the tip sheet from the Citizens Committee for New York City “How to Start a Block Association.” Remember, gardening opens the door for citizen action; make room for other interests and causes.
Collect contact information at every meeting.
Get your neighbors’ addresses, emails, and phone numbers. Make note of special skills or interests in gardening, working with youth, or helping elders. Create an email list or Google group to make information sharing easier.
Create a gardening committee.
Form a core group of neighbors in the block association—even two people—dedicated to sharing information and leading activities specific to greening and gardening, such as assessing block street trees and submitting a Forestry Service Request from the Parks Department.
Schedule a clean-and-green day.
Hold a springtime block-wide event to encourage neighbors to sweep, clean, and swap or share plants. New York City’s Department of Sanitation (DSNY) will support your efforts with tools and trash bags! Check out its Volunteer Clean-up Program tip sheet online for more information.
Knock on doors.
Take a neighbor with you to visit folks face to face. Encourage participation in block activities and meetings. Ask for suggestions… and do more listening than talking.
Make learning a part of your mission.
Neighbors make the best teachers! Hold a window-box planting demonstration. Share sustainable-gardening tip sheets provided by BBG. Invite your neighbors to a Greenest Block in Brooklyn workshop at BBG or request a walk-and-talk visit on your block with BBG staff. In the meantime, let us know your gardening questions!
Don’t go it alone.
Feeling overwhelmed? Tell an interested neighbor that you’d really appreciate some support. You’ll never know who might pitch in—or lead—unless you ask.
Have fun!
Start small, remembering that urban gardeners work under the harshest of conditions. Consider various jumping-off points like composting, street tree bed care, a mural, hand-painted signage, or a youth club. Celebrate your achievements together, no matter how small.
Walk-and-talk block visits are offered for entering blocks on a first-come, first-served basis. Visit Walk-and-Talks or call 718-623-7250 to apply.
Questions? Need assistance entering the contest? Email [email protected] or call 718-623-7250.
2025 Participants
View all the blocks that entered the 2025 Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest. Click the map points to see the names of the registered block associations.
Join us for a guided tour in Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Steinhardt Conservatory, followed by a hands-on activity, designed for individuals with memory loss and their caregivers. The pace is leisurely, with opportunities to stop along the way;
wheelchair accessible.
Explore lush plants from around the world in our indoor conservatories.
Warm up and move around in guided chair yoga and movement activities.
Get your hands dirty and pot up some plants to take home.
Enjoy conversation and refreshments with old friends and new.
The program is free, but space is limited, so registration is required. For more information and to register, contact us at [email protected].
2025 Memory Programs
In warmer weather, Memory Programs are held outdoors in the Garden.
Friday, February 14 | 1–3 p.m.
Sunday, March 2 | 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
Friday, March 21 | 1–3 p.m.
Saturday, April 5 | 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Friday, April 25 | 1:30–3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 13 | 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Tuesday, September 9 | 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 16 | 12–2 p.m.
Thursday, November 6 | 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Friday, December 12 | 12–2 p.m.
With Kira Louzoun-Heisler, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Whether it’s a cuppa to warm the soul, a gargle, a steam, a bath, a dye, a hair rinse, or the start to a syrup, the applications of herbal teas are almost infinite. We’ll explore the differences between cold infusions, hot infusions, and decoctions. Discuss how much herb is “enough” and taste some samples. Bring your questions! Leave with a personalized tea blend made from a selection of herbs.
ASL interpreter available upon request; contact [email protected] at least 2 weeks prior to the class date.
For more information about BBG’s Community Greening programs, visit bbg.org/community
In recent years, as winter transitions into early spring, curious New Yorkers have started to inquire: Is [X] plant at BBG blooming early?
Sometimes, the answer is no. Visitors are often surprised to learn that some plants typically flower in winter, like snowdrops, hellebores, winter aconites, witch-hazel, and camellias. It’s also worth noting that there’s no such thing as “exactly on time” in horticulture. Plants have been resisting gardeners’ schedules since there were gardeners (and schedules).
Hellebores, also known as the Christmas rose, typically bloom in winter through early spring. Photo by Michael Stewart.
Spring leaf-out and bloom times vary year-to-year, but as a general trend, spring is coming earlier to the Northeast as a result of fossil fuel-driven climate change. Most plants in New York City are leafing out and blooming earlier than they did in the 19th century, a shift that correlates with warmer temperatures between January and April. (In concrete-filled cities like New York, the urban heat island effect also raises temperatures.)
Plants are triggered to bloom by a mix of factors including temperature, day length, sunlight, and humidity. The timing of a flower’s bloom can have significant ecological ripple effects. For example, if a flower blooms before its specialist pollinator emerges, that may affect the plant’s reproduction or the pollinator’s food supply. An early bloom is also more vulnerable to getting knocked out by a late frost.
It’s the weather during the shoulder seasons—spring and fall—that seems to be changing the most at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, says vice president of Horticulture Rowan Blaik. In the last few years, major spring collections have bloomed all at once, scrambling the Garden’s typical schedule.
“We've seen lilacs, cherry blossoms, and early roses all blooming at the same time, when they used to be enjoyed as sequential collections,” says Blaik.
Lilacs and cherries blooming on April 18, 2023. Photo by Michael Stewart.
Gardeners are also seeing more abnormal flowering—such as azaleas and lilacs putting out flowers in fall—following late-season heat and drought stress. And the Garden’s operations have had to shift to accommodate an extended growing season and unpredictable weather events, from mowing in February to managing “ferocious” rains that leave blooms in tatters.
The discipline of phenology comes up a lot around questions about bloom times, because phenology is the study of the timing of cyclical biological events—like when plants are leafing out and blooming, or when animals are migrating, mating, or hibernating—and how they are influenced by weather and climate.
The USA National Phenology Network produces First Leaf and First Bloom Indices each year that track the progression of spring across the country. You can check the page as spring approaches in New York to get a sense of how this season’s blooms and leaf-outs compare to other years.
You can also use the iNaturalist app to enter your own phenological observations—like leaf color, buds, or fruits and seeds—at Brooklyn Botanic Garden or other green spaces. These observations will be used in phenological and climate research, so the more participants, the better!
Below are a few popular spring blooms at BBG and when(ish) to expect them.
Crocuses and early-spring bulbs
Crocuses typically bloom in early spring. In Brooklyn, that usually means March, though in the past several years they’ve peaked as early as mid-February. They’re joined around the same time by other early-spring bulbs, like scilla and eastern cyclamen.
Magnolias
Magnolia Plaza at BBG is usually in bloom between mid-March and mid-April. Magnolia blooms are delicate and easily knocked out by late frosts, so BBG staffers cross their fingers each year hoping for a beautiful display.
Cherries
The weeping higan cherries in BBG’s collection typically begin blooming at the end of March, and different flowering cherry varieties bloom progressively through April into early May. At BBG, a stretch of warm weather above 60 degrees or so will often trigger the buds of early-blooming cultivars to appear. Cherry blossoms have been peaking earlier around the world in a shift associated with climate change.
Lilacs
Lilacs typically bloom between mid-April and May. They are traditionally in peak bloom around Mother’s Day in May, though lately they’ve been appearing earlier.
Roses
At BBG, roses typically start blooming in May. The Cranford Rose Garden is usually at its most lush around the last week of May, with a second flush of blooms in early fall.
Discover spring blooms and other highlights of the season in this free walk led by trained Garden Guides.
Free with Garden admission. No registration necessary.
Please note tours can be canceled due to inclement weather. Check this page for updates.
Umakanth Thumrugoti is an artist, writer, and filmmaker who started his career at Walt Disney Feature Animation, working on films such as Lion King, Pocahontas, Fantasia 2000, Treasure Planet, Chicken Little, and Bolt, among others. While at Disney, he worked in various capacities including technical director, lighting supervisor, sequence supervisor, visual development artist, and finally co-art director. His books include Figure It Out: A Thin Book on Figure Drawing and Broken Parts – Pies R Squared, a graphic novel. His film 7 Days In Slow-Motion was called “a bright and cheerful comedy” by Roger Ebert and won many awards.
As part of the North American Japanese Garden Association’s annual Gardens for Peace project, which brings communities together in Japanese gardens to promote peace, BBG is presenting free public programming in and around the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden.
Free with Garden admission. Check back this summer for more information.
As part of our reprise of the site-specific sound installation loved., the 42-piece ensemble Mantra Percussion performs a live rendition on Cherry Esplanade every hour on the hour.
loved. was created by composer Michael Gordon in 2021 to honor those we have lost to the Covid-19 crisis.
About the performers
Mantra Percussion is an ensemble committed to bringing to life new percussive works by living composers.
The group has been hailed by
The New York Times
as “finely polished... a fresh source of energy” and lauded by both
The New Yorker and
TimeOut New York for presenting some of the city’s most noteworthy classical performances.
To mark the fifth anniversary of the Covid-19 crisis, Brooklyn Botanic Garden reprises loved., a site-specific sound installation created by NYC-based composer Michael Gordon to honor those we have lost and reflect on the impact of the pandemic on New York City. The meditative composition for seven vibraphones plays every hour on the hour on Cherry Esplanade and runs 5 minutes, 31 seconds.
“In this city so filled with many different people, the common thread of those lost to Covid was that they were loved. As a way to reach out to those impacted by loss, to those seeking a few moments to sit and think and remember, I sought to create a space where the memory of those loved ones could be honored.” —Michael Gordon
loved.
Composer, Michael Gordon
Percussionist, David Cossin
February 2021
Running time 5:31
Michael Gordon is a prolific contemporary composer whose work melds classical, new music, electronica, punk rock, and many other forms. He is influenced by Downtown artists including Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and Meredith Monk. A cofounder of the influential New York collective Bang on a Can, Gordon’s work has been commissioned by Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, BAM, and New World Symphony, among many others nationally and internationally. Gordon’s recent work Natural History was premiered on the rim of Crater Lake, Oregon, and is the subject of the PBS documentary Symphony for Nature. Explore more music by Michael Gordon on Bandcamp.
Percussionist David Cossin has recorded and performed internationally with composers and ensembles including the New York Philharmonic, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Sting, and Yo-Yo Ma. Theater projects include collaborations with Blue Man Group, Mabou Mines, and director Peter Sellars. A curator, composer, and instrument inventor, Cossin’s sonic installations have been presented in New York, Italy, and Germany.
Mantra Percussion is an ensemble committed to bringing to life new percussive works by living composers.
The group has been hailed by
The New York Times
as “finely polished... a fresh source of energy” and lauded by both
The New Yorker and
TimeOut New York
for presenting some of the city’s most noteworthy classical performances.
For children 4 through 13. During this 6-session program, groups work together to care for their garden plots! Participants practice horticulture skills such as planting, watering, weeding, compost exploration, and more. Groups harvest, taste, and cook with fresh vegetables and herbs, create nature art, and go on nature explorations alongside a garden instructor and teen apprentices.
This is a drop-off program.
Age Groups
Ages 4–5
Ages 6–7
Ages 8–10
Ages 11–13
Cost
$425 nonmember/$400 member
In addition, there is a 4.5% nonrefundable registration fee for all classes.
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson Scientist, Climate Policy Expert, Author, Educator Better Earth Award
Gala Chairs
Jon and Ali Schippers
Chloe Thevenoz and Joe Lallouz
Bob and Donna Whiteford
Sharon Volckhausen and John Buretta
5:30 p.m. | Strolling Cocktails
Champagne at the Diane H. and Joseph S. Steinberg Visitor Center
Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres on the Plant Family Collection lawn
7:30 p.m. | Dinner, Drinks, and Dancing
on Cherry Esplanade
9 p.m. | Drinks and Dancing | After Party
Join us for an enchanted evening in the Garden as we celebrate our shared connection to nature and BBG’s long history of environmental education and leadership.
Proceeds from the Spring Gala provide essential support for the Garden—sustaining the care of BBG’s collections, programs, and community. Tickets range from $750 to $5,000; tables for ten start at $15,000.
The evening’s menu will be designed and prepared by Union Square Events. Each course will feature fresh, seasonal ingredients that were sustainably grown and harvested.
Festive botanical attire encouraged. Tickets held at the door. Complimentary parking provided for cocktails and dinner guests.
Dr. Ayana Johnson is a scientist, policy expert, author, and educator working to help create the best possible climate future. Born in Brooklyn, the daughter of a teacher/farmer and architect/potter, one of her first jobs while still in college was as a summer educator with BBG’s Plant Investigator program for middle school students.
She has dedicated herself to broadening audiences for climate change communications, lifting and engaging a wide range of voices (students, teachers, community members, experts, artists), and seeking to instill a solutions-oriented approach and awareness that everyone has a role to play in this effort.
Urban gardeners know that even in the middle of the biggest city, there are plenty of insects ready to munch on your plants. Learn to identify these hungry caterpillars, borers, beetles, and much more. Take home creative, ecologically friendly tactics to protect your delicious vegetables, fruit, and herbs from Brooklyn’s most prevalent and pernicious pests.
ASL interpreter available upon request; contact [email protected] at least 2 weeks prior to the class date.
For more information about BBG’s Community Greening programs, visit bbg.org/community.
Dust off your binoculars and join birder, poet, and educator Indigo Goodson-Fields on an hour-long stroll through the Garden to look for resident and migrating birds. See large birds like hawks, medium-sized robins, little red-breasted nuthatches, and more! All ages welcome.
Free with Garden admission. No registration necessary.
Please note tours can be canceled in inclement weather. Check this page for updates.
Join local chef Isra Gordon of MintPorch Café for a tasting of Caribbean foods and drinks. Children and their caregivers can taste foods featuring plants from the Trees of Little Caribbean exhibit!
Before and after the tasting, check out even more kid-friendly activities in the Conservatory during February Break Discovery Days.
There are little bugs flying around my houseplants. I did some research online and found out they are called “fungus gnats.” Help!
Rachel
Brooklyn, NY
Dear Rachel,
Fungus gnats are pesky and common—most people who have houseplants encounter them at one time or another. But don’t worry! There are solutions.
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The mighty fungus gnat, from the family Sciaridae. Image by B. Schoenmakers at Waarneming.nl via Wikimedia Commons.
The larvae of fungus gnats can chew on and damage plant roots, so they’re not ideal visitors. Still, it may be helpful to think of fungus gnats as a symptom rather than the root problem. If you address the underlying issue, the gnats will go away.
Have you ever had fruit flies? If so, you know that once you get rid of their food source and breeding ground (ripening or decaying fruit), they go away on their own. The same is true for fungus gnats. The main trigger of a fungus gnat infestation is overwatering, because fungus gnats thrive in soggy environments. Larvae feed on decaying organic matter in moist soil. The best cure is to allow your soil to dry out between waterings. Most houseplants are happier in these conditions, so this step alone can work wonders.
If letting your soil dry out between waterings doesn’t seem to reduce the fungus gnat population, the next step is to check for root rot. Gently remove your plant from its pot. If the soil smells bad or if the roots look mushy, dark, or slimy, you probably have root rot.
As long as you still have some green growth on the aboveground plant parts, your plant is likely still salvageable. Trim away the rotten-looking roots, leaving any firm, light-colored roots. Discard any foul-smelling soil. Repot the plant with fresh, sterile soil after thoroughly washing the pot. If you want to invest in extra protection against fungus gnats, you can buy sticky traps to control the adult population. These are adhesive-covered cards you can put around your plants to trap and kill the adult gnats.
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Sticky traps can help control the adult population. Photo by Maja Dumat via Flickr.
To prevent future problems, take a step back and consider your watering routine.
For the majority of houseplants, water when your plant’s soil is dry to the touch to a depth of about one knuckle. Some plants may need more or less frequent watering, but this is a good rule of thumb to start with—you can adjust after observing your plant’s response.
Also be aware that your plants’ watering needs will change over time, so watering on a strict schedule can actually cause problems like fungus gnats. I often hear from people who have fungus gnats in the winter. This is usually because they are watering once a week rather than when their plant’s soil is dry.
In winter, plants use less water due to lower light and slower growth. As the sun’s rays weaken in the winter months, the soil isn’t drying as quickly—and if you don’t adapt your watering to the changing conditions, the soil becomes waterlogged, which is exactly the kind of situation fungus gnats love.
With a little attention to watering and some proactive measures, your plant should recover beautifully, and the gnats will be a distant, pesky memory.
How do I know when it’s time to repot my houseplants? How do I repot them?
Amira
Brooklyn, NY
Dear Amira,
Although plants cannot speak to us with words, they can tell us what they need in other ways. Here’s how to tell when it’s time to repot:
The roots are peeking out of the drainage hole on the bottom or visible on the soil surface.
The water rushes quickly through the pot when you water it (indicating the soil is so root-filled, it’s not holding water anymore.
Your plant seems to dry out much more quickly between waterings than it used to.
Your plant is top-heavy and seems inclined to tip over.
If you see any of these signs, it’s time to repot. Here’s how:
Prepare your plant. Water your plant about 30 minutes before repotting.
Choose the right pot. Pick a pot 1–2 inches larger in diameter than your old pot.
Prepare the pot. Put some fresh soil at the bottom.
Remove plant from old pot. Gently loosen your plant from its current pot and lift it out.
Position and fill. Place your plant in the center of its new pot, and fill all around it with fresh potting mix. Leave space at the top so you can water it without overflowing. Tap the pot firmly on your potting surface to remove any large air pockets.
Water thoroughly. After watering, the soil may settle more, so fill in any additional potting mix needed to make sure your plant is potted at the same level it was in the old pot.
Return to its original location. Repotting can be stressful for plants! Keeping it in its familiar location can help it adjust.
Unless your plant is truly bursting at the seams, I recommend waiting until spring to repot. When the sun gets stronger and the days get longer, your plant will grow more vigorously, and it will be easier for it to recover from the shock of repotting than during the winter months.
How can I tell if my indoor plants are getting enough light, and what are some low light options?
Wen
Woodside, NY
Dear Wen,
Whether you are gardening indoors or out, the most important step for success is to make sure you are putting the right plant in the right place. When gardeners think about the “right place” for any given plant, sunlight is one of our first considerations.
You will know that your indoor plants are getting enough light if they have:
Healthy, vigorous growth.
An upright form. If your plants seem to be leaning toward the light, they probably need more than they are getting.
Vibrant leaves. Yellowing or dropping leaves are cause for concern.
Proper spacing between leaves. If your plant has long gaps between leaves (aka, is “leggy”) it is probably not getting enough light.
If you think your plant is not getting enough light, moving it to a higher exposure area can help. In our area, southern and western exposure windows will have more light than eastern or northern ones.
(I do not recommend using supplemental plant lighting, because it’s just not a sustainable long-term solution. You’re better off placing your plant in the right conditions.)
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Cast iron plants are a good low-light option. Photo by K M via Flickr.
If you don’t have sunny areas in your home, I recommend these low-light plants:
ZZ plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia): The ZZ plant’s upright stems and glossy, deep-green leaves give it a striking architectural appearance.
Pothos(Epipremnum aureum): This trailing plant with heart-shaped leaves is available in solid green or variegated varieties.
Snake plant (Sanseveriasp.): A low-light classic available in several different variegation patterns as well as different leaf shapes.
Peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii): With its dark green foliage and white blooms, this graceful plant adds an elegant touch wherever it is placed.
Cast iron plant (Aspidistra elatior): This plant is as tough as its name sounds, but it’s also charming and a worthy addition to any low-light areas of your home.
All of these plants are easy to care for and commonly available at most plant stores. Some are toxic to animals, so be sure to do your research if you have a pet at home. With their resilience and beauty, they’ll help turn your space into a cozy winter sanctuary.
With Katie Lobel, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Are you an at-home or community composter facing issues with your pile or bin? This collaborative workshop will focus on practical approaches to common composting challenges, from odors and pests to overly slow decomposition. Bring your questions and get tools and strategies for bringing your compost back into beautiful balance. Take home a plant to try!
ASL interpreter available upon request; contact [email protected] at least 2 weeks prior to the class date.
For more information about BBG’s Community Greening programs, visit bbg.org/community.
With Katie Lobel, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Ready to dive into making compost but unsure where to start? This interactive workshop will explore the value of composting, available local resources, simple methods, and best practices to get you started. Leave with the tools and confidence to begin your compost journey on solid ground. Added bonus: You’ll connect with other New Yorkers committed to making the city a greener, more resilient place!
ASL interpreter available upon request; contact [email protected] at least 2 weeks prior to the class date.
For more information about BBG’s Community Greening programs, visit bbg.org/community.
This spring, bring your school group (of any age!) on a self-guided visit to the Discovery Garden. Our volunteer Discovery Docents will lead hands-on activity stations throughout this area of the Garden. Be sure to explore our meadow, woodland, and marsh habitats, too!
This is a free, self-guided program for school groups of all ages. For each time slot, there is a maximum class size of 30 students. We request a minimum ratio of 1 adult per 10 students, and we will split classes up into smaller groups upon arrival.
School groups must register in advance for Discovery Garden access at these times. Registration opens on Monday, February 3, 2025.
All programs are outdoors and will be canceled in inclement weather. Check this page and your inbox for updates. Questions? Email [email protected].
The Amorphophallus gigas opened on Friday, January 24. It’s perfectly putrid! The bloom, nicknamed “Smelliot” by staff, lasted through Sunday, January 26.
Amorphophallus gigas, native to Sumatra, is related to the headline-grabbing “corpse flower” Amorphophallus titanum. While slightly less dramatic in appearance than its relative, the distinctive inflorescence (flower head) of A. gigas can grow even taller and emits a similar carrion scent to attract fly pollinators.
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Left to right: A. gigas emerging on January 3, growing on January 18, and beginning to unfurl on January 23.
Amorphophallus gigas is rare in cultivation—only nine other botanic gardens are listed as having one, according to Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI)—and blooms infrequently. This plant came to BBG in 2018 as a seedling from Malaysia, and is blooming here for the first time.
“It is not as large as an Amorphophallus titanum bloom, but its uniquely tall inflorescence is a significantly more rare occurrence,” explains BBG gardener Chris Sprindis.
Sprindis first noticed the inflorescence emerging around New Year’s Eve, and moved the plant from our propagation greenhouse to the Aquatic House in the Steinhardt Conservatory. Staffers have been on the edge of their seats ever since, watching the pale spadix, or spike, rapidly increase in size. The actual flowers are clustered at the base of the spadix, currently wrapped under the petal-like spathe.
Once the spathe opens, A. gigas will only bloom for a few days before collapsing, so come check it out soon!
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Gardener Chris Sprindis with the rapidly growing Amorphophallus gigas. Photo by Elizabeth Peters.
Become a Discovery Docent at Brooklyn Botanic Garden!
Are you a nature lover who enjoys engaging with children? Join us!
Discovery Docents are adult volunteers who facilitate hands-on nature and science activities throughout the Discovery Garden, a one-acre, hands-on garden for kids and families at BBG. Docents interact with learners of all ages.
Discovery Docents engage with visitors at an activity station. Photo by Blanca Begert.
No prior experience is necessary—all that’s needed is an interest in nature, a willingness to grow and learn, and a friendly team attitude.
Docents are asked to commit to one three-hour shift at the same time each week for an entire season. Each shift includes helping with setup and cleanup, as well as a brief “docent lesson” that deepens our team’s knowledge of plants and BBG.
Participation is contingent upon a brief interview and background check.
This midwinter break, families and kids can enjoy a special indoor edition of Discovery Programs in BBG’s Steinhardt Conservatory. This week’s program themes are:
Dates & Themes
Celebrate Trees of Little Caribbean! (all ages)
Monday, February 17
Celebrate BBG’s Trees of Little Caribbean exhibit with tastings and hands-on activities highlighting the trees and treelike plants cherished by Caribbean people.
Conservatory Quest (all ages)
Wednesday, February 19
Travel from the desert to the rainforest (and beyond) in the blink of an eye! Use all five of your senses to investigate plants from these habitats.
First Discoveries (ages 4 & under)
Friday, February 21
Calling all toddlers and their caregivers! Enjoy a special indoor edition of First Discoveries, complete with crafts, stories, and other activities designed for our youngest nature explorers.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden promotes urban greening through education, conservation, and creative partnerships. Working with block associations, community gardens, and other service groups, the Garden is building a vibrant network of people, places, and projects dedicated to making Brooklyn a greener place. Learn More ›
Street trees do so much to improve our environment but often receive little care. Learn best practices to spruce up your tree beds while improving the health and resilience of your block’s trees. We’ll also discuss how street tree care can be a great way to motivate your neighbors to participate in the Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest. Take home a plant to try in your street tree bed!
ASL interpreter available upon request; contact [email protected]at least 2 weeks prior to the class date.
For more information about BBG's community greening programs, visit bbg.org/community.
Jibreel Cooper, Kira Louzoun-Heisler, Nina Browne, and Greenest Block winners
Ever wondered what it takes to make your block greener? Recruit a few neighbors and head to BBG where our staff, joined by some winning Greenest Block in Brooklyn gardeners, will encourage you to see your block’s potential with fresh eyes. We’ll focus on common challenges, best practices for street tree care, and choosing the right plant for the right place. Tips for increasing participation on your block will also be discussed. Meet fellow streetscape gardeners and share stories of challenges and successes. Take home some plants to try!
ASL interpreter available upon request; contact [email protected] at least 2 weeks prior to the class date.
For more information about BBG’s Community Greening programs, visit bbg.org/community.
Infused oils hold profound kitchen medicine yet are a simple entry into the practice of herbalism. Learn about different base oils along with methods for herbal infusion, extraction, and use—from marinades to emulsions—packing flavor, aroma, and nutrients in every drop. From a buffet of herbs and spices, formulate your very own infused oil for your kitchen and community.
ASL interpreter available upon request; contact [email protected] at least 2 weeks prior to the class date.
For more information about BBG’s Community Greening programs, visit bbg.org/community.
Members of the Garden Circle are invited to join us for a DIY Herbal Tea Workshop. Teas are a fun and easy way to incorporate herbs into your daily routine. Participants will learn the art of making teas and the best herbs to use for different purposes. Make your own blend to take home!
Space is limited for this indoor event; registration is limited to two guests. Be sure to RSVP below to save your spot. Contact [email protected] with any questions.
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Photo by Michael Stewart.
Event RSVP
Tickets are limited and first come, first served.
This invitation is for two and is nontransferable. Enter the email address for your Garden Circle membership to register.
Interested in joining the Garden Circle? Become a member at the Contributor level or higher to attend this and other exclusive events throughout the year!
Join us for a romantic, prix-fixe dinner celebrating Valentine’s Day in the elegant Yellow Magnolia Café.
$65 per person (exclusive of tax and gratuity) includes three courses and a complimentary sparkling wine toast upon arrival. Add an optional wine pairing for $26. Wines by the glass, specialty cocktails, and other beverages available à la carte. BBG members receive a 10% discount.
Reservations are required. Contact Yellow Magnolia Café with any questions at 929-651-0465 or [email protected].
Please note that dinner guests will enter at 1000 Washington Avenue. Guests have exclusive access to the Bonsai Museum before or after their dinner, while the rest of the Garden is closed to visitors on these evenings.
Pull up for an evening of good vibes, cocktails, and self-guided tours as we celebrate the anniversary of the Trees of Little Caribbean exhibit in the Steinhardt Conservatory. Plus, pot up your own plant to take home with you (while supplies last).
Enjoy DJ sets by Danglez and Mitch Factorial and cocktails curated by I AM caribBEING’s Shelley Worrell. With cohost Oliver Luke.
This year’s conference theme, Many Hands, Light Work, celebrates both the invaluable role light plays in the greening of our city and the beacon that is community. We are delighted that Zoë Schlanger, acclaimed author of The Light Eaters, will deliver this year’s Wilbur A. Levin Keynote Address, illuminating the secret lives and hidden wonders of the plants around us. Participate in workshops, explore BBG’s grounds, and network with NYC greening organizations at a conference that has had Brooklyn lit up with excitement for over 40 years.
A limited number of spaces for workshops, tours, and talks, including the keynote, will be available for walk-up registration starting at 10 a.m. Sessions will fill up, so be sure to reserve admission and arrive early! The entry gate at 990 Washington Avenue opens at 9 a.m. Online advance registration for ticketed sessions has closed.
Please note that if you have already registered online for a morning or afternoon session, you may still join the walk-up line for an additional session. And remember, nonticketed activities in the Palm House, Rotunda, and Conservatory are open to all from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
We often recognize agency, decision making, and communication from a distinctly human perspective. However, when we examine the world of plant life, we can see that they too possess these qualities in ways that aren’t always apparent to human-centric sensibilities. Through the invitation to consider the potential of plant intelligence, Zoë Schlanger offers us a new way of understanding life on earth and how plant life has evolved in conversation with its surroundings.
Schedule
9 a.m.
Pre-registration Check-In
990 Washington Avenue ticket booth
10 a.m.
Walk-Up Ticketing
Lillian and Amy Goldman Atrium
10 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
Exhibits
Rotunda (no ticket required)
Pick up free seeds while they last.
Visit BBG’s Ask-a-Gardener table for answers to your horticultural questions.
Check out information about Wyckoff Farm Museum and Green Garden Truck.
Browse the Library’s shelves and photosynthesis exhibit.
Palm House (no ticket required)
Connect with dozens of NYC greening groups.
Choose a free veggie start courtesy of BBG until they’re gone.
Learn about BBG’s Brooklyn Urban Gardener certificate program.
Enter your block in BBG’s Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest.
Conservatory, lower level (no ticket required)
Pot up your own houseplant, while supplies last, at the Propagation Station.
Paint with Native Plant Inks with Native Roots Farm Foundation. Limited spaces available; repeats 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
10:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
Yellow Magnolia Café
Grab-and-go lunches available for purchase with seating available in the Café.
11 a.m.–12 p.m.
Morning Workshops, Talks, and Tours (ticket required) See descriptions.
12–1 p.m.
Bring-Your-Lunch Breakout Sessions (no ticket required)
Join the conversation, join the action:
Community Gardening (Q Gardens): Room 123
Compost Questions (LES Ecology Center): Room 125
School and Youth Gardening (GrowNYC): Magnolia Room
Street Tree Stewardship (Pamela Pettyjohn): Room 236
Bring-a-Bag-Lunch Zones (no ticket required)
Conservatory, lower level, and Visitor Center Atrium
Look for labeled areas to sit, eat your lunch, and chat with fellow attendees.
1–1:40 p.m.
Conservatory Seasonal Highlights Tour (no ticket required)
Meet at Steinhardt Conservatory Entry House, upper level.
1:30–2:40 p.m.
Wilbur A. Levin Keynote Address (ticket required)
Auditorium
“Light Eaters: A Plant’s Point of View”
Presented by Zoë Schlanger, Author, The Light Eaters
3–4 p.m.
Afternoon Workshops, Talks, and Tours (ticket required)
Leave us your feedback and get a token of our thanks!
1000 Washington lobby
Workshops, Talks & Tours
Workshops and tours repeat at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. There is a different talk in the morning and the afternoon.
Auditorium Talks
ASL interpretation will be available for all talks. Reserved seating areas for wheelchair and ASL users at front of Auditorium.
11 a.m.–12 p.m.
Something (Green) from Nothing: Lessons from Greenest Blocks in Brooklyn
Perri Edwards and Althea Joseph, P.L.A.N.T.s, Kara Lesondak and Debra Sweet, Crown Heights Keepers, and Valerie Nero-Reid, HSVK Block Association
Gardening is magical: You can start with concrete and dirt and end up with an inviting, lush oasis. Hear these neighbors reveal their secrets—from plant selection and community building to fundraising—to help you make magic on your block.
3–4 p.m.
Rats, Spotted Lanternfly, and Beyond: Light in the Shadows
Caroline Bragdon and Martha Vernazza, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and Sam Anderson, Cornell Cooperative Extension
For many gardeners, the struggle against rats, spotted lanternfly, and other pests can lead to fear and dispair. Let these experts in the field shed some light on the realities and strategies for mitigating and coping.
Classroom Workshops
A Gathering of Stones: Stories of Communal Grain Production
Maya Marie S., Deep Routes
A cornerstone of all human survival, grains are crucial for global Indigenous communities and their diasporas to gather and steward traditions of sustenance. Journey through histories of production and milling of rice, corn, sorghum, and wheat. Take home some freshly milled flour.
Community Gardens, Growing Engagement
Alana Curtis, Lory Henning, Nancy Hoch, and Arlene M. Roberts, Maple Street Community Garden
Sustainable gardens grow community! Discover how one local community garden has ingeniously used design, layout, gardening practices, policies, and public events to foster hospitality, inclusion, and broader, more active participation.
Creating Urban Food Forests
Marion Yuen, The MYA Group, and Samuel Pressman, Samuel’s Food Gardens
Native food forests—even on a micro scale—are resilient, perennial landscapes that feed people, plants, and pollinators. Hear how these passionate zero-waste gardeners have successfully turned concrete and lawn into thriving biowebs, mitigating climate change and gathering community.
The How and Why of Seed Saving
Loujaina Abdelwahed, Prospect Heights Community Farm
Saving seeds and their stories is essential to preserving our past and safeguarding our future. Explore the science and practice of collecting and storing many kinds of seed. Take home some seeds to try.
Starting With a Seed
Joanne D’Auria, HortAbility
A great workshop for beginning gardeners! Seeds hold such potential, yet what is a seed? Learn the basics of seed types, life cycles, and how seed-starting compares to other ways to propagate. Start some seeds for your garden or windowsill.
Teaching Kids to Compost
Katie Lobel, BBG
Composting is an empowering hands-on activity for classrooms and families. Learn lessons and strategies for engaging children in this restorative process that tells stories of food, waste, reciprocity, and reconnection with the web of life around us. This workshop is for adults.
What Does Racial Equity Have to Do With Street Trees?
Suzy Myers Jackson and Brandon Otis, certified BBG Brooklyn Urban Gardeners
Caring for trees can be a liberating act of service and learning. The legacy of redlining in historically Black neighborhoods still creates negative financial, environmental, and health impacts for residents. Get inspired to advocate for and take care of our local trees.
Accommodation can be made for visitors in wheelchairs or with limited mobility. If you need additional accessibility accommodation, please contact us at [email protected] by February 21.
Special Tours
Fruit Trees: Tour the Herb Garden Orchard
Meet at the Herb Garden. William Wallace, BBG
Growing fruit trees in NYC has opportunities and challenges. Learn first-hand what fruits BBG’s Herb Garden curator is growing and take away lessons for growing your own. Weather permitting.
Houseplants at Home Tour
Steinhardt Conservatory, lower level Lacey Gleason, BBG Garden Guide
BBG’s Entry House and Tropical Pavilion showcase many plants that often live inside with us. Learn more deeply about these plants within environments designed to mimic the natural places and conditions they call home. This tour is 40 minutes.
Lichen Tour of BBG
Meet at the Lily Pool Terrace staircase. Isabella Array, BBG
When did you first notice a lichen—the living things that grow on the surface of trees and stones? Take a journey to understand and identify the lichens around us and gain a deeper appreciation for these marvelous lifeforms. Weather permitting.
Celebrate Brooklyn’s West Indian community with a Tuesday Night Fête at the Garden featuring a live DJ. Dance along to Caribbean beats while enjoying a curated cocktail and special food menu. Bring your flag and get ready to jump into the annual West Indian American Day parade!
Art in the Garden is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Celebrate summer at the Garden with live jazz on Thursday evenings. Bring a blanket to stretch out and enjoy the music, presented in partnership with local arts organizations. Performances start at 7. Each night also features a tour or other Garden activity. Pop-up bar; no outside food, drink, or chairs permitted.
All programs free with Garden admission.
Please check back for updates.
Support
Art in the Garden is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
Signature Plants are a benefit of membership at the Contributor level and above. Plants are hand-selected by BBG’s Horticulture staff for their beauty and ability to thrive in a wide range of hardiness zones and light, soil, and moisture conditions, so you’re sure to find something perfect for your garden or home.
2025 Signature Plant Pickup Events
Eligible members are invited to select their 2025 Signature Plant on one of two pickup dates:
Sunday, May 4, 2025 | 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Savor a spring day in the Garden with coffee and morning treats.
Tuesday, May 6, 2025 | 6–8:30 p.m.
Enjoy wine and light snacks during a spring evening.
Celebrate cherry blossom season and all the spring blooms at Brooklyn Botanic Garden with casual, pop-up music and dance performances, morning programming for kids and families in the Discovery Garden, and Garden tours.
All programs free with Garden admission.
Please check back for updates.
Support
Art in the Garden is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Enjoy magical access to the Garden’s famous Kanzan trees!
Find a spot on Cherry Esplanade to enjoy the cherry blossoms, lit up for maximum effect, and savor the spring vibe with family and friends. Stroll in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden and along Cherry Walk, try your hand at origami, and view a curated display of bonsai in the Lillian and Amy Goldman Atrium.
Advance tickets required. Special discounts for Garden members.
Please check back for updates.
This is a one-time program for kids of all ages and their caregivers. Join educators at activity stations throughout the Children’s Garden. Plant seeds, water vegetables and flowers, create nature crafts, taste fresh produce, dig in soil, and more! Participants are welcome to register for multiple classes, but activities will repeat. Programs take place rain or shine!
One adult-child pair must register to participate together. Up to three children or adults may be added.
$18/$15 (member) for each additional adult or child in the group (up to 3 additional, 5 total)
Cost includes Garden admission.
Participation Requirements
One adult-child pair must register; may add up to 3 adults or children.
There are no refunds. Exchanges are subject to availability and must be made prior to event date.
Children should wear clothing that can get dirty and closed-toe shoes (no sandals).
Please register on the waitlist if you wish to attend on a date that is sold out; you will be contacted if space opens.
Class registration includes Garden admission before or after the program; see bbg.org/visit to confirm hours. Show your ticket at any entrance to enter.
Visitors to the Garden can enjoy hot and cold drinks plus sweet treats and savory lunch items at the Coffee Bar in the Steinberg Visitor Center. Yellow Magnolia Canteen opens for the season on March 28; Yellow Magnolia Café opens April 1. Members receive a 10% discount.
Enjoy a variety of espresso drinks and iced beverages along with a curated selection of fresh pastries, sandwiches, salads, soups, and snacks in the Coffee Bar in the Visitor Center.
Hours
Tuesday–Sunday: 11:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
*Please note the Coffee Bar and Atrium seating may close early for private events.
Coffee & Beverages
Beverages are 12 oz. unless otherwise noted. Oat milk, half & half, whole milk, and decaf options available.
Hot Beverages
coffee | 4.5
cappuccino | 6.
espresso | 4.85
americano | 4.85
macchiato | 5.25
café au lait | 4.85
latte | 6.
seasonal latte | 6.5
mocha | 6.5
matcha latte | 6.5
hot tea | 4.
hot chai | 5.25
hot chocolate | 6.
Iced Beverages
iced coffee | 4.5
iced latte | 6.
iced matcha | 6.5
iced chai | 5.25
iced tea | 4.25
Bottled Beverages
lemonade | 6.25
beer | 9.
wine, sake | 12.
canned cocktail | 15.
bottled water | 4.5
boylan’s soda | 5.5
Menu subject to change.
Lunches
(v) vegetarian | (vg) vegan | (gf) gluten-free
soup of the day | 10.
chef’s choice
fruit cup (vg, gf) | 8.25
seasonal selections
kale caesar salad | 13.
shredded kale and romaine, cherry tomatoes, parmesan, caesar dressing
Yellow Magnolia Canteen, on the terrace by the entrance to the Steinhardt Conservatory, serves a variety of pizzas, sandwiches, empanadas, salads, snacks, and beverages.
chicken fingers | 12.
choice of two sauces: thai sweet chil, korean ssamjang, cilantro jalapeño, or ranch
veggie box with carrot hummus (vg, gf) | 12.
warm pretzel with spicy mustard (vg) | 7.
hal’s new york chips (v, gf) | 3.25
hal’s new york popcorn (v, gf) | 3.25
Sweet Treats
chocolate chip cookie (v) | 2. pack of 3 cookies | 5.5
ice cream bar (v) | 7.
la newyorkina ice pops (vg, gf) | 8.
Beverages
coffee | 4.5
hot tea | 4
iced tea | 4.25
iced coffee | 4.5
lemonade | 6.25
soda | 5.25
slushy | 7.5
bottled water | 4.5
beer | 9.
wine, sake | 12.
frosé | 12.
canned cocktail | 15.
Menu subject to change.
In the dead of winter, an odd, slightly smelly little wildflower blooms in the Native Flora Garden.
Commonly known as a skunk cabbage or eastern skunk cabbage (Symplocarpusfoetidus), this fascinating plant can generate its own heat, raising its temperature up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the surrounding area—enough to melt snow—in a process known as thermogenesis.
“I find everything about this plant bizarre, amazing, and charismatic,” says Joanna Coleman, an urban ecologist and assistant professor of biology at CUNY. “I’ve fallen in love with it.”
Skunk cabbages blooming in the Native Flora Garden in January 2023. Photo by Michael Stewart.
Skunk cabbages can be found growing along streams and in muddy, wet environments in eastern North America. Not actually a cabbage, but rather a member of the Araceae or arum family, its unique winter bloom is comprised of a swooping maroon (or sometimes green or mottled) spathe, or hood, that surrounds a spadix, or spike, covered in tiny yellow flowers.
In an interesting twist, skunk cabbage flowers emerge before their leaves. The spathe pops up in late winter or very early spring (in Brooklyn, it often happens in January or February), its ability to create heat offering protection from frost. The flowering period lasts for several weeks, then the spathe starts to decline as the weather warms in early spring. Around this time, its large green leaves unfurl, eventually dying back by the end of summer. The plant emerges the following year from a thick rhizome, or modified underground stem.
Coleman and her lab are conducting an urban ecology study of the eastern skunk cabbage across several sites in and around New York City, including at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Coleman’s work has previously focused on bats, which can also raise their own body temperature (she calls skunk cabbages “the bat of the plant world”).
This winter, Coleman and field ecologists Gretchen Begley and Matthew Stanton are spending time at BBG recording data and taking samples from the Garden’s small population of skunk cabbages.
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Researchers captured these skunk cabbages blooming in Pelham Bay Park in March 2023. The spathe, or hood, of a skunk cabbage emerges in late winter; inside is a spadix covered in tiny yellow flowers. Photo by Joanna Coleman.{embed="includes/_inline_image" file="/img/uploads/lightbox/Skunk2_JC_IMG_8012.jpg"}
Skunk cabbage leaves emerge after their bloom fades, as seen here in Staten Island's High Rock Park in April 2024. Photo by Joanna Coleman.
The project, which Coleman inherited from a former graduate student, will investigate a variety of questions related to how urbanization affects skunk cabbages. Cities are warmer than outlying areas because of the urban heat island effect; they also have drier, more disturbed soils and more pollution. So how does this impact where skunk cabbages grow? And how does urbanization—and climate change—affect their phenology, or the timing of life cycle events like flowering?
“With both climate change and urbanization, a common observation is that spring phenophases, like flowering, for example, are occurring earlier,” Coleman notes.
The team is collecting community science data to help answer these questions. They’re also collecting temperature data from skunk cabbages to examine how warmer urban environments might affect thermogenesis.
“If the city is warmer than outlying areas, well, maybe the plant doesn’t have to do this behavior as much,” Coleman hypothesizes. This could save the plant energy, but also produce cascading ecological effects; if the plant’s warmth helps its scent attract pollinators, as researchers believe, then a change in heat-producing behavior could affect its reproduction.
So what’s the big picture? “We need to understand how climate change and urbanization, and the interaction between them, is going to affect the behaviors of plants, animals, and other organisms in the environment,” explains Coleman.
Her lab is also collecting DNA to learn who is pollinating these plants, and whether that assemblage shifts in urban areas. Skunk cabbages are thought to be pollinated by beetles and flies (as is often the case for stinky flowers reminiscent of raw meat), but there are “so many unknowns,” says Coleman. For all its charisma, there is limited scientific research on the eastern skunk cabbage.
Though their work is still in process, we know one thing for certain: Skunk cabbages do smell, at least when damaged. Opinions on that scent tend to vary.
“It’s like a faint, almost garlicky, swampy aroma,” says Stanton. “It reminds me of Shrek.”
If you’re curious about skunk cabbages, come check them out in BBG’s Native Flora Garden. You can find other populations nearby in Central Park, Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, and High Rock Park in Staten Island.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Performing Artist in Residence program allows artists and visitors to experience the Garden through a different lens.
2025 RESIDENCY
The theme for the 2025 residency is Natural Connection.
Explore the relationship between humans and nature and their dynamic and sometimes fraught interdependence. Highlight how human actions reshape the environment, while nature’s responses and constant shifts influence human lives, ideas, emotions, and futures. Challenge the audience to think about their role and responsibility within this cycle, examining the human-nature relationship here in Brooklyn or beyond.
One artist will be selected for a residency in 2025. During the residency, the artist will spend time creating work in and inspired by the Garden and the theme, Natural Connection. They will host two public classes, seminars, or activities, then showcase their final work in September 2025.
Residency Support
Access to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden library and archives
Research meetings with gardeners and staff
Access to the Garden, including outside of public hours by arrangement
Access to BBG’s events and programs
A shared desk area and Wi-Fi
Artist stipend of $8,000 plus additional funds for production & performer support
2025 Timeline
Application deadline: February 28
Selection: May 1
Residency: June 1 to September 30
Final presentation: September 21 & 22
Past Artists in Residence
2024 Artist in Residence: Patrick Costello
In 2024, Brooklyn Botanic Garden hosted Patrick Costello as artist in residence. During his residency, Costello led a family-friendly hand-puppet workshop, conducted a community chorus in the Garden, and created an immersive and participatory processional performance called The Holes are Alive: A Garden Tour focused on plants and pollinators.
2023 Artist in Residence: Kamala Sankaram
From June through September 2023, Brooklyn Botanic Garden hosted Kamala Sankaram as artist in residence. Drawing inspiration from trees in our collection, tree care and caretakers, and the symbolism of trees as places of gathering, shelter, and culture, Sankaram created two new pieces inspired by the Garden’s 2023 theme, Power of Trees.
2022 Artist in Residence: Jean-René Delsoin
During his summer 2022 residency, Delsoin’s study of BBG’s gardens, plants, trees, and wildlife along with Haitian culture, traditions, and heritage informed a work created and presented in collaboration with NYC-based dance and drum practitioners.
APPLICATION
Eligibility
Discipline: Artists interested in the live performance world including (but not limited to) choreographers, dancers, musicians, playwrights, and theater makers.
Artist must be a resident of New York City. This residency does not provide housing or transportation.
Artist must respect the plant life and abide by Garden rules. A residency contract will be executed.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden is an equal opportunity organization and encourages all eligible applicants to apply.
Application Components
Portfolio of 3–5 pieces of work
Resume
Written proposal including:
Performance ideas integrating the 2025 theme
Public engagement ideas; seminars, classes, etc.
Artist’s relation to or interest in botanic subject matter
Anticipated needs for residency supplies, equipment, space, and budget
Artist statement
Selection
Applications will be reviewed by a committee composed of Brooklyn Botanic Garden staff and previous artists in residence.
Applications and final selection will be based on the following criteria:
Integration of the theme into the performance piece
The proposal reflects Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s mission and community and is appropriate for all ages.
Feasible for Brooklyn Botanic Garden; think about the impact on the grounds and flexibility of the performance in an outdoor environment.
Strength of the public engagement proposals; how do you propose to get to know BBG’s community and vice versa?
Relationship or interest in botanic subject matter
Applicant’s portfolio of work and examples of completed performances
A final interview will be conducted with the top 3 candidates; the selection will be based on those interviews.
You will be notified if your proposal is selected as a finalist. No inquiries, please.
Applications are due by February 28, 2025. The resident will be announced May 1, 2025.
Calling all explorers up to 4 years old (and their caregivers)! Pot up a plant, create a craft, read a story, and use your senses to explore nature at special Discovery Garden activity stations designed for early learners.
This is a drop-in program for children ages 4 & under and their caregivers. Free with Garden admission.
All programs are outdoors and canceled in inclement weather. Check this webpage for updates.
Related Event
Support
Major Supporter, Discovery Programs
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The cherry trees haven’t started blooming yet. Please check back in mid March for updates.
Take a lyrical walk through through the Japanese Garden at peak bloom (filmed April 2020). Enjoy at full screen!
Being part of the Garden Circle means more than additional benefits—it’s an investment in the future of the Garden. Your significant contribution will help Brooklyn Botanic Garden remain one of New York City’s premier cultural institutions and an urban retreat for thousands of visitors and local residents, now and for years to come.
In thanks for your generous gift to Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Garden Circle members receive enhanced member benefits.
If you are a current Garden Circle member, make sure we have your email address so we can remind you of these special events—email [email protected] with “subscribe” in the subject line and include your name and membership number.
Signature Plants are a benefit of membership at the Contributor level and above. Plants are hand-selected by BBG’s Horticulture staff for their beauty and ability to thrive in a wide range of hardiness zones and light, soil, and moisture conditions, so you’re sure to find something perfect for your garden.
Signature Plants by Membership Level
Contributor: 1 Plant
Supporter, Patron, and President’s Circle: 2 Plants
Garden Circle members will receive an invitation to select their Signature Plant for pickup in May. Please note that plant pickup is available on designated pickup dates only.
To visit the Garden immediately, purchase a membership on ShowClix or join below and show your confirmation email at the ticket window. Your member welcome packet arrives in 4–6 weeks.
Your membership can have double the impact! When you become a new member or renew at a higher membership level, you’ll help BBG release a $1 million challenge grant by the Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust.
General Membership Levels
Individual $75
Enjoy admission to BBG, members-only extended hours and events, exclusive members’ News, great discounts, and more.
Membership Benefits
Free general admission for 1 adult for 12 months
Free general admission for children 17 and under
1 BBG membership card
1 single-time-use guest pass for general admission and members-only events (mailed with member packet)
Discounts and special offers for Lightscape and other ticketed events
10% discount on BBG dining and retail
Discounts on adult and children’s classes
Subscription to Plants & Gardens newsletter and members’ News
The Garden Circle is more than additional benefits—it is an investment in the future of the Garden. Your significant contribution will help Brooklyn Botanic Garden remain one of New York City’s premier cultural institutions and an urban retreat for thousands of visitors and local residents, now and for years to come.
Your friends and family can experience the Garden’s beauty all year round with the gift of membership at the Individual level and above. As a bonus, your membership gift serves the community and far beyond.
For more information about membership levels and benefits, including discounts for senior citizens, or to join by phone, call Membership at 718-623-7210 or email [email protected].
Learn hand-building pottery techniques while creating your own planter. During this class, participants will learn the basics of hand-building pottery, including how to add textures, patterns, and decorations with underglaze paints. The workshop does not require any previous experience.
In late winter, when much of the Garden lies dormant, the Warm Temperate Pavilion comes to life in a cascade of scents and colors. As you enter, you may spot a purplish flower whose petals and leaves resemble a heart. That’s Pelargonium cordifolium, or heart-leaved pelargonium, a flowering shrub from the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa.
Pelargonium cordifolium grows to around three feet tall and can be a bit scraggly in shape. In the wild, you might find these blooms poking out through a tangle of companion plants rather than standing alone. For a fuller display, gardeners tend to plant them in groups.
Its purple (or occasionally white) flowers have five petals; the top two petals are larger and marked with dark purple veins, while the three lower petals are smaller and lighter in color. Its heart-shaped leaves are hairy and smell slightly of apple.
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The common name of heart-leaved pelargonium comes from—you guessed it—the plant’s heart-shaped leaves, seen here in their Cape habitat. Photo by Karol Cameron.
Pelargonium hybrids, often known as geraniums, are beloved by gardeners around the world, but their place of origin is rarely highlighted in retail spaces or gardening articles. More than 80 percent of species in the genus hail from southern Africa, with the majority of these found in South Africa.
Geranium or pelargonium?
Most gardeners refer to pelargonium species as “geraniums.” This can get confusing, and is technically incorrect, since Geranium and Pelargonium are two different genera, or groups, belonging to the same family, Geraniaceae.
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Pelargonium × hortorum, also called zonal geranium or garden geranium, is a pelargonium hybrid commonly grown on windowsills or in containers. Photo via DonBanana / Wikimedia Commons.
Common names for Geranium species are “cranesbill” or “hardy geranium”; common names for Pelargonium species are “geranium,” “pelargonium,” or “storksbill.”
The two genera are differentiated most easily by the shape of their flowers: Pelargonium flowers are bilaterally symmetrical, while geranium flowers are radially symmetrical. (The wonders of modern horticulture have confused things a bit further by producing pelargonium hybrids with symmetrical round inflorescences.)
Geranium flowers, like the Geranium maculatum seen here, are radially symmetrical, meaning they have multiple lines of symmetry. Pelargonium flowers are bilaterally symmetrical, which means they can only be divided into two symmetrical parts. Photo by Michael Stewart.
The name for pelargonium is derived from the Greek pelargos, which means stork, referring to the pointy elongated attachment (rostrum) to the seed capsule (schizocarp), which is said to resemble a stork’s bill.
A fire-loving flower
Pelargonium cordifolium grows in the eastern half of the Fynbos Biome, a colorful shrubland ecosystem that covers most of the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) at the southwestern tip of South Africa. The CFR is considered a biodiversity hotspot, which means it is one of the planet’s most biologically diverse and threatened areas.
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Fynbos vegetation in the mega-diverse Cape Floristic Region. Photo by Brian Ralphs / Flickr.
Fynbos (pronounced fane – boss) vegetation is dominated by evergreen shrubs and restios (grasslike plants from the Restionaceae family), and hosts a diverse array of geophytes, or plants with underground organs, like bulbs and tubers. Two-thirds of the more than 9,000 species found here, including P. cordifolium, are endemic, meaning they are found nowhere else. Major threats to the CFR include habitat loss from development and agriculture, habitat degradation, and invasive species.
Similar to chaparral ecosystems in the western United States, fynbos vegetation requires a regular fire cycle to rejuvenate. I recently saw big patches of Pelargoniumcordifolium on rocky slopes while hiking in an area that had burned two years earlier. Like many pelargoniums, P. cordifolium is a pioneer species, which means it grows rapidly after fire and then becomes less prominent as slower-growing species start to compete for space.
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P. cordifolium growing alongside other plants in the CFR. Photo by Nicky van Berkel.
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Pelargonium cucullatum, another species in the genus, blooming en masse following a summer fire near Scarborough in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Photo by Rupert Koopman.
A horticultural staple
Cape pelargoniums were introduced early to Western horticulture and proved to be extremely popular, and, ultimately, lucrative.
The Cape was an important refueling stop on European trade routes beginning in the late 15th century, with subsequent trading and conflict with the local Khoikhoi people by various fleets until the Dutch United East India Company established a permanent colony in 1652. This era of violent colonization and “discovery” saw the transport of many plants, as settlers grew European-style gardens and native plants considered potentially economically useful were introduced to Europe.
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A botanical illustration of P. cordifolium by Sydenham Edwards, published in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine in 1792. Public domain image via Wikimedia Commons.
Pelargonium triste was likely the first of the genus to be introduced to Europe, sometime around the year 1600. Other species followed, and Pelargonium cordifolium was introduced to London’s Royal Botanic Gardens Kew by Francis Masson—a Scottish botanist and “plant hunter” who introduced over 1,000 species of plants to Britain—in 1774 after one of his three collecting trips to South Africa.
Today, window boxes in Europe and gardens around the world are filled with Pelargonium hybrids in various colors and shapes. Many forms of Pelargonium cordifolium are available today, prominent varieties being Pelargonium cordifolium var. rubrocinctum, Pelargonium cordifolium ‘Caroline’s Citrine’, and Pelargonium cordifolium ‘Donn’s Goldstrike’.
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Pelargonium hybrids lining the Women’s Tennis Final at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Screenshot via YouTube / Olympics.
The genus is among hundreds of plants from the Cape Region that were eventually brought to the global market; others include bird-of-paradise (Strelitzia reginae), Gladiolus spp., and belladonna lily (Amaryllis belladonna).
Citizen science
Here in South Africa, we have an extremely active citizen science community, with thousands of users on the iNaturalist app. Pelargoniums also have a strong international following, with several societies and websites devoted to growing and appreciating them. On iNaturalist, in what’s become a generative and inclusive approach to the production of botanical knowledge, local and international pelargonium fans come together to confirm sightings and swap expertise.
The bonds between South African and international plant people continue to foster interesting collaborations, like an upcoming field guide on pelargoniums by Cape-based conservationist Riaan van der Walt and Matija Strlic, a chemist and curator of the Reference Collection of Pelargoniums of the International Geraniaceae Group.
Next time you visit the Warm Temperate Pavilion at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, see if you can catch a faint whiff of the apple-like scent of P. cordifolium, and take a moment to consider the origins and unique habitat of this remarkable plant.
A One-Day Symposium, Trade Show, & Career Fair for Horticulture Professionals
Plant-O-Rama is Metro Hort Group’s largest annual event for professionals in horticulture attracting nearly 1,000 gardeners, designers, arborists, and educators working in public parks, botanical gardens, & private gardens and landscapes in the New York City Tri-State region.
Individual tickets are required for access to morning or afternoon featured speakers and panel discussions.
In 2020, two of the largest beech trees at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, both about 100 years old, began to exhibit distinctive dark stripes on their leaves. The following year, similar symptoms began to show up on other beech trees nearby in Bluebell Wood, which houses BBG’s beech, elm, and birch collection.
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Fagus orientalis (oriental beech) with symptoms of beech leaf disease at BBG in 2022. Photo by Michael Stewart.
These striped leaves were later confirmed to be a sign of beech leaf disease, which kills both native and ornamental beech species. Beech leaf disease, also called BLD, was first identified in Lake County, Ohio in 2012, and has since been found in 15 states in the Eastern U.S. as well as Canada. Scientists are still learning about this novel disease, but—like other major tree diseases and infestations we’ve seen in recent years, from the emerald ash borer to oak wilt—it is believed to pose a serious threat to both ornamental landscape trees and forest ecosystems.
We spoke with BBG staff and collaborators and other experts to learn more about beech trees, how this disease is affecting them, and how researchers are working to mitigate its impacts.
What are beech trees?
In New York City, you’re most likely to encounter beech trees in parks and gardens, since they don’t do well in street tree beds. They can grow enormously large. Their ovate, serrated leaves turn a brilliant golden yellow in the fall, and their smooth gray bark sometimes gets compared to elephant skin. BBG has several different species, including European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and its cultivars and the native American beech (Fagus grandifolia).
Fagus grandifolia (American beech) showing its fall colors in the Native Flora Garden in 2017. Photo by Blanca Begert.
Beech trees, like this European beech cultivar, can grow to massive heights. Photo by Lee Patrick.
The American beech is a dominant species in the northern hardwood forests of Eastern North America. They can live for up to 250 years and have been found to grow as tall as 160 feet. Their small, nutrient-dense nuts are critically important for wildlife, including bears, deer, turkeys, squirrels, blue jays, and many other animals.
Beech trees, like other trees, also provide resources and medicine, hold cultural memories, clean the air, reduce stress, and sequester carbon, along with numerous other crucial tasks.
“These large trees help people breathe in cities,” says Chenae Bullock, a member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation whose Native Flora Garden tour Ohkehteau (Plants of the Earth): A Shinnecock Oral History explores the importance of beeches and other native plants and their use by Shinnecock people.
What is beech leaf disease, and what does it look like?
Beech leaf disease is associated with a nematode (Litylenchuscrenatae ssp. mcannii), a microscopic worm, that feeds on and damages beech leaves and buds. The nematode is believed to be an invasive species.
Beech leaf disease is not to be confused with beech bark disease, another disease that affects beeches, though the combined effect of these two diseases is likely putting additional pressure on trees in some areas.
Many plant diseases can be hard to diagnose on sight, but BLD produces a signature dark banding, or striping, symptom between the secondary veins of leaves that is easy to recognize. As the disease progresses, leaves may also become leathery and shrunken.
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Early spring symptoms on American beech in a woodland. Banded areas are greener than the rest of the tissue initially and turn yellow in fall. Photo by Margery Daughtrey.{embed="includes/_inline_image" file="/img/uploads/lightbox/BLD-image-one_MD.jpg"}
BLD symptoms on European beech leaves. Photo by Margery Daughtrey.{embed="includes/_inline_image" file="/img/uploads/lightbox/BLD_image3_MD.jpg"}
BLD symptoms on European beech leaves in the fall. Photo by Margery Daughtrey.{embed="includes/_inline_image" file="/img/uploads/lightbox/weeping_EP_54040155622.jpg"}
Shrunken, distorted leaves on the weeping beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Pendula’) at Brooklyn Botanic Garden in October 2024. Photo by Elizabeth Peters.
A number of beech species have been found to be susceptible, though BLD appears to have particularly severe impact on American beech trees. It also disproportionately impacts saplings, which typically die within five years of infection, while larger trees take longer to decline.
If you walk into a forest of infected beeches, you may notice that lower leaves are more affected than leaves higher up. Researchers speculate that this could be because the nematode flourishes in the moister, shadier areas lower in the canopy.
How does the disease work?
Researchers have observed that the nematodes move out of the leaves and into the buds in fall, where they overwinter and multiply.
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A microscopic view of Litylenchus nematodes from within a beech leaf bud. Photo by Mike Gaines.
“We started out being all fascinated by what was going on in the leaves, and it’s almost irrelevant,” says Margery Daughtrey, a plant pathologist and senior extension associate at Cornell University. “We were so shocked when we first opened up buds in the winter and looked and saw hundreds of nematodes between two bud scales.”
In a moderate infestation, the nematodes’ presence damages the buds, producing those distinctive banded leaves that are seen in spring. In a more severe infestation, or on a more stressed tree, the buds can be killed. It’s the death of the buds that is particularly harmful to beech trees, because this prevents the tree from leafing out normally, restricting its ability to feed itself through photosynthesis.
How does it spread?
Researchers don’t know for sure, but BLD seems to spread very easily, rather than relying on a single pathway or vector. It is likely dispersing through wind and rain, and it might get moved around by birds or insects, too. It can also move in nursery stock.
There are no quarantines on beech currently in place within the United States, but experts recommend that you not transport beech materials (meaning branches, twigs, soil, leaves, and seedlings) from areas affected by beech leaf disease.
How bad is beech leaf disease?
Beech leaf disease has only been known for a little over a decade, and the researchers who study it are hesitant to make exact predictions about its long-term impact. As in other diseases, BLD may not be the only cause of mortality for a given tree; there are other contributing stressors that can influence tree health.
But the threat is considered serious. “It will be in the textbooks in the future,” says Daughtrey.
In northern Ohio, where the disease was first observed in North America, they have seen significant mortality, particularly of younger understory trees, says David Burke, vice president for science and conservation at Holden Forests & Gardens in Ohio, which has helped lead investigations into beech leaf disease.
About 30 percent of the beech trees in Holden Arboretum have died, says Burke. “There are forests that I have been visiting for 20 years that don’t look anything like they did even a couple of years ago.”
In the northeast, tree mortality has not been widespread yet, notes Cameron McIntire, a plant pathologist with the USDA Forest Service. “What I can say is that I’m not optimistic, as BLD appears to be chronic, meaning the disease only seems to get worse each year and we don’t observe any natural recovery.”
Researchers caution against assuming that this disease will drive the American beech to extinction. But the potential effects are concerning. For example, “even if you reduce nut production by 50 percent,” says Burke, “that can have a significant impact on wildlife.”
Why is this happening? What’s the big picture?
It can be easy to miss in the fast-paced city, but trees are struggling.
Beech leaf disease is one of many serious diseases and infestations that have been accidentally imported to the U.S. since the 19th century, some of which have decimated iconic species like ash (emerald ash borer), elms (Dutch elm disease), and the American chestnut (chestnut blight).
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Emerald ash borer tracks in a dead ash tree in Chicago, Illinois. Photo by Raed Mansour / Flickr.
Urban development, logging, climate change, and other pressures have also weakened and fragmented forests. Bullock notes that the theft of Indigenous land and restrictions on use have interfered with relationships that have historically helped keep forests healthy, from harvesting to cultural burns. Trees in cities, especially those stuck in small street tree beds, can be particularly vulnerable to challenges like pollution, soil compaction, and—as we’ve been seeing in 2024—drought.
In a recent October 2024 report, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (or IUCN) Red List found that over a third of tree species are at risk of extinction, due to pressures like agriculture, deforestation, pests and diseases, and climate change.
Can beech leaf disease be treated?
Researchers are still in the early stages of exploring potential treatments. Interventions may help preserve individual trees, though the most effective approaches involve fungicides that can harm the surrounding environment, so should be used with caution and in consultation with a certified arborist.
Gentler options that have shown some promise in mitigating symptoms are a potassium-based fertilizer called PolyPhosphite30, as well as structural pruning, which increases light and air penetration through the canopy and can help leaves and buds dry out faster after rain events. Basic “TLC,” like irrigation—beeches are shallow-rooted and prone to drought stress—and mulching may also help strengthen the tree, says Daughtrey, though at this point we don’t know for sure what helps enough to save a tree.
On a forest scale, unfortunately, there are few treatment options for BLD. But researchers suspect that some beech trees might be resistant to the disease, which could lead to a breeding program in the future. It’s also possible that the soil chemistry or microbiology in some areas is protective, which could eventually inform treatments.
“A lot of the trees in our forest are suffering, but then you come across a tree that looks wonderful, and you don't know why,” says Burke. “We're starting to call them ‘lingering beech,’ because they seem to be doing very well in areas in which the other trees are dying.”
The Great Lakes Basin Forest Health Collaborative, an initiative sponsored by Holden Forests & Gardens and the USDA Forest Service, is helping to monitor and study beech trees and other imperiled tree species for resistance in the Great Lakes region. Holden Arboretum recommends against the prophylactic removal of living beech trees unless they pose a danger, so we can hold onto survivors and learn from them.
How is BLD affecting trees in BBG’s collection?
According to Shauna Moore, director of horticulture at BBG, many of the approximately 50 beech trees at Brooklyn Botanic Garden seem to be infected.
Because of this, the disease will likely impact BBG’s landscape, though the exact prognosis is not clear yet. The Garden’s charismatic weeping beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Pendula’) is infected, as is a distinctive hedge of beeches in the Discovery Garden.
The weeping beech at Brooklyn Botanic Garden in 2022. Photo by Michael Stewart.
“I'm starting to get a lot of inquiries from visitors,” says Moore. “Especially about the weeping beech, which is a favorite tree for many people who come and visit.”
The most acutely affected area is Bluebell Wood, where the beech collection is located, says Michael Marino, a gardener and certified arborist at BBG. Staff are experimenting with different management approaches and have been sharing information with other New York City institutions and arborists to learn more about the disease as they track its progression in the Garden.
What should I do?
If you have a beech tree in your yard or community space, keep an eye on it, and make sure it’s getting enough water. Avoid moving infected plant material around.
Try not to remove healthy-looking beech trees, as they may be resistant. Consider structural pruning of healthy or infected trees to improve airflow. Sterilize any tools that have been used to prune infected trees. For trees that have declined significantly and/or pose a structural hazard, consult with a registered arborist about possible treatment or removal.
If you don’t have or use a space with a beech tree, you can still help! Use the free app TreeSnap to submit photos of healthy and diseased beech trees. Researchers use these photos to make maps of disease progression and to identify resistant trees.
Explore the Garden and learn about nature from Garden instructors in these hands-on, guided programs for students in pre-K through 8th grade.
NEW! WALKING TOURS
Walking Tours are 45-minute BBG instructor–led outdoor nature programs. (In the case of inclement weather, programs will take place in the Steinhardt Conservatory.) Teachers return to school with a planting kit containing materials for each student to grow a seed connected to the tour topic. Walking tours are offered October–November and April–June.
Budding Botanists: A Sensory Walking Tour (Grades pre-K–2)
Starting with our senses is the perfect way to begin to learn about the natural world around us. Botanists will be encouraged to make focused observations via sight, sound, smell, and touch as they explore the plants and animals at BBG. Planting kits contain basil seeds.
Nature’s Giants: A Tree Walking Tour (Grades pre-K–8)
Come explore trees with us this fall or spring—these giants of the plant world are fascinating in any season. We will visit some of BBG’s most interesting trees, observing their bark, leaves, flowers, fruits, and growing patterns, as well as the animals who depend upon them. Planting kits contain thornless honey-locust tree seeds.
Fee: $120 | Title I: $96 | D75 & SCSE: $60 | UA: free with class trip voucher
In addition, there is a 4.5% nonrefundable registration fee for all classes.
Please select your topic (confirm recommended grade level) before registering. If you have any questions, contact [email protected].
EXPLORATION WORKSHOPS
Exploration Workshops are 90-minute BBG instructor–led programs where students explore plants hands-on in our classrooms, pot up a plant to take home, and tour the Garden in small groups.
Sensory Exploration (Grades Pre-K–2)
Making sense of the world around us starts with sensory observations. How do young scientists make sense of the world? In any season, BBG is a perfect place to engage young scientists’ keen powers of observation using sight, smell, hearing, and touch. Students will tour some of our favorite gardens-within-the-Garden and participate in activities designed to hone in on specific senses, elicit descriptive language, and discover patterns and connections that raise questions about the natural world.
Exploring Plants in Our Lives (Grades Pre-K–8)
What are the important plants in your life? What parts of those plants provide us with food, medicine or practical use? In this on-site workshop, students will be inspired to think about the many ways people depend on plants and get a chance to learn about some culturally important plants from our Education Greenhouse collection.
Exploring Trees in the Garden (Grades Pre-K–8)
How are trees different from other plants? How are they the same? Trees are growing in our city—as the seasons change, they blossom, provide shade, spread their seeds, present bright autumn colors, and catch the snow on their branches when winter comes. Students will compare the diversity of bark, leaves, overall shape, fruits, and seeds, and learn how all these parts function to help the plant grow, survive, and reproduce. We will also explore the many ways trees benefit people and animals.
Ecological Exploration (Grades 2–8)
What does a plant need to grow? How do plants survive the challenges presented by environments as diverse as deserts, rainforests, marshes, or bogs? Comparing and contrasting various biome collections at BBG will inspire young plant ecologists to find answers to these questions.
Investigating Flowers (Grades 2–8) March–May
Flowers are beautiful, but do their colors, fragrance, and patterns have a purpose? We all appreciate flowers for their special beauty, but a flower’s real and very important function is for reproduction of the plant. On a tour of the Garden’s plants in bloom, students will learn about pollination and fruit formation.
Investigating Life in Water (Grades 2–8) October–November & April–June
The water all around us is filled with life! Students will dive into the fascinating world of the water environments around them. How do plants’ features help them survive in their aquatic environments? Can we find other living things tangled in our algae? Why do carnivorous plants digest flies? Students will investigate these questions in our on-site workshop.
Multiplying Plants: An Introduction to Asexual Reproduction (Grades 6–8)
Can we make more of our favorite plants without planting a seed? In the wild, plants often make more of themselves without flowers, fruits, and seeds! In this hands-on workshop, students will use field journals to closely observe and identify the many methods that plants use to multiply asexually.
Plant Adaptations: Thriving in a Challenging Environment (Grades 6–8)
How do cactus plants survive the arid desert environment? Can rainforest plants protect themselves against too much rain? In this hands-on workshop, students will use field journals to closely observe and compare plants that thrive in desert and tropical rainforest biomes, and identify adaptations that have helped them survive the challenges presented by these habitats.
Fee: $220 | Title I: $176 | D75 & SCSE: $110 | UA: free with class trip voucher
In addition, there is a 4.5% registration fee for all classes.
Please select your topic (confirm recommended grade level) before registering. If you have any questions, contact [email protected].
Science Standards Connections
BBG’s classes for teachers and school groups support the Next Generation Science Standards that developed from the National Research Council’s 2012 Framework for K–12 Science Education. The framework calls for knowledge and practice to be intertwined so that students “actively engage in scientific and engineering practices and apply crosscutting concepts to deepen their understanding of the core ideas in these fields.” This approach aligns with BBG’s longstanding educational philosophy of learning by doing. Our educational programs are grounded in inquiry-based, hands-on experiences to encourage life-long learning about plants, science, and the environment.
Sensory Exploration (Grades Pre-K–2)
Pre-K–Kindergarten
PS4.A Wave Properties
Sound can make matter vibrate, and vibrating matter can make sound.
Grade 1
LS1.A Structure and Function
All organisms have external parts. Plants have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits) that help them survive and grow.
LS3.B Variation of Traits
Individuals of the same kind of plant or animal are recognizable as similar but can also vary in many ways.
PS4.A Wave Properties
Sound can make matter vibrate, and vibrating matter can make sound.
Grade 2
LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
Plants depend on water, light, and air to grow.
Exploring Plants in Our Lives (Grades Pre-K–8)
Pre-K–Kindergarten
LS1.C Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
Plants need water and light to live and grow.
Grade 1
LS1.A Structure and Function
All organisms have external parts. Plants also have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits) that help them survive and grow.
Grade 2
LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
Plants depend on water, light, and air to grow.
Plants depend on animals for pollination or to move their seeds around.
LS4.D Biodiversity and Humans
There are many different kinds of living things in any area, and they exist in different places on land and in water.
Grade 4
LS1.A Structure and Function
Plants and animals have both internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction.
Grade 5
LS1.C Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
Food provides animals with the materials they need for body repair and growth and the energy they need to maintain body warmth and for motion.
PS3.D Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life
The energy released from food was once energy from the sun that was captured by plants in the chemical process that forms plant matter (from air and water).
Grades 6–8
LS4.D Biodiversity and Humans
Changes in biodiversity can influence humans’ resources, such as food, energy, and medicines, as well as ecosystem services that humans rely on—for example, water purification and recycling.
LS4.B Natural Selection
In artificial selection, humans have the capacity to influence certain characteristics of organisms by selective breeding. One can choose desired parental traits determined by genes, which are then passed on to offspring.
Exploring Trees in the Garden (Grades Pre-K–8)
Pre-K–Kindergarten
LS1.C Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
All animals need food in order to live and grow. They obtain their food from plants or from other animals. Plants need water and light to live and grow.
ESS2.E Biogeology
Plants and animals can change their environment.
ESS3.A Natural Resources
Living things need water, air, and resources from the land, and they live in places that have the things they need.
Grade 1
LS1.A Structure and Function
All organisms have external parts. Plants also have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits) that help them survive and grow.
LS3.B Variation of Traits
Individuals of the same kind of plant or animal are recognizable as similar but can also very in many ways.
Grade 2
LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
Plants depend on water, light, and air to grow.
Plants depend on animals for pollination or to move their seeds around.
Grade 3
LS1.B Growth and Development of Organisms
Reproduction is essential to the continued existence of every kind of organism. Plants and animals have unique and diverse life cycles.
LS4.C Adaptation
For any particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
Grade 4
LS1.A Structure and Function
Plants and animals have both internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction.
Grade 5
LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
The food of almost any kind of animal can be traced back to plants. Organisms are related in food webs in which some animals eat plants for food and other animals eat the animals that eat plants. Some organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms (both plants or plant parts and animals) and therefore operate as “decomposers.” Decomposition eventually restores (recycles) some materials back to the soil. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs are met. A healthy ecosystem is one in which multiple species of different types are each able to meet their needs in a relatively stable web of life. Newly introduced species can damage the balance of an ecosystem.
Ecological Exploration (Grades 2–8)
Grade 2
LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
Plants depend on water, light, and air to grow.
LS4.D Biodiversity and Humans
There are many different kinds of living things in any area, and they exist in different places on land and in water.
Grade 3
LS4.B Natural Selection
Sometimes the differences in characteristics between individuals of the same species provide advantages in surviving, finding males, and reproducing.
LS4.C Adaptation
For any particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
Grade 4
LS1.A Structure and Function
Plants and animals have both internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction.
Grade 5
LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
Organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs are met. A healthy ecosystem is one in which multiple species of different types are each able to meet their needs in a relatively stable web of life.
Grades 6 –8
LS1.B Growth and Development of Organisms
Genetic factors as well as local conditions affect the growth of the adult plant.
LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
Organisms, and populations of organisms, are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and with nonliving factors.
In any ecosystem, organisms and populations with similar requirements for food, water, oxygen, or other resources may compete with each other limited resources, access to which consequently constrains their growth and reproduction.
Growth of organisms and population increases are limited by access to resources.
LS4.B Natural Selection
Natural selection leads to the predominance of certain traits in a population, and the suppression of others.
Investigating Flowers (Grades 2–8)
Grade 2
LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
Plants depend on water and light to grow.
Plants depend on animals for pollination or to move their seeds around.
LS4.D Biodiversity and Humans
There are many different kinds of living things in any area, and they exist in different places on land and in water.
Grade 3
LS1.B Growth and Development of Organisms
Reproduction is essential to the continued existence of every kind of organism. Plants and animals have unique and diverse life cycles.
LS3.A Inheritance of Traits
Many characteristics of organisms are inherited from their parents.
LS3.B Variation of Traits
Different organisms vary in how they look and function because they have different inherited information.
Grade 4
LS1.A Structure and Function
Plants and animals have both internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction.
Grade 5
LS1.C Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
Plants acquire their material for growth chiefly from air and water.
PS3.D Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life
The energy released from food was once energy from the sun that was captured by plants in the chemical process that forms plant matter (from air and water).
Grades 6–8
LS1.B Growth and Development of Organisms
Organisms reproduce, either sexually or asexually, and transfer their genetic information to their offspring.
Genetic factors as well as local conditions affect the growth of the adult plant.
LS1.C Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
Plants, algae (including phytoplankton), and many microorganisms use the energy from light to make sugars (food) from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water through the process of photosynthesis, which also releases oxygen. These sugars can be used immediately or stored for growth for later use.
LS1.D Information Processing
Plants respond to stimuli such as gravity (geotropism) and light (phototropism).
Investigating Life in Water (Grades 2–8)
Grade 2
LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
Plants depend on water and light to grow.
LS4.D Biodiversity and Humans
There are many different kinds of living things in any area, and they exist in different places on land and in water.
ESS2.C The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes
Water is found in the oceans, rivers, lakes, and ponds. Water exists as solid ice and in liquid form.
Grade 3
LS1.B Growth and Development of Organisms
Reproduction is essential to the continued existence of every kind of organism. Plants and animals have unique and diverse life cycles.
LS3.B Variation of Traits
The environment also affects the traits that an organism develops.
LS4.D Biodiversity and Humans
Populations live in a variety of habitats, and change in those habitats affects the organisms living there.
Grade 4
LS1.A Structure and Function
Plants and animals have both internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction.
Grade 5
LS1.C Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
Plants acquire their material for growth chiefly from air and water.
PS3.D Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life
The energy released from food was once energy from the sun that was captured by plants in the chemical process that forms plant matter (from air and water).
Grades 6–8
LS1.B Growth and Development of Organisms
Genetic factors as well as local conditions affect the growth of the adult plant.
LS1.C Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
Plants, algae (including phytoplankton), and many microorganisms use the energy from light to make sugars (food) from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water through the process of photosynthesis, which also releases oxygen. These sugars can be used immediately or stored for growth for later use.
LS1.D Information Processing
Plants respond to stimuli such as gravity (geotropism) and light (phototropism).
Multiplying Plants (Grades 6–8)
Grades 6–8
LS1.B Growth and Development of Organisms
Organisms reproduce, either sexually or asexually, and transfer their genetic information to their offspring.
Plants reproduce in a variety of ways, sometimes depending on animal behavior and specialized features for reproduction.
Genetic factors as well as local conditions affect the growth of the adult plant.
LS1.C Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
Plants, algae (including phytoplankton), and many microorganisms use the energy from light to make sugars (food) from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water through the process of photosynthesis, which also releases oxygen. These sugars can be used immediately or stored for growth or later use.
Plant Adaptations (Grades 6–8)
Grades 6–8
LS1.B Growth and Development of Organisms
Genetic factors as well as local conditions affect the growth of the adult plant
LS1.C Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
Plants, algae (including phytoplankton), and many microorganisms use the energy from light to make sugars (food) from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water through the process of photosynthesis, which also releases oxygen. These sugars can be used immediately or stored for growth or later use.
LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
Organisms, and populations of organisms, are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and with nonliving factors.
In any ecosystem, organisms and populations with similar requirements for food, water, oxygen, or other resources may compete with each other limited resources, access to which consequently constrains their growth and reproduction.
Growth of organisms & population increases are limited by access to resources.
LS4.B Natural Selection
In artificial selection, humans have the capacity to influence certain characteristics of organisms by selective breeding. One can choose desired parental traits determined by genes, which are then passed on to offspring.
Natural selection leads to the predominance of certain traits in a population, and the suppression of others.
Yarnelle Bauzil is an urban farmer, agritech professional, and houseplant enthusiast. Her career has spanned regenerative soil farming, controlled environment hydroponics, aquaponics, and environmental education. Yarnelle’s passion for plants and the natural world has been with her since childhood. She began her career with a focus on racial equity and food and environmental justice. Currently she works at CUNY’s Brooklyn College, helping to revitalize and rebuild the community gardens on and around campus so the campus can continue to thrive as a living lab.
Angela Ferguson, a member of the Onondaga Nation (Eel Clan), is supervisor of the Onondaga Nation Farm and a member of Braiding the Sacred, a grassroots network of Indigenous corn growers.
Angela Ferguson at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Photo by Elizabeth Peters.
The Onondaga Nation is part of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six Nations whose ancestral territory covers much of what is now called upstate New York. The Onondaga Nation has filed suit to regain rights to their land, most recently taking their case to an international panel.
We spoke with Ferguson, who is working with Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Interpretation team as an advisor, about what food sovereignty means in her community, traditional Haudenosaunee agricultural practices in use at the Onondaga Nation Farm today, and the importance of saving seeds.
Do you remember the first time you grew food?
Growing food was not just part of our lives, but part of our education too. At school, we always had programs that were based around agriculture. I was born and raised on the Tuscarora Nation, which is about three hours from my homeland, Onondaga Nation, and when I moved back to Onondaga Nation, I just continued to grow my own stuff in the backyard. I started doing more collective planting for community in 2010. I worked in an elders’ garden here that we had in the community. In that garden, we grew food for the elders that couldn’t do it anymore. We used to pass out the foods to them for free.
Was food sovereignty something you always thought about?
No, not really. My life was like everybody else’s, busy and into modern things. A lot of colonial foods and fast foods had become a big part of my life. But I think once you return to your roots, it triggers something in your DNA to make you realize, those things are not good for us.
My real motivation for going into food sovereignty was because I noticed that a lot of our communities focus on reducing the harm and effects of alcohol and drugs, but nobody was really focusing on the harm and effects of food-related illnesses.
Food-related illness has been a huge concern not just in my own community, but all Indigenous communities, and all communities in general. Heart disease, diabetes, strokes, all of these things are food-related illnesses, and the only way we're going to get cured is if we return to our ancestral foods and start feeding ourselves again.
When people ask you to define food sovereignty, how do you explain it? What does that mean to you?
Well, it’s hard, because a lot of those words in the English language don’t have a literal translation into our languages—things like regenerative agriculture, organic farming, heirloom seeds. Food sovereignty sort of became a buzzword; people were talking about it, and there were some big organizations that were really doing the work to make it happen.
But in my definition, it’s truly just coming back to Haudenosaunee ways and our agriculture, because all of our ceremonial cycles are based around food. Food sovereignty is returning to your ancestral ways, growing your traditional foods on your own land, and utilizing that gift to return it to the community.
When did you start the Onondaga Nation Farm, and what are some of the growing practices you use?
It started right after the World Lacrosse Championship was hosted here. We had approximately 10,000 people from around the world come to our community, and we fed them during that time. And a lot of that food was our traditional foods, things we grew, things we butchered. In 2016, our Council of Chiefs allowed us to create a program for our community.
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Ferguson at the Onondaga Nation Farm. Screenshot via YouTube / ABC Television Stations.
We went back to controlled burning, to create medicine for the land and food for the land. Fire produces ash, which helps prevent weeds and provides nutrients for the village that lives in the soil. Soil is alive, so it needs to be fed and protected. That took practice, we had to reconnect with fire. And that was really fun, it’s become a big part of what we do.
We want to keep our soil full of nutrients, so we don’t plow. It’s funny, I’ve been telling local farmers that were not Native, like, why do you guys plow? You’re putting all the nutrients in the air. And they don’t do it anymore! A lot of places are now doing low-till or no-till farming, and they’re finding that you get a better yield.
We also use crop rotation. We plant corn three times, and then the following year, we replace that with beans. The next year, we’ll plant squash or something to that effect. And then in the last year, we let the field grow fallow. We let all the weeds and native species grow, and then we start the process over again the next year with that controlled burn.
We’re going back to following the seasonal ways of planting certain foods, and learning how to grow companion plants well with one another. We’ve had to seek all of that knowledge from what I call our encyclopedia, which is our elders. When we don’t know what to do, or we don’t know how to fix a problem, we reach out to them.
What are some of the different varieties of corn that you like to grow?
I like to grow all of them. Every year I pick a different one. My favorite is the Grandmother pod corn, because that corn is the ancestor to all the others. We have 163 acres, so I usually do anywhere between nine and 13 different varieties of corn. Over the years, through practice, through paying close attention to them, I’ve been able to see which ones have pollen flying at this time and which ones don’t, so that I can plant them side by side without them cross-pollinating.
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Ferguson with kernels of Mohawk red corn in a video taken at a Haudenosaunee Traditional Cooking event in 2021. Screenshot via YouTube /
Ganondagan State Historic Site.
It’s kind of like a little dance—writing down things down to remember that this one will produce pollen first, and this one you can plant next to it because it won’t produce any for another couple of months. I keep track of how high the plants grow, because sometimes we can plant shorter popcorns right next to them. A lot of that was learned through practice over the years, and from our elders.
How is the food distributed?
We have a free farmer’s market where, when things are ready for harvest, we put them out on tables in the center of the community. And sometimes we’ll can goods, or we’ll give away mason jars full of soup. People love it. They just take what they need for their family, and they visit with us. If they have any suggestions or ideas for plants they may want us to grow, that’s where we get a lot of feedback. It’s been great at pulling our community together.
For 2025, my goal is to demonstrate what Haudenosaunee nutrition is. What did that look like, pre-contact, and what are we able to implement in our diets now? We need to be realistic, especially with our young people, but how can we have a good balance and introduce traditional foods?
A lot of Haudenosaunee nutrition is based around seasonal eating and cultural practices. Not every people based their eating schedules around breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Part of the Haudenosaunee nutrition is listening to your body, eating in smaller quantities, but more times throughout the day. A common Haudenosaunee practice was that there was always a pot of food standing over an open fire.
There are also nutrition facts that I want to make people aware of. Like, what are the health benefits of white rice versus wild rice? What are the nutritional components of genetically modified corn and our traditional Haudenosaunee corn?
Can you tell me about Braiding the Sacred, and how it relates to the work you do at the Onondaga Nation Farm?
Right after we started the farm in 2016, I had met fellow growers from other Nations, and we started up a little collective of Indigenous corn growers. It’s a grassroots movement.
We had our first gathering here where we decided, okay, we can see the impact technology is having. We don’t have that many farmers left. There’s not that many corn growers. And all the people growing corn feel like, I’m the only one doing this, does anyone else care? I’m lucky here in my community that people have always kept that going, but I’ve traveled to other communities where maybe there’s only one or two people growing corn.
So we decided to start this collective to tap into the knowledge of all the elders across Turtle Island. The goal was to reconnect and rebuild trust between Nations. The group started out with about 50 people, and now we have thousands. It grew really fast.
You also house a collection of ancestral seeds at the farm, many of them originally collected by corn farmer Carl Barnes. How did Braiding the Sacred come to steward these seeds?
When Carl Barnes passed away, his family gifted his corn seed collection that he had spent his whole life growing and maintaining to his apprentice, because he shared the same passion. The apprentice reached out to Braiding the Sacred to come and have a discussion about it, and he realized we shared all the same values. So he gave the entire collection to Braiding the Sacred for us to steward and help rematriate.
I ended up reaching out to my community members, my leadership, to see if this was something we could house at the farm. We don’t think of it as owning it, because nobody owns the seeds. Nobody owns life. We just provide a temporary home for them until they can be reunited with their homelands and their people.
Now our work at Braiding the Sacred is more focused on rematriation of seeds and returning these ancient varieties back to their communities.
Some older varieties we try to grow, as well, so that they’ll still be viable. But for us, I don’t believe there’s ever an expiration date on corn. I’ve planted seeds that are hundreds of years old. We have practices that can wake those seeds up. A scientist would say, well, corn only has a shelf life of this time. And as Indigenous people, we don’t believe that, because we see it all the time not to be true.
Who was Carl Barnes, and how did he collect these seeds?
Carl Barnes spoke the language of corn. He was half Cherokee and half Scottish, and he loved farming. He loved growing corn. He really saw the importance of it, and we feel compelled to keep his life mission going.
He used to go around to different conferences and carry these briefcases with cobs of corn inside, and he would use them as conversation starters to really get people to understand, this is what we have to protect.
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Corn cobs from Carl Barnes’ collection are shown in a documentary trailer from Braiding the Sacred. Screenshot via YouTube /
Braiding the Sacred Network.
He went to seed swaps, he shared seeds, he presented at universities all around to educate the next generation about the importance of these things. People would give him seeds that they found or grew. Archeologists gave him seeds. Everybody knew him, so a lot of people trusted him with their seeds.
Some of them have been lost for generations. There are varieties sometimes that people didn’t even know existed. That happened to us. We were able to bring back four different varieties of Haudenosaunee corn because of Carl’s life’s work, because no one here had the seeds for it.
I think it’s important for me to mention, when one person feels all alone and thinks they don’t matter, and “who’s going to care what I think or what I do,” I always think about Carl. He didn’t know it when he was alive, but keeping those little cobs of corn going has changed millions of lives, and it’s rippled all around the world.
How can institutions like botanical gardens, and other public green spaces, create more space for conversations around Indigenous foodways and food sovereignty?
I think any organized institution sometimes makes Indigenous people leery or nervous. There’s mistrust that's part of our historical trauma. What we do have, we hold on to really tight, because we don’t want to lose it again.
There needs to be a presence at botanical gardens. There need to be indigenous plants, but if the plants are going to be there, so do the people, because the people have the knowledge of the plants, the people have the relationship for millennia with those plants.
I’d like to see more Indigeneity in these places, because hearing that perspective from the people that know the land the best, it would be validating our oral traditions. And I think that’s really important, because our knowledge was put down, our food system was put down, our language, our ceremonies, and we have managed to still maintain all those things.
You do a lot, across many different spheres in your life. What keeps you energized?
I think the foods, you know? I found my gift. I’m so thankful. All my life, I didn’t know what my purpose was. And I know a lot of young people feel that way, even people in their 30s—where am I going? What am I doing?
The food really called me. And I love to cook. These are gifts my grandmothers left to me. A lot of women who stayed home and did the cooking never got the recognition for the art form they had created. So it’s not just growing food, but it’s also presenting that food to people as something they’re actually going to eat. I love that part of what I do.
And then the seeds, I just feel so privileged. You gather power from your ancestors every time you pick them up. And I think that’s what keeps me going.
Visitors who are blind or have low vision can join a guided tour of the Lightscape trail, featuring live verbal descriptions of the stunning light installations.
The trail is fully accessible, and wheelchairs are available on a first-come, first-served basis at the entrance. Personal care attendants enter for free.
Purchase Lightscape tickets and RSVP to [email protected] to join the tour.
If you have questions about accessibility at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, please reach out to [email protected].
Support
Lead Sponsor, Lightscape
Teas are a fun and easy way to incorporate herbs into your daily routine. Students will learn the art of making teas and the best herbs to use for different purposes. Make your own tea blend to take home!
For 8- through 13-year-olds. City Farmers work together to care for their garden plots! City Farmers practice seasonal horticulture skills such as planting, trellis building, weed identification, organic pest control, seed saving, and more. Participants harvest, taste, and cook with fresh vegetables and herbs, create nature art, and go on nature explorations alongside a garden instructor and teen apprentices.
This is a drop-off program.
Cost
Friday Classes: $250 ($225 for members)
Saturday Classes: $315 ($290 for members)
In addition, there is a 4.5% nonrefundable registration fee for all classes.
For 6- and 7-year-olds. Sprouts work together to care for their garden plots! Sprouts practice seasonal horticulture skills such as planting, watering, weeding, organic pest control, and more. Participants harvest, taste, and cook with fresh vegetables and herbs, create nature art, and go on nature explorations alongside a garden instructor and teen apprentices.
This is a drop-off program.
Cost
Friday Classes: $250 ($225 for members)
Saturday Classes: $315 ($290 for members)
In addition, there is a 4.5% nonrefundable registration fee for all classes.
Participation Requirements
For Sprouts, children must be at least 6 years old, or turn 6 within a month of the program’s start date.
For 4 and 5-year-olds. Seeds work together to care for their garden plots! Seeds practice real gardening skills such as planting, watering, weeding, spreading compost, and more. Participants harvest and taste fresh vegetables and herbs, create nature art, listen to garden stories, and go on nature explorations alongside a garden instructor and teen apprentices.
This is a drop-off program.
Cost
Friday Classes: $250 ($225 for members)
Saturday Classes: $315 ($290 for members)
In addition, there is a 4.5% nonrefundable registration fee for all classes.
Participation Requirements
For Seeds, children must be 4 years old or turn 4 within a month after the program start date.
Seeds participants must be comfortable using the bathroom on their own. Child-size toilets are located inside the Children’s Garden House.
For 2- and 3-year-olds with an adult. Learn about the wonders of gardening with your 2- or 3-year-old during this active hands-on program offered during spring and fall. Our youngest gardeners work with their adult partner to tend to their garden plots, sing songs, taste new foods, and create nature crafts.
This is not a drop-off program. Consistent weekly attendance of one adult per child is required. No additional children including infants or older siblings, please.
Cost
60-minute sections: $250 nonmember/$225 member
90-minute sections: $350 nonmember/$325 member
In addition, there is a 4.5% nonrefundable registration fee for all classes.
Participation Requirements
One hour and 1.5-hour programs are offered. We recommend the 1.5-hour class for 3-year-olds or returning families.
The class is for one adult-child pair only; no siblings or additional adults please.
Children should wear clothing that can get dirty and closed-toe shoes (no sandals).
Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Children’s Garden Education Fellowship program prepares aspiring environmental educators for positions in the field, both at BBG and beyond.
Education Fellows spend the growing season in BBG’s Children’s Garden, teaching young people to grow, harvest, and cook their own food, care for the environment, and explore the natural world.
Fellows teach age-appropriate gardening lessons to a group of up to 12 children with the assistance of two to three teen apprentices from our Garden Apprentice Program. Fellows are responsible for caring for their garden beds and designing hands-on garden-based lessons for children ages 4 through 13. Fellows also teach up to eight family programs, guiding children and their families at hands-on stations in the Children’s Garden.
The comprehensive paid training program covers food gardening, seasonal themes, best practices for outdoor education, and horticulture skills. Training topics include garden bed maintenance, child development and behavioral differences, universal design for learning, mentorship training, botany, and more.
Schedule
The 2025 program runs March 14–November 1, 2025. Commitment is 10 hours per week during spring and fall on Fridays and Saturdays, and 30 hours per week in the summer, Tuesday through Friday.
There are some holidays and days between seasons with no scheduled shifts. Please see the 2025 application for the complete schedule.
Qualifications
We look for candidates who have some experience with either children or gardening and who hope to pursue a career in horticulture or informal science education. Candidates must be comfortable working outdoors and performing manual labor in various weather conditions.
Application Timeline
Applications for the 2025 are now closed. Please check back for application and pay rate for the 2026 fellowship at the end of this year.
Please email us at [email protected] with any questions about the program or application process.
Program alumni have pursued careers as school garden teachers, environmental education coordinators, horticulturists, and more at institutions such as the American Museum of Natural History, Edible Schoolyard NYC, Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, Wave Hill, and STEM From Dance.
“I learned some great skills around education, behavioral management, and teamwork that I will hold to. I think this fellowship also made me a much stronger gardener and fueled my interest in the environment by giving me a strong network of peers who are equally excited by the study of ecology and agriculture.”
“I loved seeing kids be excited about gardening and nature! It was so fun and sweet to share my joy about gardening with them and to see how excited they were about it too. I also appreciated the combination of structure and abundant existing lesson plans and activities we could choose from, combined with lots of freedom to try new things.”
“I loved the kids I worked with and the age-group, the gardening, my wonderful colleagues, and overall, I felt super supported and appreciated as an employee.”
Examine the art of natural perfumery. Gain a basic understanding of the sense of smell, the history of perfume, the advent of synthetic ingredients, and the return to naturals. Explore perfume ingredients and formulation, and leave with two bottles of your own bespoke perfume.
Cultivated for 8,000 years, the resilient Coix lacryma-jobi plant is considered a gem of the botanical jewelry world. Learn how to use the teardrop-shaped seeds and other natural seeds to create a one-of-a-kind jewelry piece. Reconnect with this heritage grain by learning its impacts on the ritual, folklore, medicinal, and nutritional practices of many cultures. All materials will be provided; students may bring their own jewelry-making pliers.
Herbs can provide nourishment to our skin during the winter months. Learn about herbs that can benefit your skin and craft your own herbal balm to take home.
Nourishing broths are one of the foundational foods of any nutritional regime. Learn the basics of making vegan and bone-based broths, and how to enhance them with medicinal herbs. The vegan alternative will rival any chicken soup! We’ll discuss medicinal mushrooms, seaweeds, mineral-rich herbs, and other tasty ingredients to enhance the nutritional experience.
Celebrate the vibrant colors and sweet fragrances of the first blooms of spring with a seasonal floral display. Using a variety of spring blooms and textural elements, you’ll create a stunning centerpiece fit for the season. The instructor will offer step-by-step instruction—from palette selection and flower care to professional techniques for crafting a lush and unique floral arrangement.
Nothing says “I love you” more than something you make. And flowers! Learn about the different flowers that say “LOVE” and how to create a stunning bouquet for your loved one(s). This class will prepare you to make a gorgeous bouquet for Valentine’s Day, with tips for purchasing long-lasting flowers and maintaining them so they last till the big day!
Tree identification without the assistance of leaves is a hugely rewarding process. Though many imagine winter identification to be more difficult than during the growing season, in fact, we find far more consistency among twig and bud characteristics of the same tree species than we do for leaves. More than just winter identification alone, this course will train you to look beyond eye-catching leaves in order to learn more about using less-appreciated aspects of the entire tree for identification—a skill that will serve you year-round. Class will break for lunch.
This class is an introduction to the natural history and identification of fungi, particularly those commonly found in New York City. It provides an overview of the ecology of mushrooms and the crucial roles played by fungi in every habitat on Earth. Students will learn how to identify mushrooms, including edible species. This class includes a 90-minute mushroom walk on BBG grounds, where students will get to meet some of their fungal neighbors.
In this three-session series, we will look at qualities of mindfulness, practicing present-time awareness and mindfulness of the breath, body, and senses. We will move into compassion practice in order to cultivate a kinder, more empathetic response to ourselves and others. There will also be the opportunity to practice deep listening in nature and in relationship with each other. Newcomers and practitioners are welcome.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden is committed to making its gardens, exhibitions, programs, and facilities accessible to all who visit. Garden Entrances Visitors using wheelchairs can enter the Garden using any of the public entrances when the Garden is open. The nearby Prospect Park and Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum MTA stations have elevators.…
Prebloom
First Bloom
Peak Bloom
Post-Peak Bloom
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