Plants & Gardens Blog

Christopher Bolden-Newsome, farmer and codirector of the Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia, presents the Wilbur A. Levin Keynote Address at Making Brooklyn Bloom 2021. Read › She Hid Seeds in Her Hair: The Power of Ancestral African Foods (Video)

Two trailblazers in the field of urban greening, Karen Washington, urban gardening advocate and founding farmer of Rise & Root Farm, and Adrian Benepe, BBG president and CEO, assess where we are and where gardeners and gardening can take us. Read › Power to Heal (Video)

Kimberly Curtis leads us on a journey across continents, linking garden to kitchen while focusing on the properties and stories of three important healing plants indigenous to Africa: moringa, castor, and hibiscus. Read › Plant Journeys through the African Diaspora (Video)

The pandemic shifted our perspective regarding our homes and forced us to take a look at what we personally need to thrive. Many people turned to plants. Read › Plants and the Pandemic

Christopher Bolden-Newsome talks about the enduring legacy of traditional African food, crops, and agricultural technique in his keynote address during this year’s Making Brooklyn Bloom. Read › Preserving African Heritage through Plants and Agriculture

With the anniversary of the COVID shutdown this month, some communities want to memorialize beloved neighbors with plantings. Here are some things to consider. Read › Day of Remembrance: Is This a Good Time to Plant a Memorial Garden?

When the Garden shut down in the spring, staff decided to raise food in the educational plots. Read › Children’s Garden Grows Food for the Community

Goutweed blossoms may be dainty, but its its rhizomatous root system lets it spread like gangbusters. Read › Weed of the Month: Goutweed

Horsetail is a primitive plant that reproduces via spores and rhizomes. It's tenacious and can spread like crazy. Maybe that's why it's been around for 300 million years. Read › Weed of the Month: Field Horsetail

Do you have a burning question about pruning or plant identification? Are you wondering about watering? Library staff is still available to answer your horticulture questions through the Gardener’s Help Line. Read › Questions? Ask the Gardener’s Help Line