Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s annual spring conference Making Brooklyn Bloom is offered free to community gardeners and the broader public with exhibits, workshops, networking opportunities, and speakers focusing on sustainable horticulture. This year’s conference theme, “Hello Brooklyn! Neighbors in Nature,” highlights BBG’s community greening programs, particularly the Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2026. Participate in workshops, enjoy tours and talks, and network with NYC greening organizations at a conference that has brought Brooklyn nature-lovers together for over 40 years. Conference tickets are required for all attendees. This free ticket provides admission to the Garden and conference.
Registration opens March 2 for morning sessions—including workshops, talks, and tours—and the keynote address and is online only. Limited spots; no on-site registration. Registration details will be emailed to ticketholders. Afternoon sessions do not require registration and are first come, first served on event day.
ASL available at all Auditorium talks; reserved seating areas for ASL users and those with limited mobility at front of Auditorium. If you need further assistance or require any other accommodations to participate fully,
please reach out to us by February 28 at
[email protected] or 718-623-7250.
In the Wilbur A. Levin Keynote Address, Kofi Thomas—community gardener, public speaker, and comedian—explores the lessons that nature can teach us about resilience, interdependence, and harmony within community. “I believe we can fight for the land and for each other with a smile... as long as we look to nature for the lessons that teach us how to care for one another,” says Thomas. “In fact, without the principles embodied in our gardens, there would be no community.”
Snacks and lunches are available for purchase in the Palm House.
Classrooms
Conservatory, lower levelHello, Brooklyn! Neighbors in Nature
Wilbur A. Levin Keynote Address
Radical Joy and Resistance
Kofi Thomas, Community Builder, Good Life Garden & The People’s Garden
Schedule
Open Activities and Tabling
Palm House
Rotunda
Conservatory, Lower Level
Visitor Center
Make a piece of jewelry strung with Job’s tears seeds.
Create a painting using ink from chàkinkwèm (Lenape for pokeweed) berries and other native plants, with Native Roots Farm Foundation.
Limited space available.
Morning Workshops, Talks & Tours
Online pre-registration required; opens March 2.
Lunch
Bring-Your-Lunch Breakout Sessions
Join a conversation about Composting, Community Gardening, School Gardening, or Street Tree Stewardship.Bring-Your-Lunch Zones
Look for signage for areas to sit, eat your lunch, and chat with fellow attendees.
Keynote
Wilbur A. Levin Keynote Address: “Radical Joy and Resistance”(online pre-registration required; opens March 2)
Auditorium
Presented by Kofi Thomas, Community Builder, Good Life Garden & The People’s Garden
Afternoon Workshops, Talks & Tours
First come, first served.See descriptions below.
Sessions: Talks, Workshops & Tours
- Workshops & tours repeat at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. There are different auditorium talks in the morning and the afternoon. See descriptions below.
- Registration opens March 2 for morning sessions and keynote registration and is online only. Limited seats; no on-site registration. Ticketholders will be notified when registration opens and and a link will be added here.
- Afternoon sessions are first come, first served on event day; no registration.
Auditorium Talks
ASL interpretation will be available for all talks. Reserved seating areas for wheelchair and ASL users at front of Auditorium.
Our Insect Neighbors
11 a.m.–12 p.m.
Dr. Laura Melissa Guzman, Department of Entomology, Cornell University
Ever wondered who’s buzzing around the block? Are they friend or foe? Many insects are in decline, but cities can be safe havens for these ecologically important species. How can we support insect biodiversity? Learn some common insect IDs and find out how to engage with citizen science to support our most underappreciated and overlooked Brooklynites. Online pre-registration required; opens March 2.
Keynote: Radical Joy and Resistance
1:30–2:45 p.m.
Kofi Thomas, Community Builder, Good Life Garden & The People’s Garden
In the Wilbur A. Levin Keynote Address, Thomas explores the lessons that nature can teach us about resilience, interdependence, and harmony within community. Learn about the importance of reflecting on what nature has to offer us when we consider how to care for one another, and our ourselves. Online pre-registration required; opens March 2.
Bananas of the World
3–4 p.m.
Anthony Basil Rodriguez, Ethnobotanist
Bananas are deeply intertwined with human history, yet preserving the biodiversity of this iconic plant faces vast challenges. Come on a photographic journey through an ethnobotanist’s fieldwork around the globe. At the intersection of art and botany, delve into the scientific and cultural significance of this food staple, exploring bananas’ role in local traditions, biodiversity, and ecosystems.
Workshops
Each workshop runs twice, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. & 3–4 p.m. Morning workshops require online pre-registration; opens March 2.
Beginning With a Seed
Greenhouse 2
Joanne D’Auria, HortAbility
A great workshop for beginning gardeners! Seeds hold such potential, yet what is a seed? Learn the basics of seed types, life cycles, and how seed-starting compares to other ways to propagate. Start some seeds for your garden or windowsill.
Blooming with Meaning: Flower Stories of the African Diaspora
Lily Pool Room
Maya Marie S., Deep Routes
Flowers have been connecting communities and neighbors together for centuries, epecially the people of the African diaspora. Join us as we share some of these diasporic stories, explore Black florists’ contributions to New York’s flower scene, and learn the origins of a selection of beloved flowers. Take home a flower start and seeds.
Community Gardens: Telling Our Stories
Room 123
Hiroko Neely, The Amazing Garden
Whether for posterity or for strengthening future membership, capturing the histories of Brooklyn’s community garden movement is vital work. Hear from a local independent filmmaker and community gardener who is documenting the history of Red Hook’s Amazing Garden’s history through interviews and stories shared by its founders and longtime gardeners, helping preserve their legacy for generations of neighbors to come.
Interspecies Gardening in Brooklyn
Magnolia Room
Rona Taylor, Brooklyn Urban Gardener
How can urban gardeners think more holistically about the plants, pollinators, soil microbes, and other wildlife that share our garden spaces? How can we successfully navigate city bureaucracy and funding sources to make these holistic projects come to life. Hear from a local community activist seeking to do just that in a Brooklyn park and playground space.
Seed Saving
Greenhouse 3
Scott Thomas, Wyckoff House Museum
Saving seeds and their stories is essential to preserving our past and safeguarding our future. Explore the science and practice of collecting and storing many kinds of seed. Take home some seeds to try.
Street Tree Habitats
Room 236
Kara Lesondak & Debra Sweet, Crown Heights Keepers
We know that street tree beds can be the most challenging urban spaces in which to garden. Can we actually transform them into havens for locally evolved plants and pollinators? Yes, we can! Learn how from the reigning 2025 Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest residential champions.
Vermicomposting at Home
Room 125
Jean Lewis-Laldee, Brooklyn Urban Garden
Compost happens—even in a tiny Brooklyn apartment! Learn how to harness the power of red worms to convert your kitchen scraps into black gold, no matter where you live.
Special Tours
Join an indoor or outdoor tour with BBG volunteers and staff. Each tour repeats at 11 a.m. & 3 p.m. Morning tours require online pre-registration; opens March 2.
Gardening in Shade Tour: Lessons from the Woodland Garden
Outdoors; meet at the Visitor Center staircase
Ivan Gilbert, BBG
Every urban gardener has a challenging spot of dry shade, often under a tree. Woodland ecosystems have much to teach us. Tour BBG’s shady Elizabeth Scholtz Woodland Garden—led by the gardener himself —for some planting inspiration this season. Weather permitting.
Lichen Tour of BBG
Outdoors; meet at the Lily Pool Terrace staircase
Isabella Array, BBG
When did you first notice a lichen—the living things that grow on the surface of trees and stones? Take a journey to understand and identify the lichens around us and gain a deeper appreciation for these marvelous lifeforms.
Weather permitting.
Our Changing Climate Tour of the Conservatory
Indoors; Steinhardt Conservatory, upper level
BBG Garden Guide
From green algae to plants, our photosynthesizing neighbors have adapted to climates all over the world for billions of years. Taking inspiration from the planet’s biodiversity, visit the Trail of Plant Evolution, Aquatic House, and Tropical Pavilion. Explore the carbon cycle and learn the importance of conserving tropical forests and wetlands.
This tour is 40 minutes.
Support
Brooklyn Botanic Garden gratefully acknowledges support for this program from the Family of Wilbur A. Levin, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the NYS Assembly, the NYS Senate, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NYC Department of Sanitation, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, and the NYC Council.
Leadership Support, Community Greening Programs
Major Sponsor, Making Brooklyn Bloom
