Plants & Gardens Blog

Is it ok to touch a frog? A butterfly? Queen Anne's lace? This primer will give you some answers for exploring nature on your own or with kids. Read › To Touch, or Not to Touch?

Acorns, honey locust pods, sweet gum balls and other fruits fall from city trees in autumn. Each one has its own fascinating botanical story that kids and adults can learn. Read › Why So Many Acorns? And Other Tree Fruit Mysteries

Lilies, late roses, delphinium, and other plants described in the The Secret Garden can be found at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Go on a scavenger hunt and find some! Read › Search for Plants from The Secret Garden

Have fun in the Garden with a Lewis Carroll–inspired scavenger hunt. Read › Search for Plants from Through the Looking-Glass

Embrace the wet, mucky early spring and encourage your kids to get good and dirty. Read › Make Mud Pies Out of Mud Season

These little nubs are an early sign of spring, but what is their botanical role? Read › What Are Pussy Willows, Anyway?

Have fun in the Garden with a Beatrix Potter–inspired scavenger hunt! Read › Search for Plants from Peter Rabbit at the Garden

Something wonderful happens when children spend time playing in a natural area—they get to relax and enjoy themselves. Read › The Benefits of Playing in Nature

These rhododendrons aren't wilting. Their curled leaves are a response to the cold. Charles Darwin first wrote about such movements in plants in 1880, but this response is a still not well-understood. Read › What’s Happening to These Leaves?

Young gardeners learn best by doing, and street trees could use their help! Here are some tree-rific tips to get started: Read › Trees are for Kids!