Nature creates incredible beauty with fragrant flowers, unusual plants, colorful trees and unique green shrubs. Combined with the talent and work of man, it creates unsurpassed projects – botanical gardens that attract new visitors every time. In such places, everyone can enjoy the chirping of birds, the scent of flowers, tranquility and harmony. It’s a unique opportunity to lose yourself in the beauty of nature and escape from the noise of the metropolis. Moreover, it is not only a rest for the soul amidst natural beauty but also an opportunity to see a unique collection of diverse and unique species of plants and flowers. Such green treasure troves adorn various big and small cities on the planet.
America’s popular travel magazine, Travel + Leisure, has repeatedly highlighted the world’s most vibrant botanical gardens in its pages. Among the best are the botanical reserves of the United States, France, Great Britain, Australia, Pakistan, Argentina, Singapore and Italy. The green riches of these countries strike not only with their scale, perfect compositions and ancient architectural structures but also with their creative landscape designs.
New Yorkers are truly fortunate, as this bustling metropolis offers the opportunity to hide among the natural beauty and enjoy the tranquility of picturesque botanical gardens and squares. There are quite a few of them, so let’s find out a little more about them at new-york.name.
New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx
Deep in the borough of the Bronx, there is a place where the incessant hum of New York City disappears. The Bronx River runs along the edge of an old-growth forest, where birds sing among the massive maples, oaks and chestnut trees that have stood undisturbed since the American Revolution. Sounds like an urban myth? This place really exists, tucked away in the New York Botanical Garden.
In the late 19th century, the famous American botanist Nathaniel Lord Britton and his wife, Elizabeth Gertrude Knight, visited Kew Gardens outside London. The Royal Botanical Gardens so impressed the couple that they decided to create the grandest botanical garden not only in the United States but in the world.
After arriving home, they quickly found a suitable place on the northern edge of the Bronx park. It had previously been the estate of the Lorillard family, who owned the largest tobacco production in the country. In 1891, the New York Botanical Garden was founded under the direction of scientist Nathaniel Lord Britton.
This National Historic Landmark covers 250 acres and contains over one million plants of tropical, desert and temperate flora. In addition, several historic buildings have been well integrated into the garden area.
In late 1899, the garden marked the beginning of the LuEsther T. Mertz Library, which has become one of the largest botanical libraries in the United States, with a collection of over seven million plants. Then came other educational and research centers and laboratories where botany and ecology are actively studied.
A striking feature of the garden is the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, built in 1902, which houses collections of plants from different climatic zones from all corners of the globe.
The uniqueness of the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx
The vast space of the garden is divided into fifty separate areas. These areas include a rose garden with 4,000 plants, a century-old collection of conifers and a 50-acre, old-growth natural forest, the largest of its kind, lost in the maze of New York City streets and buildings.
It’s a great escape for adults and young visitors alike. The Everett Children’s Adventure Garden is organized for children, where young naturalists can explore a variety of flowers and plants under a microscope, get lost in mazes, or test their climbing skills. The Garden Families programs are perfect for family recreation, where parents and children are actively involved in gardening activities such as sprouting seeds, digging beds and planting different plants.
The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx is available for visits all year round. With such a diverse collection of plants, you are sure to find the ones that you will fall in love with forever.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
For over a hundred years, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden has graced one of the most crowded parts of New York City. It is the most popular vacation spot, with nearly one million guests visiting each year. Back in 1897, the local authorities allocated 39 acres of land to create a beautiful green oasis for the pleasant recreation of the city’s residents. However, the Brooklyn Botanical Garden was not established until 1910. Gradually, the floral and evergreen compositions started emerging, illustrating the flora of one or another part of the world.
Every year, the garden’s administration and staff work hard to enhance the infrastructure and flora variety in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Visitors are thrilled to witness the beauty of tropical orchids, fragrant English roses, delicate tulips and lush peonies. Be sure to take a leisurely stroll through the Mexican cacti lawn, as well as admire the sakura trees’ blossoms and the incredible wisteria. By the way, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden has the most extensive collection of roses not only in New York City but throughout North America. It’s no coincidence since the rose is the city’s main symbol.
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is financed from the city budget, although most of its funds are contributions from various organizations, volunteer unions and individuals.
On the grounds, there is an educational and training center, an art gallery and a shop where you can buy seeds and various souvenirs.
Queens Botanical Garden
The very cozy, picturesque Queens Botanical Garden is located in the New York City borough of the same name. The 32-acre site features beautifully arranged compositions of flowers, evergreens and trees, including plantings of hundred-year-old oaks, maples, and cedars. Additionally, visitors can enjoy an arboretum, art gallery and souvenir shop.
The history of the origins of this garden is intriguing. It was specially created for the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Historically, the garden was located in nearby Flushing Meadows-Corona Park but was moved to its current location in 1963. Each year, the garden staff has worked to improve the flower collections, actively involving volunteer organizations and high school and college students.
It is worth noting that there is also a Farm & Compost Site operating in the park. Here, visitors and gardening enthusiasts are shown how to use compost for quality and fertile soil. In addition, an on-site farm grows organic vegetables such as tomatoes, cabbage, peppers, radishes and various types of lettuce. All produce is donated to orphanages and volunteer organizations.
The Queens Botanical Garden is managed by the local New York City authorities and is funded by various public and private sources.
It’s nice to note that admission to the garden is free to enter from November to March and only a few dollars for the rest of the year. Regular visitors always comment that it is one of the best ways to relax in the beauty of nature, where the captivating scent of flowers is subtly in the air.
Nature is an incredible creator of extraordinary beauty, with the human being the artist who skillfully and artfully cares for it. Such wonders of nature fit in perfectly with the green oases among the multitude of skyscrapers in New York City and are almost the best natural stress relief, especially when you live in a multi-million dollar metropolis.