Native Flora Garden
The Native Flora Garden exhibits native plants growing in the New York metropolitan area, a region known for its natural diversity. Highlighting the plants of the Eastern seaboard found in three eco-regions: Costal Plain, Piedmont, and Highland, all of these regions blend and intersect to create a multitude of plant communities, nine of which are highlighted in the garden: 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.
First planted by Norman Taylor as a wild flower garden in 1911, the Native Flora garden was redesigned in 1931 by Henry K. Svenson to become a quiet native woodland that would offer sanctuary for plant and bird-lovers alike. This first ecologically themed native plant garden of its kind in the US, it was Svenson’s vision that only plants and trees native to New York City and the surrounding area be included in the display. In 1963, due to a lack of funding, the Native Flora Garden was closed. It was not until 1972 when a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts and the generous work of volunteers allowed for the maintenance needed to re-open the garden. The Native Flora Garden was formally re-opened in 1983 and continues to be a wild retreat with an ecological basis that highlights plants New York Metropolitan Area. Today, a partnership with the New York Metropolitan Flora Project continues to grow the collection, as yearly joint field trips into varied habitats enrich the garden with new species and add valuable cultural information about the plants found in the region.
Ulrich Lorimer
A Delaware native, Uli grew up with an intense interest in anything green. As childhood curiosity turned to ecological study, Uli moved to New York City to become the Woodland Gardener of Wave Hill. It was there that he became passionate about the wildness and the unexpected combinations that can be found in Native Gardens. Now at BBG, Uli works closely with The New York Metropolitan Flora Project to document and study the plant biodiversity of our area while also maintaining the rich plant collection of the Native Flora Garden.
All plants in the Native Flora Garden are appropriate for their particular ecological niches as determined by environmental factors such as topography, geology, soil acidity or alkalinity, moisture, drainage, and light.
