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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
APRIL 1, 2009
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Leeann Lavin: 718-623-7289, leeannlavin@bbg.org
Kate Blumm: 718-623-7241, kateblumm@bbg.org
Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Native Flora Garden Opened Wednesday, April 1 for the 2009 Season
Curator Uli Lorimer offers a unique perspective, including a behind-the-scenes look at the art of Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Native Flora Collection
BBG's Native Flora Garden opened for the season on April 1, 2009. Photo by Uli Lorimer, courtesy BBG.
Brooklyn, New York—APRIL 1, 2009—Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) announced the seasonal opening of its Native Flora Garden, Wednesday, April 1, 2009. Completed in 1911, the Native Flora Garden was the first "garden within the Garden" at BBG, and will celebrate its centennial one year after the 100th anniversary of BBG itself. This wild retreat isn't just another wildflower display—in fact, it was ecologically designed to support nine distinct plant communities found within a 100-mile radius of New York City: serpentine rock, dry meadow, kettle pond, bog, pine barrens, wet meadow and stream, deciduous woodland, and limestone ledge, as well as a border mound with several representatives of the region's coniferous forests.
"I've always thought about the diversity of plants and the context in which they grow," said Uli Lorimer, curator of the Native Flora Garden. "So the opportunity to work with plants in a public garden is a dream come true." The Native Flora Garden at BBG boasts a very diverse collection of plant material. That, in turn, brings more pollinators for visitors to observe—from raccoons, groundhogs, and rabbits, to exotic birds like the red-tailed hawk and the ring-necked pheasant, along with a plethora of warblers and wrens. Uli points out the hummingbirds who feed off the native lobelias, for example, as well as the variety of bees and butterflies that are attracted to the honeysuckle and jewelweed found there. All the garden's elements contribute to the peaceful, calming effect of this mysterious, otherworldly garden that is a living example of the region's native setting as it once was.
Uli describes how a visitor needs to utilize each of his or her senses in the Native Flora Garden. "The exquisite beauty of this garden is in the details. I want a feeling of sensual submersion to impact the visitors here." With a renewed commitment to conservation and an emphasis on the use of native plants, Uli and his team see an opportunity to not only captivate but to educate. "Public gardens are an essential resource—we need them not only as a refuge but as a vital piece of the scientific experience and a repository of scientific knowledge. These gardens provide a shared experience and are essential in building stronger communities," he explained.
When Uli began his work as curator of the Native Flora Garden, he started simply by weeding the invasive plants and adjusting and modifying the paths. "I believed if we provided well-maintained paths, visitors would pay more attention to the plants that are in the garden's beds." These basic upgrades allow the visitor to meander through the Native Flora Garden to better explore and observe. "We created a controlled juxtaposition—off-setting the seeming ‘chaos' of the Native Flora Garden's planting beds with the smooth, clean direction of the paths," he added.
Work in the Native Flora Garden needs to be executed gradually—there is no formal axis or fussy or contrived parterres in this garden! As curator, Uli works to produce a plant palette that reflects an authentic experience of being "in the woods." Any change must reflect the natural environment that the Native Flora Garden is modeled on, in order to elicit both a sense of mystery and "sense of place."
The Native Flora Garden is open to visitors during regular BBG hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. For more information on the Native Flora Garden, please visit http://www.bbg.org/exp/stroll/nativeflora.html.