Home » More About BBG » Annual Report » 2003
Brooklyn Botanic Garden 2003 Annual Report
Horticulture
In 2003, the plant-selection process for the redesign of the Garden's Eastern Parkway entrance was completed with the assistance of landscape architects Mathews Nielsen. The new entrance will be complemented by an array of ornamental trees, shrubs, perennials, and groundcovers in a dazzling mixed-border display that will welcome Garden visitors for decades to come.
As part of the restoration of the pathways and architectural features of the Osborne Garden, which began this year in conjunction with the redesign of the main entrance, the health and aesthetic appeal of the garden's plantings were reevaluated. Using archival photographs of the Osborne Garden to ensure historical accuracy and appropriateness, the Horticulture staff devised a replacement process for many of the aging plant specimens. Also developed was a plan to rebuild the garden's Rock Wall—one of the first and largest rock-wall displays in the country—to restore it to its original glory.
The last of the Armistice Maples were removed from Cherry Esplanade. Planted in 1918 to commemorate the end of World War I, the maples (Acer platanoides 'Schwedleri') had reached the end of their life span. Longer-lived scarlet oaks (Quercus coccinea), a species native to the New York metropolitan region, were carefully selected to take their place. When the oaks mature, they will provide visitors with cooling shade in the summer and a profusion of blazing red leaves in the fall.
The Steinhardt Conservatory, which has been delighting BBG visitors for 15 years, received an important equipment upgrade—a new, state-of-the-art climate-control system. The computerized system, manufactured by Argus Control Systems, Inc., monitors the vents, fans, shade cloths, and cooling and heating systems in all of the conservatory pavilions and greenhouses. Temperature and humidity levels can now be calibrated digitally. The new system also maintains records of all climate data, enabling curators to sustain and strengthen the Garden's indoor plant collection.
In June, BBG celebrated the 75th anniversary of the world-renowned Cranford Rose Garden with an entire month of programs and events devoted to America's favorite flower. The rose garden was a hive of activity as visitors came from near and far to mark the occasion and enjoy the thousands of roses in bloom. As part of the anniversary celebration, visitors enjoyed special rosarian-led tours through the garden. Using a specially produced brochure and map, visitors also took self-guided tours through the garden to learn in detail about some of the many historic roses in the collection.
Cascading down arches, climbing up lattices, and poised in formal beds, over 5,000 bushes of nearly 1,200 varieties of roses thrive in the Cranford Rose Garden, which celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2003.
Hot colors lit up the Annual Border in summer with the blooming of an array of fiery red, orange, and yellow annuals and tender perennials from North and South America. North American annuals such as sunflowers, marigolds, and dahlias made a sunny combination in the northern section of the border, while South American beauties like cannas and pampas grass created a vibrant scene in the southern section. Ornamental cultivars of South American food plants such as corn and chiles completed the display.
The edible plants in the Annual Border were part of a larger summer exhibit called Plants of the World, which highlighted the many uses to which plants are put by different cultures around the globe. Visitors enjoyed a self-guided tour of the Garden that introduced them to culturally significant plants such as henna (Lawsonia inermis), cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), and many more growing in BBG's collections.
The Garden's orchid collection received recognition at this year's 23rd New York International Orchid Show. For an unprecedented third year in a row, Trichoglottis rosea var. breviracema 'Brooklyn Botanic Garden' CCM/AOS took home the Mayor's Trophy for best plant grown.
A new database was created with the help of the computer technology department to enable BBG's arborists to make digital records of all the work done on trees in the Garden and better coordinate the care and management of the diverse woody plant collection.
The Garden's overall collections grew by 862 plants accessioned from nurseries, individuals, and other sources around the world.