In 2009 and 1010, Mara Gittleman surveyed NYC community gardens on a number of issues, using the data to develop maps for OASISnyc.net, GrowNYC, and GreenThumb. She is currently organizing Farming Concrete, a project to quantify food production in NYC community gardens, and is teaching a course on sustainable food…
Anne Walsh is a member of the Guild for Natural Science Illustrators and holds degrees in art education and art history. She has taught in public and private schools, at the Custer Institute, and at Mohonk Mountain House.
Shannon Brock, art director of Carriage House Paper, is a papermaker and artist. She has taught papermaking throughout the East, and her work has been exhibited nationally. Shannon owns Gaptoothed Studio in Williamsburg.
Lois P. Sheinfeld is an environmentalist, educator, award-winning writer, and passionate gardener. She has taught at Stanford University and at NYU and lectures for BBG, NYBG, and other garden groups. She shares her insights on gardening in her new blog, Flora Gloria .
Marcia Melendez is a floral and landscape contractor who operates Flowerworks in Brooklyn. She holds a certificate in commercial flower arranging from the New York Botanical Garden.
George Pisegna is director of horticulture at the Horticultural Society of New York. He is a landscape designer and horticulturist with a background in architecture and design and has worked for the past 15 years in historic preservation and garden design.
Robert Sullivan is the author of many books, including Rats , The Meadowlands , and, most recently, The Thoreau You Don’t Know . A contributing editor at Vogue , he lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children.
Claudia Joseph is founder of the Permaculture Exchange and a member of the Garden of Union in Brooklyn. She holds two certificates and a diploma of permaculture, and has taught at various institutions throughout New York City.
Nigel Rollings is a designer and builder of gardens in the New York area and has taught classes at BBG since 1995. He won the Association of Professional Landscape Designers Silver Award for residential garden design in 2006.
Gerry Moore is a former director of Science at BBG. His research interests include local flora, invasive species, plant nomenclature, and the taxonomy of sedges. Gerry received his PhD from Vanderbilt University in 1997.
Gardeners can make a difference! This step-by-step guide to offsetting climate change through gardens and landscaping explains what happens when the atmospheric balance of carbon and nitrogen goes awry, and how plants, soil, and synthetic gardening aids (such as fertilizer and pesticides) affect climate.
Are you interested in making Brooklyn a cleaner and greener place to live and grow? The Street Tree Stewardship initiative empowers everyday New Yorkers to correctly care for their trees. Trees face many natural and man-made threats and require ongoing maintenance, including regular watering and tending to the tree bed.…
The Mulford Expedition of 1921–1922 was organized by Henry Hurd Rusby to explore the Amazon Valley from the headwaters of the Quime River in Bolivia to the mouth of the Amazon in Brazil.
As one of the first public gardens to use the internet to connect with its constituents, Brooklyn Botanic Garden has been online since 1995. Over the years, our site has grown to thousands of pages of content. As the size of the site grew, its architecture made much of this…
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden Historic Image Collection consists of glass plate negatives, lantern slides, film-based negatives, and works on paper created during the first half of the 20th century. These images document all aspects of the Garden: the growth and development of the physical plant and grounds, horticultural displays, special…
Celebrate Brooklyn’s West Indian community at the Members’ Glow Party! Start your evening on the Lily Pool Terrace with Moko Jumbies and steelpan musicians, then grab a glow up prop on the Plant Family Collection lawn and dance the night away with live music.
Pack your family—and a picnic—for a night of fun for all ages! Don’t miss exciting programs including a family-friendly activity with our Discovery Garden team and music and dancing with Hopalong Andrew.
Celebrate Pride at BBG! Enjoy bite-sized snack samples presented by Queer Soup Night, a family-friendly activity with our Discovery Garden team, and programming by Plant Kween. Be sure to BYO picnic and blanket!
Wednesday evenings from May 27 through September 2 are for members only! Savor the Garden during the twilight hours and enjoy your favorite summer blossoms on these special nights when the Garden grounds, shop, and Canteen stay open exclusively for members.
Guest passes are accepted, so bring a friend! You may also purchase $10 guest tickets (limit 4 per person, exclusively for Members’ Evenings).
See below for details on seven special picnic nights. Outside food and beverages and blankets are not permitted at other times.
Picnic Nights: On these special nights, blankets and outside food and drink are permitted in select locations. Outside food and beverages and blankets are not permitted on other Members’ Summer Evenings or during public hours.
Learn how gardening can be accessible through three interactive stations. Led by Kristie Cabrera, a disabled access worker and occupational therapist, this program invites participants to consider creative solutions to access barriers and offers an opportunity to try out different adaptive gardening tools.
Related Event
Join us for a prix fixe brunch celebrating Mother’s Day in the elegant Yellow Magnolia Café and Palm House. Enter via Yellow Magnolia Café.
$95 (exclusive of tax and gratuity) includes four courses plus juices, coffee, tea, and one mimosa per adult. Wines by the glass, specialty cocktails, and other beverages available à la carte. A three-course children’s menu for those 12 and under is available for $35.
Prepaid reservations required; BBG members receive a 10% discount; please note when booking. Dietary restrictions may be accommodated with advance notice; please contact Yellow Magnolia Café with any questions at 929-651-0465 or [email protected].
root nine chocolate chunk cookies served with common meadows vanilla gelato
v | vegetarian, vg | vegan
ag | ingredients and preparation avoid gluten
If you have a food allergy, please notify us.
20% gratuity will be automatically added for parties of 6 or more.
Children’s Menu
$35 per child (guests aged 12 and under), taxes and gratuity not included. Table dishes as above.
Main Course (choice of one)
chicken fingers & waffle
maple syrup, fresh fruit
cheeseburger & fries
1/4 lb. beef burger, cheddar cheese, potato roll
french toast & berries (v)
maple syrup, whipped cream
Dessert
mini donuts (v)
chef’s selection
v | vegetarian, vg | vegan
ag | ingredients and preparation avoid gluten
If you have a food allergy, please notify us.
Come celebrate spring in the Discovery Garden with a garden sing-along! Join Sabrina Chap in singing, dancing, and playing with instruments, scarves, and bubbles.
This free drop-in program is part of First Discoveries, our twice-weekly program for toddlers.
All programs are outdoors and will be canceled in inclement weather, which includes rain and temperatures below 50 degrees. Check this page for updates.
Descubra las plantas y los jardines del Jardín Botánico de Brooklyn que están en pico de floración, así como otros puntos sobresalientes de la temporada, en esta caminata dirigida por guías capacitados del jardín.
Los recorridos no tienen costo con su boleto de entrada al jardín.
Los recorridos podrían cancelarse, de haber mal tiempo. Revise esta página para conocer las actualizaciones.
Frank Schellace is a scientific educator, master beekeeper, and artist with a passion for connecting people to the natural world through bees. His dedication to pollinator health has led him to work with managed and wild bees across New York, California, and Alabama through his non-profit Traveling Hive, a project encompassing art installations, large-scale community drawing, and participatory performance. You can also find him at the Auburn University Bee Center, co-managing over 300 honey bee colonies in support of field trials for research.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, in collaboration with VISIONS Services for the Blind and Visually
Impaired, invites you to a special program in the Discovery Garden with your family. This program is accessible and welcoming to children and adults of all visual abilities. Explore the
garden at your own pace and participate in multisensory activities alongside trained
volunteers. Nature explorers of all ages are welcome!
Garden entry and participation in this program is free, but preregistration is required. Space is limited to ensure the comfort of all participants. Complete the form below to register.
This program is outdoors and canceled in inclement weather, which includes rain, extreme
temperatures, and poor air quality. For updates, check this webpage and the email address
provided during preregistration.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden invites visitors with disabilities and their families to experience the Discovery Garden at
your own pace. At this sensory-friendly program, enjoy hands-on activities alongside trained
volunteer Discovery Docents. Nature explorers of all ages are welcome!
Garden entry and participation in this program is free, but preregistration is required. Space is limited to ensure the comfort of all participants. Complete the form below to register.
This program is outdoors and canceled in inclement weather, which includes rain, extreme
temperatures, and poor air quality. For updates, check this webpage and the email address
provided during preregistration.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden invites visitors with disabilities and their families to experience the Discovery Garden at
your own pace. At this sensory-friendly program, enjoy hands-on activities alongside trained
volunteer Discovery Docents. Nature explorers of all ages are welcome!
Garden entry and participation in this program is free, but preregistration is required. Space is limited to ensure the comfort of all participants. Complete the form below to register.
This program is outdoors and canceled in inclement weather, which includes rain, extreme
temperatures, and poor air quality. For updates, check this webpage and the email address
provided during preregistration.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden invites visitors with disabilities and their families to experience the Discovery Garden at
your own pace. At this sensory-friendly program, enjoy hands-on activities alongside trained
volunteer Discovery Docents. Nature explorers of all ages are welcome!
Garden entry and participation in this program is free, but preregistration is required. Space is limited to ensure the comfort of all participants. Complete the form below to register.
This program is outdoors and canceled in inclement weather, which includes rain, extreme
temperatures, and poor air quality. For updates, check this webpage and the email address
provided during preregistration.
Celebrating 30 Years of the Greenest Block in Brooklyn
After Party Chair
Plant Kween
As the sun sets on the Spring Gala, join us for the After Party—a high-energy celebration, complete with great music and peak spring vibes. Dance the night away surrounded by blooms and fellow garden lovers at Brooklyn’s most vibrant celebration of the season.
Tickets include special access and two hours of open bar with signature cocktails curated by Whoopsie Daisy, beer, wine, desserts, photo opportunities, activities, and more. Proceeds from the After Party provide essential support for the Garden’s programs and plant collections.
Advance ticket purchase required; space is limited.
Strictly 21+; valid ID required | Advance ticket purchase required
All tickets will be held at the door.
Dress to impress! Festive floral attire encouraged.
After Party Tickets
Event Contributors
Celebrating 30 Years of the Greenest Block in Brooklyn
Better Earth Award
300 East 25th Street Block Association
P.L.A.N.T (Preserving Lincoln’s Abundant Natural Treasures)
Gala Chairs
Adam & Sylvana Durrett
Jennifer & Steven Eisenstadt
John Shaheen & Carl Dietz
5:30 p.m. | Strolling Cocktails
Plant Family Collection Lawn
Join us for an enchanted evening in the Garden, celebrating the 30th anniversary of BBG’s iconic Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest and the collective actions that make Brooklyn a more verdant, resilient, and livable place.
Proceeds from the Spring Gala support the Garden’s future by sustaining the care of BBG’s collections, enriching programs, and deepening community engagement. Tickets range from $750 to $5,000; tables for ten start at $15,000.
The evening’s menu will be designed and prepared by Union Square Events. Each course will feature fresh, seasonal ingredients that are sustainably grown and harvested. Signature cocktails are curated by Whoopsie Daisy.
Festive botanical attire encouraged. Tickets held at the door. Complimentary parking provided for cocktails and dinner guests.
For more information, contact Brooklyn Botanic Garden at [email protected].
Spring Gala 2026 Tables and Tickets
Event Contributors
Celebrate the spring blooms at Brooklyn Botanic Garden with casual, pop-up music and dance performances, morning programming for kids and families in the Discovery Garden, and Garden tours.
Please contact
[email protected]
with any accessibility-related questions or requests.
For more information about accessibility at the Garden, visit
bbg.org/access
.
Learn and play together in the Discovery Garden! Hands-on stations encourage families to explore nature alongside our volunteer educators and teenage Garden apprentices. Be sure to explore our meadow, woodland, and marsh habitats, too! This is a drop-in program for families with children of all ages.
Shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, is the Japanese practice of deeply experiencing nature through all the senses—sound, scent, touch, and stillness. Join this 60-minute guided experience to quiet your mind, reconnect with the present moment, and leave feeling restored. No experience necessary. Just show up and slow down.
Kotchegna Dance Company, founded by artistic director Vado Diomande, present Performance Traditions of the Ivory Coast, including selections from their repertoire of traditional Ivorian dance and drum in a high energy and interactive performance that is open to and fun for all ages and abilities.
The electro/acoustic Mac & Cheez Balkan PowerTrio get you moving with a performance of traditional and modern village and urban folk music from the southern Balkans.
Support
Major Supporter, Discovery Programs
Celebrate the spring blooms at Brooklyn Botanic Garden with casual, pop-up music and dance performances, morning programming for kids and families in the Discovery Garden, and Garden tours.
Please contact
[email protected]
with any accessibility-related questions or requests.
For more information about accessibility at the Garden, visit
bbg.org/access
.
Learn and play together in the Discovery Garden! Hands-on stations encourage families to explore nature alongside our volunteer educators and teenage Garden apprentices. Be sure to explore our meadow, woodland, and marsh habitats, too! This is a drop-in program for families with children of all ages.
Learn how gardening can be accessible through three interactive stations. Led by Kristie Cabrera, a disabled access worker and occupational therapist, this program invites participants to consider creative solutions to access barriers and offers an opportunity to try out different adaptive gardening tools.
Founded and directed by Willie Quintana, Tambor y Caña is a traditional Afro-Venezuelan Music project with an experimental approach to dance, drums and other instruments.
Haitian-American vocalist Pauline Jean bridges jazz with global traditions and the rich rhythms of the African Diaspora. Rooted in her Haitian heritage, Pauline’s work reflects themes of identity, memory, and cultural connection, with performances that are both intimate and expansive, inviting audiences into a deeply moving musical experience.
AUM Dance Creations will be showcasing a dance medley of traditional folk and Bollywood styles, featuring high-energy music, vibrant colors, and graceful dance.
Support
Major Supporter, Discovery Programs
Join us at Brooklyn Botanic Garden for programs designed for individuals with memory loss and their caregivers. Enjoy conversation, refreshments, short guided tours, and movement and art making activities facilitated by trained volunteers.
These programs are free, but space is limited, so registration is required. For more information and to register, contact us at [email protected].
In warmer weather, Memory Programs are held outdoors and in the Children’s Garden; in cooler weather, they are held inside the Education Greenhouses and Steinhardt Conservatory.
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Photos by Joanne D'Auria.
This program begins with a gentle, guided breathing and nature-inspired movement activity. Participants are then invited to explore the Garden, engaging the senses of smell, sight, and touch, and will also have the opportunity to create a birdfeeder to take home. We will close with a calming tea ritual, offering a peaceful moment to relax, reflect, and connect with others.
This program is full; if you would like to be added to the waitlist or have additional accommodation requests or questions, please email [email protected].
At All-Abilities Discovery Programs, visitors with disabilities and their families can learn and play in the Discovery Garden alongside trained volunteer Discovery Docents. Nature explorers of all ages are welcome!
Explore the Discovery Garden at your own pace and take part in hands-on activities:
Plant, harvest, and compost
Create a craft using natural materials
Pot up a plant to take home
...and more!
The Discovery Garden is a multisensory space. Visitors are encouraged to touch and smell plants, and interactive exhibits feature sound, visual, and tactile elements.
Garden entry and program participation is free, but preregistration is required. Upcoming dates will be listed on this page. See FAQs below.
All-Abilities Discovery Programs are intended for children and families with physical and/or developmental disabilities. All ages are welcome. Families are encouraged to bring a friend with or without disabilities; include them in your RSVP.
What accommodations are available?
Before the program:
Families can request specific accommodations when completing the RSVP form, including sensory backpacks and assistive listening devices.
A visual guide and details about transportation, entry, and what to expect will be sent out in advance to families who have preregistered.
ASL interpretation must be requested at least two weeks in advance; requests made less than two weeks before this event cannot be guaranteed.
During the program:
Snacking is permitted.
A quiet seating area will be available during the event.
ASL interpreters will be available if requested at least 2 weeks in advance.
A tactile map of the Discovery Garden with Braille text is located at the northern entrance to this area.
Accessible bathrooms and wheelchairs are available at the nearby Flatbush Avenue entrance. Most pathways and exhibits in the Discovery Garden are accessible to visitors using wheelchairs.
What happens in the case of inclement weather?
This program is outdoors and will be canceled in inclement weather, which includes rain and temperatures below 50 degrees.
Cancellation decisions are made no later than 36 hours before the program start time. If a program is canceled, BBG staff will contact registered families via the method of communication requested on their RSVP form (email, text, or phone call).
Enhance your day in Brooklyn by visiting our neighbor, the Brooklyn Museum! Purchase a Museum & Garden ticket here at Brooklyn Botanic Garden and present your receipt for same-day admission to the Brooklyn Museum. Museum and Garden tickets purchased online subject to service fee of $2.06/adult ticket, $1.73/senior or student 20+ ticket, $1.47/student 12–19 ticket.
Museum & Garden visits must be made on the same date. The Museum is closed on Tuesdays.
Offer is not valid for special events.
The Brooklyn Museum’s admission is suggested. Tickets are not refundable.
There is no combination ticket for children under 12 years of age. Children under 12 enter for free.
Your Support Makes Great Things Possible!
Admissions and membership revenue helps Brooklyn Botanic Garden care for its 52 acres of grounds and conservatories and provide the environmental education programs, breathtaking botanical displays, exciting public events, and community greening efforts that have made the Garden a world-class living museum for all to enjoy. Thank you for supporting this with your visit!
Free Admission Opportunities
Admission is free:
BBG members receive free general admission year-round.
Children under 12 are always free.
Community Tickets: A portion of each day’s tickets are available free of charge to those who need them.
Free admission during public hours is also offered to the individuals and groups listed below. Check full details at the link below before planning your visit.
Academic members and participants in the following programs, with valid ID:
Students, employees of Medgar Evers
Students, employees, alum of Pratt
Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment students and families, employees
Cool Culture cardholders and their families
Garden Apprentice Program teens and families
Project Green Reach classrooms, students and families (with pass)
Urban Advantage teachers, classrooms, students and families (with voucher)
Visitors with the following affiliations, with valid ID:
Individual members of the following museum and garden associations: AHS, APGA, Museums Council of New York City
Members of gardens that participate in the AHS Reciprocal Admissions Program
Employees of current corporate members
Brooklyn Botanic Garden volunteers
With preregistration:
Public library patrons with a Culture Pass reservation (with pass)
Registered, self-guided school and camp groups
Registered, self-guided groups from nonprofit senior centers, shelters, rehabilitation centers, and other 501(c)(3) organizations serving people with disabilities
Participants in accessibility programs, including monthly Memory Tours
Community Greening & NYC Compost Project workshop participants
to Eastern Parkway—Brooklyn Museum for 150 Eastern Parkway and 990 Washington Avenue entrances
to Prospect Park for 455 Flatbush Avenue entrance (no B train on weekends)
to Franklin Avenue (no elevator) for 990 Washington Avenue and 150 Eastern Parkway entrances
Bus
Nearest bus services:
B16 to Ocean Avenue
B41 to Empire Boulevard
B43 to Washington Avenue
B45 to Washington Avenue
B48 to Eastern Parkway
10-minute walk from a Garden entrance:
B16 to Lincoln Road
B41 or B69 to Brooklyn Public Library
B49 to Eastern Parkway
B65 to Classon Avenue
LIRR
LIRR to Flatbush Avenue/Atlantic Avenue Station. Connect with 2, 3, 4, or 5 train or B41 bus.
Support
Major Sponsor, Community Tickets
Enjoy garden-inspired stories alongside BBG volunteers at the Discovery Garden’s Woodland boardwalk. Drop in anytime to join—we welcome readers (and pre-readers) of all ages!
This drop-in story time is part of our Family Discovery Weekends program series for families with children of all ages. Included with Garden admission.
All programs are outdoors and will be canceled in inclement weather, which includes rain and temperatures below 50 degrees. Check this page for updates.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden promotes urban greening through education, conservation, and creative partnerships. Working with block associations, community gardens, and other service groups, the Garden is building a vibrant network of people, places, and projects dedicated to making Brooklyn a greener place. Learn More ›
Don’t Miss!
Upcoming Workshops
These workshops are free, but preregistration is required.
Class Registration FAQ
Brooklyn Botanic Garden uses the Active platform to manage class registrations. You will be asked to create an account for yourself.
Street trees transform our urban landscapes and, in turn, street trees rely on community care to thrive. Healthy soil is at the root—full of microorganisms and other life that serve as friends to trees. Learn what makes healthy, living soil along with accessible strategies for improving your street tree bed’s soil structure, drainage, water-holding capacity, and organic matter content to best support the life of your street tree. Take home some compost and a tree bed companion plant to try!
ASL interpreter available upon request; contact [email protected] at least 2 weeks prior to the class date.
For more information about BBG’s Community Greening programs, visit bbg.org/community.
Celebrate spring and enjoy the beauty of cherry blossoms at this program for visitors who are blind or have low vision. Explore tactile representations of cherry blossoms and BBG’s bloom calendar; engage with a variety of natural objects by touch, sound, smell, and taste; and experience the Garden on a guided verbal description tour.
This drop-in program runs 2–5:30 p.m. and participants are welcome to join and leave whenever they’d like. Hourlong verbal description tours of the Fragrance Garden, Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, and Cherry Esplanade start at 3 p.m. and 4:15 p.m.
Registrants will receive the meeting location by email. This program is free and preregistration is required. Friends, family, sighted guides, and PCAs are welcome. Sighted volunteer guides are available to support visitors upon request.
Please email [email protected] if you’d like to attend or you have additional access requests.
Join Chenae Bullock, a member of the Shinnecock Nation, for a Native Flora Garden tour and talk based on ITEK, or Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge.
ITEK is a body of observations, oral and written knowledge, practices, and beliefs that promotes environmental sustainability and the responsible stewardship of natural resources through relationships between humans and environmental systems.
Included with Garden admission. No registration necessary.
Chenae Bullock is a citizen of the Shinnecock Nation and descendant of the Montaukett Tribe in Long Island, New York. She is the author of 50 Medicines: Indigenous Oral History and Perspective, on which the Ohkehteau (Plants of the Earth): A Shinnecock Oral History exhibit in the Native Flora Garden is based.
Bullock’s writing has appeared in Forbes, Rolling Stone, TedX, Tribal Business News, Bloomberg, Conde Nast Traveler, Indian Country Today, and Yahoo Finance. Following in the footsteps of her ancestors who were whalers and business leaders, the foundation of her work is based on the resurgence of the traditional canoe culture of the Northeast Algonquin communities.
Welcome the longest day of the year with a luminous sunrise performance. Metropolis Ensemble presents Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi - The Four Seasons featuring violinist Francisco Fullana—a stunning reimagining of Vivaldi’s response to the natural world.
Sunset
Settle in to sunset with Metropolis Ensemble presenting Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi - The Four Seasons for string orchestra and solo violin, featuring violinist Francisco Fullana paired with composer and multi-instrumentalist Emily Wells, who fuses voice, violin, and electronics into something raw and urgent. Three centuries, three artists—Vivaldi, Richter, Wells—each turning toward nature: fragile, cyclical, powerfully alive.
Admission before 10 a.m. and after 7 p.m. is at 990 Washington Avenue only. A single ticket provides entry to both performances.
Entry begins at 5 a.m. for the 5:15–6 a.m. sunrise performance. You are welcome to stay and enjoy the Garden after the performance.
The Garden will close at 6 p.m. before reopening for the evening performance. There is no entry between 5:30 and 7 p.m.
Entry begins at 7 p.m. for the 7:30–9 p.m. sunset performance. (Last entry 8 p.m.)
During the performances, you may sit on a blanket or stadium chair (no folding chairs, please). There will be a small section reserved for wheelchairs and people who require a seat. If you require an accessibility accommodation, please contact [email protected].
Outside food and drinks are not permitted. (Baby bottles and pocket snacks for individuals with dietary restrictions are allowed.)
About the Artists
Metropolis Ensemble
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Grammy-nominated Metropolis Ensemble has been a driving force in contemporary music since its founding in 2006 by conductor Andrew Cyr. Over two decades, the ensemble has commissioned more than 450 new works and performed at venues including BAM, the Hollywood Bowl, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center, Celebrate Brooklyn, and Cosm's immersive domes in Los Angeles and Dallas.
The ensemble's recordings have earned a JUNO Award, two Grammy nominations, and recognition from the New York Times, NPR, and Gramophone. Recent highlights include a 2025 Grammy nomination for Timo Andres' The Blind Banister and a New York Times Best of 2025 citation for the opera In a Grove at the Prototype Festival.
The ensemble's multifaceted Biophony series with Brooklyn Botanic Garden (and NYC DOT) has brought free performances to over 30,000 audience members across New York City's five boroughs since 2021.
Emily Wells
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Forging a bridge between pop and chamber music, composer, producer, and video artist Emily Wells builds songs from deliberate strata of vocals, synths, drums, piano, other string, and wind instruments. Her evocative music (described as “visionary” by NPR) and performances (called “quietly transfixing” by the New York Times) impel listeners to be attuned.
Wells’s latest release, the ten-song album Regards to the End, explores the AIDS crisis, climate change, and her lived experience watching the world burn. A work of radical empathy, Regards to the End foregrounds the power of art, critique, and care to connect and perhaps redeem us.
Francisco Fullana
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Francisco Fullana, winner of the 2018 Avery Fisher Career Grant, has been hailed as an "amazing talent" by Gustavo Dudamel. A native of Mallorca, he has performed as soloist with ensembles ranging from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra to the baroque ensemble Apollo's Fire to Metropolis Ensemble.
His recordings have topped the Billboard Classical charts and earned Album of the Month honors from both Apple Music and BBC Music Magazine. A graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Madrid and the Juilliard School, Francisco performs on the 1735 "Mary Portman" ex-Kreisler Guarneri del Gesù violin, on loan through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.
Max Richter
Max Richter is one of the most influential composers of his generation, fusing classical technique and electronic technology across genre-defining solo albums and countless scores for film, dance, and art.
His ambitious projects include the landmark nine-hour album Sleep, the reimagining of Vivaldi's violin concertos in Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi - The Four Seasons, and his score for Wayne McGregor's ballet Woolf Works, alongside acclaimed records tackling human rights, migration, and the post-war world. His music has won him legions of fans worldwide and blazed a trail for a generation of musicians.
Cultivate a love of nature and a connection to plants in your kids by signing up for a Children’s Garden class at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Children aged 2 to 13 can plant their own crops and flowers and harvest them under the guidance of garden instructors.
See class descriptions, section schedules, and fees below. Be sure to note age requirements and other qualifications.
During Children’s Garden classes, children will plant, weed, water, harvest, and maintain their communal garden beds. Children will also participate in art projects, cooking, and nature explorations both inside the Children’s Garden and on the larger BBG grounds.
Children’s Garden beds contain a variety of seasonal vegetables, fruits, and flowers. Participants will bring home harvest to share with family; availability of harvest varies depending on the growing season, weather, etc.
Children’s Garden Fellows teach programs, alongside teen counselors from our Garden Apprentice Program who are high school seniors and freshmen. Each group has one Fellow and 2–3 teen counselors. During summer, younger groups have an additional program assistant.
Age 4–5 groups have a maximum of 11 participants, and all other age groups have a maximum of 12 participants.
Children’s Garden participants of all ages will treat their peers, teen garden apprentices, and instructors with respect.
Children’s Garden participants will stay with their group leaders at all times.
Children’s Garden participants will follow directions, use tools and materials safely, use appropriate language, and maintain the personal space of others.
Please read and discuss these expectations with your child. If your child is unable to follow these participation requirements or if their behavior endangers others or prevents an instructor’s ability to lead their group, Children’s Garden staff will inform the parent in person or via phone or email. If a second incident occurs, parents may be asked to withdraw their child from the program. Refunds will not be given for behavior-related withdrawals.
By registering for the Children’s Garden program, I agree to the participation requirements above.
Participation Requirements
For Seeds classes, children must be 4 years old or turn 4 within a month after the program start date.
For Sprouts classes, children must be 6 years old or turn 6 within a month after the program start date.
For City Farmers classes, children must be 8 or 11 years old within a month after the program start date.
For Trees and Saplings, children must be 2 or 3 years old or turn 2 within a month after the program start date. Children must attend with one adult per child, no exceptions.
Children must be able to use the bathroom on their own to attend drop-off programs, unless attending with a Special Education Itinerant Teacher (SEIT) or other approved caregiver. See below for information about additional support.
Program Guidelines & Protocols
Registrations are processed on a first-come, first-served basis in the order that payment is received; note that Children's Garden classes fill quickly.
Drop-Off/Pickup
Participants enrolled in classes that begin before 10 a.m. must use the 455 Flatbush Avenue entrance for drop-off. This gate opens 15 minutes prior to your program’s start time.
Participants enrolled in classes that begin while the Garden is open (afternoon programs, programs during early open hours) may enter at any gate. Please leave enough time to walk to the Children’s Garden entrance.
Participants must stop at the admission booth and tell a staff member they are here for a CG class (applies to Seeds, Sprouts, City Farmers, Trees & Saplings, and Garden Adventures classes). You will be given a ticket you can use to reenter the Garden for pick-up.
The Children’s Garden gates open right at the program start time. Adults should approach the gate for drop-off and enter the Children’s Garden for pickup at group tables.
Family Gardening Hours and special event participants must stop at the admission booth and scan their ticket.
Snacks
All lunches and snacks will be eaten picnic-style outdoors.
All snacks and lunches must be nut-free.
Safety Protocols
Children should wear clothing that can get dirty and closed-toe shoes (no sandals). Bring a water bottle, hat, sunblock, and insect repellent.
All activities are facilitated outdoors in various weather conditions; during severe weather, class may be moved to indoor spaces.
Hand-washing stations are located throughout the garden.
BBG staff do not administer medication of any kind. Staff can supervise campers as they self-administer medication that has been packed by caregivers. Staff can help administer EpiPens in an emergency.
If your child is showing signs of illness, they should not attend the program.
Weather Policy
Programs take place rain or shine, in various weather conditions.
Class may be moved indoors during long periods of heavy rain or heat.
We will notify you of any severe-weather cancellations as soon as possible.
Additional Support
Please inform us of any additional support your child needs to have a fun, successful experience in the garden. Our staffing is assigned based on the needs of the students enrolled in the program each season.
Let us know of any special needs, allergies, or health concerns in advance. For example: Does your child require one-to-one support or other accommodation in a school setting?
If your child will be attending with a SEIT or other adult caregiver, please let us know at least two weeks before the program start date.
We are happy to set up a virtual meeting or phone call before the program begins to discuss. Please contact the Children’s Garden staff at [email protected].
Class Withdrawal
There are no refunds for single-session family programs, exchanges are allowed in advance of the program date.
According to our cancellation policy, we are able to provide a refund (less a $25 administrative fee) if you cancel your enrollment at least ten business days before the start date of the class, no exceptions.
Scholarships
Scholarship applications must be submitted before class registration.
A limited number of need-based scholarships are available for Children’s Garden participants, distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Scholarship recipients will receive a voucher code to use for online registration.
Scholarships are need-based. Those who receive a full scholarship are required to pay a $50 commitment fee.
Scholarships are granted for a program season (spring, summer, fall) and may not be available for more than one season per participant, depending on the number of scholarship applicants.
Consistent attendance is required for scholarship recipients; lack of attendance may affect eligibility for future seasons.
Scholarship application review periods for 2026 start January 2 (spring); January 19 (summer); and June 1 (fall).
For any questions about scholarships, please contact [email protected].
Brooklyn Botanic Garden uses the Active platform to manage class registrations. You will be asked to create an account for yourself and family members.
You may view your registration records or update your profile settings in Active. Please note: Active offers a paid membership program; you are not required to participate. Member prices for classes are for BBG members and do not extend to Active passport members.
SPRING & FALL FAMILY PROGRAMS
For children with an adult
Family Gardening Hours
For children of all ages plus an adult
Single session in April, June, or July
This is a one-time program for kids of all ages and their caregivers. Join educators at activity stations throughout the Children’s Garden. Plant seeds, water vegetables and flowers, create nature crafts, taste fresh produce, dig in soil, and more! Participants are welcome to register for multiple classes, but activities will repeat. Programs take place rain or shine!
One adult-child pair must register to participate together. Up to three children or adults may be added.
Dates, Fees & Policy for Family Gardening Hours
Dates
Weekend Dates: Saturday, April 11; Saturday, June 6 | 10:30 a.m.–12 p.m.
Spring Break: Wednesday, April 8–Friday, April 10 | 10:30 a.m.–12 p.m.
Out-of-School Days: Friday, June 5; Wednesday, July 1; Thursday, July 2 | 10:30 a.m.–12 p.m.
$20/$16 (member) for each additional adult or child in the group (up to 3 additional, 5 total)
Cost includes Garden admission.
Participation Requirements
One adult-child pair must register; may add up to 3 adults or children.
There are no refunds. Exchanges are subject to availability and must be made prior to event date.
Children should wear clothing that can get dirty and closed-toe shoes (no sandals).
Class registration includes Garden admission before or after the program; see bbg.org/visit to confirm hours. Show your ticket at any entrance to enter.
For 2- and 3-year-olds with an adult
7 weekly sessions beginning in April or September Spring registration has closed. Fall registration opens on Monday, June 29, 2026 at 9 a.m.
Learn about the wonders of gardening with your two- or three-year-old during this active hands-on program offered during spring and fall. Our youngest gardeners work with their adult partner to tend to their garden plots, sing songs, taste new foods, and create nature crafts.
Dates, Fees & Policy for Trees & Saplings
This is not a drop-off program. Consistent weekly attendance of one adult per child is required. No additional adults or children including infants or older siblings, please.
Spring Classes
7 Fridays: April 3–May 29, 2026 (no class April 10, May 22) | 4–5:30 p.m.
7 Saturdays: April 4–May 30, 2026 (no class April 10, May 23) | 10:30 a.m.–12 p.m.
7 Wednesdays: April 1–May 20, 2026 (no class April 8) | 9:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m.
7 Wednesday: April 1–May 20, 2026 (no class April 8) | 11 a.m.–12 p.m.
7 Thursdays: April 2–May 21, 2026 (no class April 9) | 9:30–10:30 a.m.
7 Thursdays: April 2–May 21, 2026 (no class April 9) | 11 a.m.–12 p.m.
Fall Classes
7 Wednesdays: September 9–October 21, 2026 | 9:30–10:30 a.m.
7 Wednesdays: September 9–October 21, 2026 | 11 a.m.–12 p.m.
7 Thursdays: September 10–October 22, 2026 | 9:30–10:30 a.m.
7 Thursdays: September 10–October 22, 2026 | 11 a.m.–12 p.m.
7 Fridays: September 4–October 16, 2026 | 4–5:30 p.m.
7 Saturdays: September 5–October 17, 2026 | 10:30 a.m.–12 p.m.
Cost
60-minute sections: $262 nonmember/$236 member
90-minute sections: $367 nonmember/$341 member
Participation Requirements
One hour and 1.5-hour programs are offered. We recommend the 1.5-hour class for 3-year-olds or returning families.
The class is for one adult-child pair only; no siblings or additional adults please.
Children should wear clothing that can get dirty and closed-toe shoes (no sandals).
Spring registration has closed. To inquire about potential openings, please contact [email protected].
Fall registration opens on Monday, June 29, 2026 at 9 a.m.
Seeds
For 4- and 5-year-olds
7 weekly sessions beginning in April or September
Seeds work together to care for their garden plots! Seeds practice real gardening skills such as planting, watering, weeding, spreading compost, and more. Participants harvest and taste fresh vegetables and herbs, create nature art, listen to garden stories, and go on nature explorations alongside a garden instructor and teen apprentices.
Dates, Fees & Policy for Seeds
This is a drop-off program.
Spring Classes
7 Fridays: April 3–May 29, 2026 (no class April 10, May 22) | 4–5:30 p.m.
7 Saturdays: April 4–May 30, 2026 (no class April 11, May 23) | 10 a.m.–12 p.m.
Fall Classes
7 Fridays: September 4–October 16, 2026 |4–5:30 p.m.
7 Saturdays: September 5–October 17, 2026 | 10 a.m.–12 p.m.
Cost
Friday Classes: $262 nonmember/$236 member
Saturday Classes: $330 nonmember/$304 member
Participation Requirements
For Seeds, children must be 4 years old or turn 4 within a month after the program start date.
Seeds participants must be comfortable using the bathroom on their own. Child-size toilets are located inside the Children’s Garden House.
Sprouts
For 6- and 7-year-olds
7 weekly sessions beginning in April or September
Sprouts work together to care for their garden plots! Sprouts practice seasonal horticulture skills such as planting, watering, weeding, organic pest control, and more. Participants harvest, taste, and cook with fresh vegetables and herbs, create nature art, and go on nature explorations alongside a garden instructor and teen apprentices.
Dates, Fees & Policy for Sprouts
This is a drop-off program.
Spring Classes
7 Fridays: April 3–May 29, 2026 (no class April 10, May 22) | 4–5:30 p.m.
7 Saturdays: April 4–May 30, 2026 (no class April 11, May 23) | 10 a.m.–12 p.m.
Fall Classes
7 Fridays: September 4–October 16, 2026 |4–5:30 p.m.
7 Saturdays: September 5–October 17, 2026 | 10 a.m.–12 p.m.
Cost
Friday Classes: $262 nonmember/$236 member
Saturday Classes: $330 nonmember/$304 member
Participation Requirements
For Sprouts, children must be at least 6 years old, or turn 6 within a month of the program’s start date.
City Farmers
For 8- through 13-year-olds
7 weekly sessions beginning in April or September
City Farmers work together to care for their garden plots! City Farmers practice seasonal horticulture skills such as planting, trellis building, weed identification, organic pest control, seed saving, and more. Participants harvest, taste, and cook with fresh vegetables and herbs, create nature art, and go on nature explorations alongside a garden instructor and teen apprentices.
Dates, Fees & Policy for City Farmers
This is a drop-off program.
Spring Classes
7 Fridays: April 3–May 29, 2026 (no class April 10, May 22) | 4–5:30 p.m.
7 Saturdays: April 4–May 30, 2026 (no class April 11, May 23) | 10 a.m.–12 p.m.
Fall Classes
7 Fridays: September 4–October 16, 2026 | 4–5:30 p.m.
7 Saturdays: September 5–October 17, 2026 | 10 a.m.–12 p.m.
Cost
Friday Classes: $262 nonmember/$236 member
Saturday Classes: $330 nonmember/$304 member
SUMMER DROP-OFF PROGRAMS
Garden Adventures
For children 4 through 13
Wednesday–Friday for two weeks in July or August
During this 6-session program, groups work together to care for their garden plots! Participants practice horticulture skills such as planting, watering, weeding, compost exploration, and more. Groups harvest, taste, and cook with fresh vegetables and herbs, create nature art, and go on nature explorations alongside a garden instructor and teen apprentices.
Dates, Fees & Policy for Garden Adventures program
This is a drop-off program.
Dates
Session 1: July 8–17, 2026 | Wednesday/Thursday/Friday 9 a.m.–1 p.m.
Get a crash course in vegetable gardening! In this class you will learn the basics of how to grow vegetables including how to do a site assessment, amend your soil, plan what to grow, choose seeds, grow seedlings, plant, transplant, water, weed, use organic pest control, and harvest. You can also take home seedlings to get started or to add to your garden.
It’s a short walk from the stoop to the kitchen table. Grow your own delicious produce this season by learning practical tips for successful vegetable gardening in containers. The class will cover basic garden care as well as how to choose the right containers and plant cultivars for your site.
As part of the North American Japanese Garden Association’s annual Gardens for Peace project, which brings communities together in Japanese gardens to promote peace, BBG presents free public programming in and around the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden.
Included with Garden admission. Tickets available in August.
Event Partner
Shop a curated and dazzling selection of plants for your home and garden. This year, shoppers can find native trees and shrubs fit for Brooklyn yards, unusual orchids, diverse tropicals and succulents, indoor and outdoor bulbs including uncommon varietals, and much more. Pot up your new purchase at Terrain while you check out pumpkins and new fall arrivals!
Brighten your home, stoop, and garden while supporting BBG—all proceeds benefit the Garden’s operations and programs. The Fall Plant Sale is presented by the BBG Auxiliary.
Garden admission is free for Fall Plant Sale shoppers. Purchased plant materials are not permitted in other areas of the Garden, so plan to exit through 990 Washington Avenue. Garden members get 10% off all purchases.
Tickets available in September.
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Visitors to the Garden can enjoy light bites, grab and go items, and full-service dining.
Visitors to the Garden can enjoy pizza, salads, sandwiches, snacks, and beverages at the outdoor Yellow Magnolia Canteen; hot and cold drinks plus sweet treats at the Coffee Bar in the Steinberg Visitor Center; and full-service dining in the elegant Yellow Magnolia Café.
The Garden is a space where we urban dwellers can reconnect to the earth and our own capacity for renewal. Join this class to practice walking meditation and loving kindness for oneself, others, and the more-than-human world. Species cycle through the Garden and with keen eyes, listening ears, and an open heart we can be in harmony with all that breathes.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden requires entrants to the Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest to register as a group, such as a block association, HOA, or civic organization. If one doesn’t exist for your block, why not start one? Even informal, ad-hoc groups are welcome in the contest.
Greenest Block in Brooklyn judges will look for group participation in greening and gardening efforts—such as street tree maintenance, signage, or shared gardening areas—as well as engagement by multiple buildings and residents of all ages. Gardening together is a wonderful way to meet neighbors and build community!
What Is a Block Association?
A block association is people coming together where they live to make their neighborhood great. In New York City, there’s no formal process to create one—all you need is a name, a purpose, and a plan to get neighbors involved.
Your block may already have an association. Many associations register with their Community Board to request permits, such as for street closures for block parties. Ask neighbors or call your local Community Board office. If you start a new group, share information with your Community Board so others can find you.
How to Get Started
Gather your neighbors
Invite neighbors to meet up and share ideas—and serve refreshments if you can! Aim to keep the meeting under 90 minutes, and leave time to identify next steps and volunteers. While gardening may be your focus, stay open to other interests and community needs.
Set an agenda and share notes
Choose a facilitator to keep the discussion focused and ensure everyone has a chance to speak. A facilitator is a good listener and does not dominate the conversation. Ask for a volunteer note-taker to write down key decisions and follow-up tasks, and share notes afterward.
Collect contact information
At every meeting, gather names, emails, phone numbers, and addresses. Make note of special skills or interests in gardening, working with youth, or helping elders. Create an email list or Google group to stay connected.
Make Greening a Group Activity
Enter your block in the contest and spread the word
Register your block for the Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest by June 1. Display your “We’ve Entered!” signs, and share upcoming meeting and activity dates.
Form a gardening committee
Even two dedicated neighbors can lead greening efforts—coordinating activities like container plantings or submitting a tree service request to the Parks Department.
Plan a clean-and-green day
Organize a block-wide event to encourage neighbors to sweep, clean, and share plants. NYC’s Department of Sanitation (DSNY) can supply tools and trash bags—see its Volunteer Clean-up Program tip sheet for more information.
Feeling overwhelmed? Tell an interested neighbor that you’d really appreciate some support. You’ll never know who might pitch in—or lead—unless you ask.
Knock on doors
Take a neighbor with you to visit folks face to face. Invite participation, ask for suggestions, and listen to their ideas.
Have fun!
Urban gardening can be challenging—start with manageable projects like composting, tree beds, murals, signage, or youth activities. Celebrate your achievements together, no matter how small.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s annual Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest is open for entry March through May; contest winners are announced in August.
Come celebrate the end of the growing season with a Seed Exchange in the Discovery Garden! Fall is a great time to learn how to save seed for spring. Watch a seed-saving demonstration—with tomatoes and more!—and get tips on caring for and storing seed over the winter. Gardeners will be on hand to answer any questions.
We’ll have a selection of fall-friendly seeds to share, whether you are growing in a street tree bed, garden bed, community garden, or sunny windowsill in your apartment.
Bring seeds to share! Bringing seeds is not required, but if you do, make sure they are labeled and no more than two years old to ensure maximum germination success.
We’ll provide envelopes, small bags, and labels for the seeds you take home.
This is a drop-in program for gardeners of all ages, including families with children, teenagers, and adults. We can’t guarantee what kind or how many seeds will be available. Included with Garden admission.
All programs are outdoors and will be canceled in inclement weather, which includes rain and temperatures below 50 degrees. Check this page for updates.
Support
Major Supporter, Discovery Programs
Learn to observe a tree’s health and the drivers of decline. Students will learn the fundamental principles of disease, types of disease, and the impacts of injury and abiotic factors on tree health. The class will cover the steps that are taken to diagnose disease and how to identify environmental factors that contribute to decline. Class will break for 30-minute lunch.
This class is designed for practicing arborists. Students should have a basic understanding of tree anatomy and physiology before taking this class.
Learning to recognize and name herbaceous plants in the landscape is an important skill for gardeners and naturalists alike. Students will learn the basics of plant anatomy and taxonomy to be able to identify herbaceous plants. This class will include a walk on the BBG grounds using a variety of tools to identify plants.
Trees host a diverse array of fungi, not all of which are beneficial. This course will provide students with tools for identifying fungal problems that pose a serious risk to tree health and structural integrity. Class will break for 30-minute lunch.
This class is designed for practicing arborists. Students should have a basic understanding of tree anatomy and physiology before taking this class.
This course is approved for the following ISA credits: Certified Arborist – 4.0, BCMA Science – 4.0.
Let’s take climate change seriously without taking ourselves seriously, shall we? A crew of stand-up comics will help us explore the absurdities of the climate crisis, laugh through our anxieties together, and reinvigorate our resolve to be part of the solutions, with sets from Brad Einstein, Eeland Stribling, Perrin Ireland, and Hila the Earth.
After the show, we’ll complete the catharsis by dancing to music from DJ Mamoudou and celebrating the paperback launch of Dr. Johnson’s book What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures.
Optional/encouraged: Come dressed as your favorite climate solution! Maybe you’ll meet your new climate bestie on the dancefloor.
Ticket includes entry, (1) complimentary drink, and small bites. First 250 people to arrive will receive a copy of What If We Get It Right?
Note: Attendees will exit the Garden via 1000 Washington Avenue.
This event is now sold out.
About Dr. Ayana Johnson
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, policy expert, writer, and teacher working to help create the best possible climate future. She is cofounder of Urban Ocean Lab, a think tank for the future of coastal cities, and is the Roux Distinguished Scholar at Bowdoin College. Ayana authored the New York Times bestseller What If We Get it Right?: Visions of Climate Futures, work that is carried on with her newsletter and podcast of the same name.
Previously, she coedited the bestselling anthology All We Can Save, cocreated and cohosted the Spotify/Gimlet podcast How to Save a Planet, and coauthored the Blue New Deal, a roadmap for including the ocean in climate policy. Above all: Ayana is in love with climate solutions.
Join Onondaga farmer, seedkeeper, and educator Angela Ferguson, and help plant Three Sisters seeds in the Discovery Garden’s courtyard. The Three Sisters (corn, squash, and beans) have been planted together by Indigenous people in the Americas for thousands of years, with the understanding that each of these plants supports and reinforces the growth of the others.
Visitors can taste traditional Haudenosaunee foods and take part in hands-on learning opportunities about the Three Sisters crops.
This is a drop-in program for visitors of all ages, including children. Included with Garden admission.
All programs are outdoors and will be canceled in inclement weather. Check this page for updates.
Angela Ferguson, a member of the Onondaga Nation (Eel Clan), is supervisor of the Onondaga Nation Farm and a member of Braiding the Sacred, a grassroots network of Indigenous corn growers. She is known as a leader in the Indigenous food sovereignty movement. Read BBG’s interview with her in Garden Stories: Angela Ferguson of Onondaga Nation Farm on the Importance of Saving Seeds.
Support
Major Supporter, Discovery Programs
Please note: The event is totally sold out and no tickets will be available at the door.
Enjoy magical access to the Garden’s famous Kanzan trees!
Find a spot on Cherry Esplanade to enjoy the cherry blossoms, lit up for maximum effect, and savor the spring vibe with family and friends. Stroll in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden and along Cherry Walk, try your hand at origami and other Japanese crafts, view a curated display of bonsai, and enjoy live performances and specialty food and drinks. Bring a blanket and picnic under the cherry blossoms!
You may bring a blanket or stadium chair (no folding chairs, please). Cherry Esplanade performances take place on grass. Accessible seating is available for people with limited mobility. Please contact [email protected] with any accessibility-related questions or requests.
ACTIVITIES
Origami with Sato Yamamoto and Jason Clay Lewis
Practice the Japanese art of folding paper. For visitors of every skill level. Atrium
Bonsai Display
View a curated selection of bonsai specimens from the Garden’s famous collection. Atrium
Japanese Food & Drinks
Purchase treats from a special menu presented in collaboration with Japan Village and Saiko Sushi and picnic under the cherry blossoms. Outside food not permitted.
Hanami Nights Pop-Up Menu
Starters and Snacks
Sunomono | $5 (VG, AG)
sesame-marinated cucumbers
Mori Soba | $7 (VG)
chilled buckwheat noodles w/ soy & mirin
Onigiri | $7 (V)
roasted kombu or scallion-miso
Vegetable Gyoza | $7 (V)
4 pieces
Assorted Japanese Snacks | $3 to $6
Sushi by Saiko Sushi
Spicy Tuna Roll | $12 (AG)
Cucumber Avocado Roll | $12 (VG, AG)
Larger Items
Veggie Yakitori with Japanese Glaze | $12 (V, AG)
Chicken Katsu Sandwich | $16
cabbage, tonkatsu mayo, milk bread
Beverages
Joto Sake | $13
‘Graffiti’ One-Cup, 6 oz.
Junmai, 4 oz.
Nigori, 4 oz.
Listen to the traditional Japanese instrument variation performed by Ken Hutchinson (Jiuta shamisen), Kirsten Carey (Tsugaru shamisen), and Rino Aise (Okinawa sanshin) as you stroll the Japanese Garden.
Japanese Dances from Kabuki to Contemporary by Sachiyo Ito Dance Company
7:30–8:15 p.m. | Cherry Esplanade
Sachiyo Ito and Company will perform kabuki dances from the 19th century and choreographed works by Sachiyo Ito based on the aesthetics, style, and techniques of Japanese classical dance.
The Hudson Valley Shakuhachi Choir
5:15, 6:15, 7:15 p.m. | Japanese Hill-and-Pond Viewing Pavilion
The Hudson Valley Shakuhachi Choir explores the resonant overtones and rich timbre of the Japanese bamboo flute through traditional and contemporary works.
Discover the beauty and versatility of traditional Japanese cotton cloths tenugui and furoshiki with a hands-on wrapping experience. Led by Ruri Kippenbrock of Wuhao New York Tenugui Art.
Discover the beauty and versatility of traditional Japanese cotton cloths tenugui and furoshiki with a hands-on wrapping experience. Led by Ruri Kippenbrock of Wuhao New York Tenugui Art.
This dance and drum performance captures the dynamic energy of frozen snow melting and the awakening of life in spring.
Partners
Sake Partner, Hanami Nights
Toast to BBG’s Greenest Block participants with fresh mocktails that incorporate herbs you can easily grow on your stoop, balcony, or windowsill. Learn how to craft mocktails using fresh herbs, seasonal fruits, and leafy greens. The instructor will cover flavor pairing and balancing sweetness, acidity, and freshness, using herbs for aromatic depth, incorporating greens such as cucumber and spinach, and creating natural syrups and house-made infusions. Presentation and garnishing techniques will make drinks as beautiful as they are delicious.
In this workshop, students will create handmade botanical cyanotype prints using the grounds of BBG as our studio. Learn the basics of cyanotype printing including chemistry mixing, canvas preparation, and plein air printing. We will also cover printing techniques such as double exposures and high contrast. Students will leave with one-of-a-kind prints.
This three-part series provides all the concepts and tools for amateur floral designers (and those considering a career in flowers) to make beautiful arrangements for home and special events. Based on Eastern and Western floral design techniques, this class gives students the opportunity to experiment with making more complex arrangements. While working with a range of materials, flowers, and containers, you will learn how to evaluate your own designs and work efficiently.
Bring that beautiful but odd vase that you got as a gift and work with the instructor to figure out how to make a beautiful floral arrangement that complements your container. You bring the vase, the instructor brings the flowers...together you’ll make a fine duet.
Come for a creative, hands-on experience where participants learn to design and construct personalized floral headpieces using seasonal fresh and dried blooms. These sessions cover floral selection, structural mechanics and ribboning.
Wildflowers embody summertime! Whimsical, vibrant, and playful, wildflowers evoke feelings of freedom and lightheartedness. These textural beauties are at the same time unruly and refined, elegant and free-spirited. Using a variety of blooms and textural elements, you’ll create a stunning flower arrangement fit for the season. The instructor will offer step-by-step instruction—from palette selection and flower care to professional techniques for crafting a lush and unique floral arrangement.
Bring your mom to this workshop as a Mother’s Day gift, or surprise her with a beautiful homemade arrangement of spring blooms.
Kaya Abe Magee holds a Master’s degree in the art of Japanese flower arrangement from the Ichiyo-style ikebana xchool. She continued her study at the McQueens Flower School in London to explore her own expression of flower arrangement. She freelanced with Laura Clare Design, in New Jersey creating arrangements weddings and events for five years while donating her time to teach ikebana to children from low-income families and seniors at nursing homes In Japan. She helps maintain gardens in Saint Francois Xavier in Paris and outside London. Kaya learned biodynamic methods at the Pfeiffer Center, and in 2021, she purchased 20 acres of land in Jeffersonville, New York, where she started a biodynamic farm.
Discover the serene beauty of Ikebana, the traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement. Rooted in mindfulness, balance, and harmony with nature, Ikebana goes beyond decoration—it is a contemplative practice that honors life, space, and simplicity. In this guided, hands-on workshop, participants will explore minimalist design principles, intentional movement, and the relationship between form and emptiness. Working with seasonal flowers and natural elements, participants will be invited to slow down, observe deeply, and create with presence rather than perfection. Suitable for beginners and those interested in floral design, Japanese culture, or meditative practices. Participants will leave with flowers and branches to continue practicing at home.
Shakespeare was a great lover of flowers and plants and often included them in his verse. Take a walk in the Shakespeare Garden to learn about the plants that were a huge part of Elizabethan life, and the scents people used to perfume their bodies and home. Students will receive a sampling of scented millinery flowers to create their own nosegay and create a quarter-ounce vial of perfume to take home.
In this sensory workshop, we will examine the art of natural perfumery. Students will gain a basic understanding of the sense of smell, the history of perfume, the advent of synthetic ingredients, and the return to naturals. Perfume ingredients and formulation will be explored and each participant will leave with two bottles of their own bespoke perfume. All materials will be provided, just bring a pen to take notes with.
Roses are one of the most beautiful and praised flowers. They’ve been valued for centuries in many cultures and have been cultivated and hybridized worldwide. Learn about the beauty, history, and legacy of the adored and exalted rose. Each variety has a unique scent; we’ll discuss the different notes found in them and learn to pick out the subtle differences. A walk in the Cranford Rose Garden will provide myriad examples as we compare them side by side. After our walk, you will have an opportunity to create a rose perfume at our very own Perfume Bar. Each attendee will leave with a quarter-ounce vial of perfume and a fragrant bouquet of paper roses.
If you’re new to tree identification or need a refresher, this class is for you. You’ll learn the fundamental concepts used in dendrology while being introduced to the Garden’s most common trees. The instructor will share some relevant botanical terminology, but will largely apply a jargon-free approach. Participants will leave class feeling more confident in their ability to identify regional trees, and with recommendations for resources and strategies to improve their own independent self-study. Awareness of trees is one of the best portals into creating a closer relationship with land and nature! Class will break for 30-minute lunch.
Learn how to find and identify birds at the height of spring migration! Each class will consist of 30–45 minutes of classroom instruction followed by field birding on the Garden grounds, and one field trip to another Brooklyn greenspace on Saturday, May 16.
All beekeeping is local, and urban beekeeping is unique. Space, floral accessibility, native bees, and neighbors all factor into best management practices of honey bees. Learn bee biology, tools and techniques for hive care, and problem-solving and pest management. This class will provide a lecture as well as live observation of bees at work.
Mushrooms are everywhere, even in New York City. This class will explore the roles of the frequently misunderstood fungal kingdom, crucial to every habitat on Earth. We will cover the ecology, evolution, and cultural history of mushrooms. Learn basic taxonomy and identification of our local edible and poisonous fungi. Each class will include a foray on BBG grounds to meet your fungal neighbors in person and get practice finding and identifying fungi in the field.
In this class, students will learn insect identification skills and work in small groups to set up light traps in the Garden. We will take a walk around the grounds to search for nighttime pollinators in action and finally return to identify the insect visitors our traps attracted (insects will not be harmed or stuck in the traps, we use simple UV light and sheet tents). This class is open to students 12+ if they are accompanied by an adult.
In this lecture and discussion, the instructor will offer a brief history of medicinal plants. Topics covered will include herbals, with a look at books detailing the healing properties of plants, from the Ebers Papyrus and Materia Medica to the present; plant-based treatments in the modern pharmacopoeia; and a concluding discussion of Western and complementary and alternative medicines.
Tai chi and qigong exercises improve balance, increase blood circulation, relax your mind and body, and increase your internal energy. The instructor will demonstrate movements. Please come prepared in clothing that allows for movement.
Tai chi and qigong exercises improve balance, increase blood circulation, relax your mind and body, and increase your internal energy. The instructor will demonstrate movements. Please come prepared in clothing that allows for movement.
This lecture explores the art and science of container gardening, with a special focus on keeping plants healthy and thriving in limited spaces. We’ll cover practical guidelines for identifying and root-pruning root-bound container plants to encourage stronger growth, better nutrient uptake, and longer plant life. The class also highlights how to select pollinator-friendly plants, such as nectar-rich flowers and native species that support bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. This class is structured for gardeners of all experience levels.
Learn to successfully design your garden. This class will guide you from the concept phase to installing, maintaining, and harvesting flowers, herbs, or vegetables. We will integrate containers, irrigation, maintenance, and perennial and annual plant choices. Class will break for 30-minute lunch.
Learn how to have a successful summer vegetable garden for containers and what vegetables and herbs work for your home and how to care, maintain, and harvest them. In this 3-hour lecture, we will spend an hour in the BBG vegetable garden reviewing ideas and options.
As the Garden is in the midst of its summer awakening, we can be present to the mysteries and beauty of the natural world, strengthening our ability to listen to ourselves and each another. We will practice the basics of walking meditation as a solo practice and then with a partner—walking together while sharing and listening from the heart. A simple prompt will be offered. No experience necessary.
Practice walking meditation and experience the natural world through the eyes of the artist, following color, form, movement, and design in the beauty of the Garden. Connected to the flowers, trees, birds, earth, and sky, we can feel a sense of interbeing with all things. Come with curiosity and be ready to be delighted. Bring a small note pad for jotting down observations or sketching.
Learn how to incorporate more native plants into our urban environment to build habitat for birds, insects, and other animals. We’ll explore reasons to choose native plants while introducing trees, shrubs, perennials and groundcovers that will thrive in different urban spaces. Whether you’re caring for a rooftop, backyard, public space, or street planting, there is a native plant to choose!
An archival skill developed by ancient Egyptians is still used today to preserve the earth’s botanical world. Creating herbariums is a traditional practice of preserving the world’s pressed plants. In this workshop New York Botanical Garden educator and herbalist Arvolyn Hill shows how to press flowers for museum quality specimens or create for art. During this two-part workshop, Arvolyn will teach proper ways to press plants and the art of plant preservation.
Learn about the history of a wide variety of rose types and classifications and how to select the best roses for your garden. In the second session the class will tour the Cranford Rose Garden and learn practical tips on how to successfully grow and care for roses sustainably.
Carnivorous plants are some of the most fascinating and dynamic photosynthetic organisms on earth, and you don’t need a greenhouse to grow them! New York is home to more than 20 native and naturalized carnivorous plants that can grow right here in our climate. Learn cultivation techniques and relevant ecology for these species and pot up your own New York carnivore to take home.
Learn to paint in the Chinese style using a bamboo brush, ink, and rice paper. Get step-by-step instruction in this ancient art form, and develop your own style. Look to the lovely environment of the Garden for creative inspiration.
Celebrate the season by painting en plein air in the Garden when weather permits, using soft pastels—an opaque medium with the saturated color of oil paint. This class is taught studio-style, with one-to-one instruction, and each session ends with a group critique to share work and discuss ideas and goals. On rainy days we will work from still-life setups with subjects from the BBG Education Greenhouses and other elements in the classroom. Some class pastels will be provided to bolster each student’s palette. Some prior art experience with any medium or subject is recommended.
If you’ve ever wanted to accurately draw plants and flowers, this is a great starting point. Through direct observation and various drawing exercises you’ll learn to portray a subject of your choice in graphite on paper. Students will look at the structure and form of their chosen subjects and complete a detailed botanical drawing. Beginner to intermediate welcome.
Learn how to make a beautiful accordion sketchbook and fill it with nature drawings and notes. Add color and decorative details to complete your delightful garden sketchbook.
Explore the varied techniques of painting with the unique, beautiful medium of watercolor. Experiment with color mixing, washes and glazing, creating delightful portraits of flowers and plants.
Summer landscapes have a range of green shades. There are the warm greens of mature leaves, cool dark greens in the shadows, vivid greens of water-lily pads—endless variations of green. The ability to mix lots of green from only a few paints will give you flexibility in your artwork. The instructor will briefly discuss color theory and how to enhance a color by choosing the colors around it, taking into account pigment properties like transparency and granulation. Students will then paint a summer landscape, working from photos.
Paint beautiful, spacious, landscape watercolors using soft colors and shapes in the distance and crisp vivid colors in the detailed foregrounds. The instructor will teach atmospheric perspective, strategic use of warm and cool colors, selective use of detail and overlapping shapes and ways to create the illusion of depth. In-class demonstration will help students develop techniques such as washes, glazing colors, and brushwork for details. Class will take place outside in the Garden, weather permitting.
This class offers an in-depth examination of cultural management practices to support plant health and biodiversity in urban gardens. Learn how to identify major insect orders and plant pathogens, and how to apply Integrated Pest Management strategies to effectively address pest and disease problems. Through scouting walks on BBG grounds, students will have the opportunity to practice identifying signs and symptoms of plant pests and diseases.
Woody plants—including shade trees, ornamental trees, and evergreen and deciduous shrubs—form the backbone of a well-planned landscape design. This course will help you master the identification and uses of many woody plants found in urban landscapes.
Herbaceous plants accentuate other features in the landscape, and when used effectively, they can provide almost year-round interest. Learn identification methods and landscape uses of perennials and annuals commonly used in the urban landscape, including native plants. The class will identify and view plant characteristics during sessions on BBG grounds.
An in-class exam will be administered during the last session. Attendance is mandatory.
Kevin Pace is a Brooklyn-based horticulture professional with over seven years’ experience working in greenspaces in New York City and the tri-state area. He is currently an arborist at the Trust for Governors Island and has worked seasonally at the Battery Park City Authority. Pace holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Connecticut, a Certificate in Horticulture from the New York Botanical Garden, and an ISA Arborist Certification, and has expertise in garden design, establishment, and maintenance; Invasive Plate Management; and Arboriculture.
Healthy soil is the foundation for a healthy garden ecosystem and abundant crops. In this course, learn about soil’s contents and physical and chemical properties, soil fertility management, and soil cultivation techniques. Gain an understanding of soil improvement practices—including composting, cover cropping, soil testing, and mulching. The instructor will share videos and activities for hands-on learning and facilitate group discussion to share experiences and grow our knowledge and understanding of soil.
Zoom: 6 Thursdays: May 7, 14, 21, 28; June 4, 11 | 6–8:30 p.m. At BBG: 1 Saturday, May 30 | 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
A strong foundation in botany is essential to understanding how to maintain a healthy landscape. This course includes discussions on plant anatomy, plant life cycles and reproduction, taxonomy, and plant physiology. This course requires no previous knowledge of botany and is recommended as a first course in the Certificate in Horticulture program.
2015 Residential Category Winners 1st Place Bainbridge Street Homeowners and Tenants Block Association Bedford-Stuyvesant 2nd Place 300 East 25th Street Block Association Flatbush 3rd Place The E. 49th & E. 48th Street Block Association East Flatbush 2015 Commercial Category Winners 1st Place…
In 1990 the Garden embarked on the New York Metropolitan Flora project (NYMF), a multiyear effort to document the flora in all counties within a 50-mile radius of New York City, including all of Long Island, southeastern New York State, northern New Jersey and Fairfield County, Connecticut.
All Brooklyn community gardens are invited to join the Community Garden Alliance. The Alliance’s focus is on promoting sustainable gardening practices to support healthy communities of people, plants, and wildlife. It facilitates skill sharing between gardens through workshops and seasonal gatherings and offers an avenue for communication and learning, where…
Charles Wilson cowrote, with Eric Schlosser, Chew on This: Everything You Don’t Want to Know About Fast Food (Houghton Mifflin, 2006). He lives in New York City.
Bill Shank was the cofounder (in 1984) and first president of the Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons, in Bridgehampton, New York. He is currently vice-president/deputy garden editor of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. In addition, he serves both on the Garden Committee of Wave Hill and on the Board of the…
David Slawson is one of the most sought-after designers of public and private Japanese gardens in the United States. His Secret Teachings in the Art of Japanese Gardens is one of the most influential books on the subject. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
Tina Marie Wilcox has been the head gardener and herbalist at the Ozark Folk Center’s Heritage Herb Garden in Mountain View, Arkansas, since 1984. She tends the extensive gardens, plans and coordinates annual herbal events and workshops, and facilitates the production and sale of plants, seeds, and herbal products for…
Holly Shimizu is the executive director of the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., and former managing director of the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, near Richmond, Virginia. She contributed to the BBG handbook Gourmet Herbs (2001), served as editorial consultant on the Eyewitness handbook Herbs, and was a coauthor of…
Deirdre Larkin is a horticulturist and historian with a special interest in the use of historical techniques in restored and re-created gardens. She worked for ten years in the gardens of the Cloisters branch of the Metropolitan Museum, in New York City, where she continues to lecture on plants and…
Brooklyn Botanic Garden promotes urban greening through education, conservation, and creative partnerships. By working with block associations, community gardens, and other service groups, the Garden is building a vibrant network of people, places, and projects dedicated to making Brooklyn a greener place. For more information, contact [email protected] or call 718-623-7250.…
Tom Burford is an orchard and nursery consultant specializing in restoration, re-creation, and design at historic sites and private estates. He is the author of Apples: A Catalog of International Varieties (1991, 1998), a reference work on hundreds of apples, and has written manuals on grafting, orchard design, and fruit-tree…
Tim Hensley runs Urban Homestead in Bristol, Virginia, a mail-order nursery specializing in antique apples. The father of eight children, he has written for a variety of publications including Mother Earth News , Grit , Highlights for Children , Fine Gardening , Homelife , Old-House Journal , and Smithsonian .
Ian A. Merwin is a pomologist at Cornell University, where his current research projects include screening apple rootstocks for resistance to soil-borne diseases; integrated pest management systems for orchard weeds; collecting germplasm of European bittersweet cider apples; and molecular fingerprinting techniques to study soil microbial populations in the apple tree…
Doug Dudgeon is the assistant horticulturist at the Dawes Arboretum in Newark, Ohio. For nearly 14 years, until early 1999, he worked at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, where he was in charge of the chile pepper collection, the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, the Fragrance Garden, and the Shakespeare Garden.
Louisa Jones is a Canadian-born writer who has lived and gardened in Provence, France, since 1975. She is the author of Gardens of Provence ; Provence: A Country Almanac ; Art of French Vegetable Gardening , and The World of French Vegetable Gardens .
Dr. Cathy Donaldson started her first wildflower garden in the tenth grade. While studying for the state biology exam, she asked her teacher, “What is a Solomon’s seal?” The next day her teacher brought in a bare-root Solomon’s seal to show her that the basis for the plant name was…
Stephen W. Kress is director of the National Audubon Society’s Seabird Restoration Program and manager of the Society’s Maine coast seabird sanctuaries. He teaches field ornithology at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, where he is a research associate. He is author of The Audubon Society Bird Garden, The Audubon Society…
Robert Newgarden is a former gardener at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. He tended the Cashew Plant Family and other plant families in the Plant Family Collection. He also cared for the Herb Garden.
Stephanie Cohen teaches at Temple University, Ambler and is founding director of the arboretum there. She is that author of The Perennial Gardener’s Design Primer .
David Horak has been growing orchids for more than 30 years. He is a former gardener of orchids and the Robert W. Wilson Aquatic House at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Susanne Lucas is a freelance horticultural consultant, garden designer, and landscape gardener. She has encountered many plants, but it is her passion for bamboos that has endured. Over ten years ago she set out to grow only the most cold hardy bamboos in her garden in coastal Massachusetts and continues…
Julia Solarz is the editor of DIG, an award-winning bimonthly gardening magazine, published by the nursery Hortus in Pasadena, California. She grows potted cacti and succulents year-round in the courtyard of her Spanish-style, Hollywood Hills home, where the mild climate allows for such a luxury.
Brent and Becky Heath are garden educators who own and operate “Brent and Becky’s Bulbs,” a wholesale/retail catalogue and web-site flower-bulb business in Gloucester, Virginia. They distribute all types of bulbs to gardeners, cities, universities, and botanical gardens throughout the United States. Daffodil hybridizers, Brent and Becky are co-authors of…
Panayoti Kelaidis is a plant exlorer, gardener, and public garden admninistrator at Denver Botanic Gardens, where he is now director of outreach. He began his career at the garden in 1980 as curator of the rock alpine garden, where he designed and oversaw the initial plantings of the now extensive…
Ellen Zachos is a Harvard graduate and received her Certificate in Horticulture from the New York Botanical Garden. She specializes in tropical plants and has restored several greenhouses in the New York City area, which she now maintains for her clients. Her company, Acme Plant Stuff, installs and maintains commercial…
Andrew Bunting is the curator of the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College, in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, and the owner of Fine Garden Creations, a garden design and installation business. Each year he teaches a six-week course on ornamental vines at Longwood Gardens , in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
to Eastern Parkway—Brooklyn Museum for 150 Eastern Parkway and 990 Washington Avenue entrances
to Franklin Avenue (no elevator) for 990 Washington Avenue and 150 Eastern Parkway entrances
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