Plants & Gardens Blog

How do trees know when it’s time to drop their leaves or form new buds? Read › How Do Trees Tell Time?

This beloved little bird will eat right of a person's hand. Or pull fur right out of a sleeping raccooon's coat! Read › Birds of Brooklyn: Black-Capped Chickadee

These lovely speckled berries are all kinds of trouble. Birds love them, so much so that the vine has become invasive. Read › Weed of the Month: Porcelain Berry

When plant scientists want to learn more about something, they open it up and examine it. Dissect a pumpkin to learn more about the botanical role of fruit parts. Read › Dissect a Pumpkin (Activity)

Leaving fallen leaves in place can sometimes be the best choice, ecologically and horticulturally. How do you decide when to let leaves be and when to remove them? Read › Autumn Leaves:  Should You Collect Them or Leave Them in Place?

Protect your outdoor container garden so that your plants will survive the winter. Read › Overwintering Potted Plants

Take advantage of the abundance of late-summer peppers and tomatoes to make this delicious dish. Read › Eat Local: Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

This little blue and white bird is preparing to hitch a ride out of here on the northwest wind with 10,000 friends. Read › Birds of Brooklyn: Tree Swallow

Poisonous to people, this lovely weed provides nourishment to birds. Look for both its flowers and berries in September. Read › Weed of the Month: Bittersweet Nightshade

A cold frame is like a bottomless, mini-greenhouse that you place on your garden plot in the fall to protect vegetables after the frost date. Learn how to make and use one. Read › Use a Cold Frame to Grow Vegetables in Early Spring or Late Fall