157-768: Brooklyn Botanic Garden ( BBG ) is a botanical garden in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City . The botanical garden occupies 52 acres (21 ha) in central Brooklyn, close to Mount Prospect Park , Prospect Park , and the Brooklyn Museum . Designed by the Olmsted Brothers , BBG holds over 14,000 taxa of plants and has over 800,000 visitors each year. It includes a number of specialty gardens, plant collections, and structures. BBG hosts numerous educational programs, plant-science and conservation, and community horticulture initiatives, in addition to
314-534: A citizen of the United States , a resident of the state of New York for at least five years, and a resident of the district for at least one year prior to election. The Assembly consists of 150 members; they are each chosen from a single-member district . The New York Constitution allows the number of Senate seats to vary; as of 2014 , the Senate had 63 seats. The Assembly is headed by the speaker , while
471-409: A compost area that is maintained by interns and staff. The Herb Garden, on the western boundary, contains fruit trees, corn stalks, cabbages, and other medicinal and agricultural plants. It includes 300 herb plants, including those used to create medicines and food flavors. Interspersed with the herbs are two knot-shaped Japanese barberry and boxwood hedges. The western portion of the hedge garden
628-412: A kettle pond with dry meadow, a bog , a limestone ledge, a pine barrens , a wet meadow, and a deciduous woodland. The garden was expanded in the late 2000s and early 2010s to provide space for local plants that were shaded out by the original garden's mature canopy. The current design, by Darrel Morrison , dates to 2013. The expansion has a tallgrass prairie , dry meadow, pine barrens, kettle pond, and
785-558: A wrought iron gate for BBG's Eastern Parkway entrance in 1945, and the gate was dedicated in March 1946. By the early 1950s, Avery planned to expand BBG's children's garden by 1 acre (0.40 ha) by covering the open-cut Franklin Avenue subway line . At the time, the children's garden only had space for 250 plots, but a thousand children wanted to use the children's garden each year. BBG accommodated 1.35 million visitors annually, more than
942-712: A Shakespeare garden, which opened in May 1925. Gager announced in 1927 that BBG would create a rose garden, following a $ 10,000 donation from Walter V. Cranford (later increased to $ 15,000). The rose garden opened on May 8, 1928, and was finished that June. An anonymous donor contributed funds for a stone bridge at BBG in December 1928, replacing a wooden bridge across the botanical garden's lake. Gager announced in June 1929 that an ornamental gate designed by McKim, Mead & White would be installed at BBG's Flatbush Avenue entrance, following
1099-467: A bill. However, the veto may be overridden by the Legislature if there is a two-thirds vote in favor of overriding in each House. Furthermore, it has the power to propose New York Constitution amendments by a majority vote , and then another majority vote following an election. If so proposed, the amendment becomes valid if agreed to by the voters at a referendum . The legislature originated in
1256-474: A botanical garden in Brooklyn was included in the plans for Prospect Park , which was approved in 1859. In February 1860, a group of fifteen commissioners submitted suggestions for park locations in Brooklyn, including a 320-acre (130 ha) plot centered on present-day Mount Prospect Park and bounded by Warren Street to the north; Vanderbilt , Ninth, and Tenth Avenues to the west; Third and Ninth Streets to
1413-491: A botanical garden is defined by its scientific or academic connection, then the first true botanical gardens were established with the revival of learning that occurred in the European Renaissance . These were secular gardens attached to universities and medical schools, used as resources for teaching and research. The superintendents of these gardens were often professors of botany with international reputations,
1570-481: A botanical garden on the site. Several of the institute's donors proposed in 1905 to give $ 25,000 for the upkeep of a "scientific botanic garden" next to the Brooklyn Museum. The next year, the donors doubled this award to $ 50,000. City officials endorsed the creation of the botanical garden in 1907, and supporters of the institute donated thousands of dollars toward the botanical garden. Alfred Tredway White ,
1727-403: A department of an educational institution, it may be related to a teaching program. In any case, it exists for scientific ends and is not to be restricted or diverted by other demands. It is not merely a landscaped or ornamental garden, although it may be artistic, nor is it an experiment station or yet a park with labels on the plants. The essential element is the intention of the enterprise, which
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#17327722903721884-491: A donation from Richard Young. The next month, BBG trustee Alfred W. Jenkins donated funds for two additional stone "rustic bridges". By that October, the gate and several new bridges within BBG were nearly finished; the gate was dedicated in May 1930. During the same time, ten garden seats and eight drinking fountains were donated to BBG, and Jenkins agreed to donate a fountain and another rustic bridge in 1930, BBG awarded contracts for
2041-528: A factor that probably contributed to the creation of botany as an independent discipline rather than a descriptive adjunct to medicine. The botanical gardens of Southern Europe were associated with university faculties of medicine and were founded in Italy at Orto botanico di Pisa (1544), Orto botanico di Padova (1545), Orto Botanico di Firenze (1545), Orto Botanico dell'Università di Pavia (1558) and Orto Botanico dell'Università di Bologna (1568). Here
2198-538: A gardener and two assistants. By the mid-1980s, the botanical garden had over 600,000 annual visitors, as well as 11,000 members from around the world. BBG also had 15,000 specimens representing 2,000 species. At that time, BBG's Palm House and the adjacent wooden greenhouses had become severely deteriorated. The Celebrity Path was created in 1985 following a donation from the Brooklyn Union Gas Company . BBG announced in 1984 that it would construct
2355-469: A greater range of examples of plant growth than flowers; many kinds grow quickly; and they provide a substantial and tangible reward for a child's labor". By the 2010s, the Children's Garden attracted 1,000 youth per year. The Children's Garden continues to operate as a community garden for children and is open to Garden Apprentice Program interns and to children between 2 and 17 years of age. It also has
2512-520: A herbarium collection. The site of Brooklyn Botanic Garden was first designated in 1897, following three proposals for botanic gardens in Brooklyn in the 19th century. BBG opened in May 1911, on the site of an ash dump, and was initially operated by the Brooklyn Institute. Most of BBG's expansions were carried out over the next three decades under the tenure of its first director, C. Stuart Gager . BBG began operating three additional sites in
2669-603: A library), and a palm house dating from the 1910s. Prior to the construction of the present Brooklyn Botanic Garden, there had been three proposals for botanic gardens in the then-independent city of Brooklyn in the 19th century, though only one of these botanic gardens was ever built. André Parmentier had created the Horticultural and Botanic Garden of Brooklyn in October 1825 within Prospect Heights , on
2826-560: A million dollars per year. To attract visitors during the winter, BBG began hosting model train displays in late 1998. The Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden was renovated starting in 1999; the project was supposed to cost $ 3 million and was funded mostly by the New York City Council . The project included repainting the torii, restoring the viewing pavilion and Turtle Island, making the lower level accessible, and planting extra trees. The Japanese garden reopened in May 2000. When
2983-513: A new conservatory and restore the Palm House for $ 16 million. The city and BBG would each pay for half of the renovation. The conservatory was to be designed by Davis, Brody & Associates , who were also responsible for renovating the Palm House and Administration Building. Work on the new conservatory commenced in May 1984; it was the first major building erected in BBG since the 1910s. The conservatory replaced three smaller gardens, including
3140-538: A period of prosperity when the city was a trading centre for the Dutch East India Company . Other gardens were constructed in Brazil ( Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden , 1808), Sri Lanka ( Botanic Gardens of Peradeniya , 1821 and on a site dating back to 1371), Indonesia ( Bogor Botanical Gardens , 1817 and Kebun Raya Cibodas , 1852), and Singapore ( Singapore Botanical Gardens , 1822). These had
3297-496: A plot bounded by Sixth, Atlantic, and Carleton Avenues and Bergen Street; this garden only lasted until about 1830. Brooklyn resident Thomas Hunt granted $ 50,000 in 1855 for the establishment of a botanic garden in Sunset Park (between Fifth Avenue, 57th Street, Sixth Avenue, and 60th Street). The Hunt Horticultural and Botanical Garden sought to raise $ 150,000, but the garden was never built at that location. The third plan for
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#17327722903723454-608: A profound effect on the economy of the countries, especially in relation to the foods and medicines introduced. The importation of rubber trees to the Singapore Botanic Garden initiated the important rubber industry of the Malay Peninsula . At this time also, teak and tea were introduced to India and breadfruit , pepper and starfruit to the Caribbean. Included in the charter of these gardens
3611-573: A redesigned native wildflower garden, the Laboratory Administration Building plaza, and the overlook were completed, and the BBG Women's Auxiliary donated magnolias to the garden's Magnolia Plaza. Civil Works Administration (CWA) workers began landscaping the 2.5-acre (1.0 ha) north addition next to the Brooklyn Museum the same year. The CWA crew also constructed a new entrance to BBG from Eastern Parkway. Most of
3768-459: A research center. BBG planned to move its nursery to Westchester to make way for a 1-acre (0.40 ha) expansion of the children's garden. Workers restored BBG's paths, and added new trees and benches, in 1958 as part of a project designed by Clarence C. Combs. Local women also volunteered to cultivate the garden after BBG staff went on strike for several months in 1959. A Shinto shrine was dedicated at BBG's Japanese Garden in May 1960, replacing
3925-426: A rose garden. The Cranford Rose Garden was designed by landscape architect Harold Caparn and BBG horticulturist Montague Free. The garden originally measured 500 by 93 feet (152 by 28 m) across and contained 15 beds with 3,000 total roses, each bed being surrounded by wooden trellis panels. The varieties of roses were originally arranged in chronological order, with older varieties to the north and newer varieties to
4082-465: A shrine that vandals had burned down. The research center in Westchester was dedicated the same month. By that October, BBG had recorded 50 million all-time visitors. Takuma Paul Tono designed a replica of a stone garden at Ryōan-ji after BBG received a private donation in 1961. The stone garden, dedicated in May 1963, contained 15 granite stones of varying colors and sizes. The Native Flora Garden
4239-493: A temporary headquarters in the Brooklyn Museum while BBG was being completed. Harold Caparn was appointed as the landscape architect in 1912, serving in that position until 1945. BBG hired Cockerill & Little Co. to build the Laboratory Administration Building in January 1912 and began constructing the structure three months later. That September, the city government gave BBG an additional 3 acres (1.2 ha) of land, abutting
4396-553: A trustee of the Brooklyn Institute, leased a 40-acre (16 ha) site behind the Brooklyn Museum from the city. Although the New York City Board of Estimate approved Brooklyn Botanic Garden's creation in June 1909, it did not approve another agreement that would allow the Brooklyn Institute to maintain the botanical garden. By the end of that year, the Olmsted Brothers had been hired as landscape designers, while McKim, Mead & White had been hired as architects for
4553-457: A wide influence on both botany and horticulture, as plants poured into it from around the world. The garden's golden age came in the 18th century, when it became the world's most richly stocked botanical garden. Its seed-exchange programme was established in 1682 and still continues today. With the increase in maritime trade , ever more plants were being brought back to Europe as trophies from distant lands, and these were triumphantly displayed in
4710-541: A wooden bridge. There are over 15,000 specimens within the older Native Flora Garden and the expansion. The Cranford Rose Garden is in the northern section of BBG, between the Cherry Esplanade to the east and the Native Flora Garden to the west. It is named after Walter V. Cranford, a construction engineer whose firm built many of Brooklyn's subway tunnels, and who had donated $ 15,000 to BBG for
4867-470: A year. Historically, botanical gardens exchanged plants through the publication of seed lists (these were called Latin : Indices Seminae in the 18th century). This was a means of transferring both plants and information between botanical gardens. This system continues today, although the possibility of genetic piracy and the transmission of invasive species has received greater attention in recent times. The International Association of Botanic Gardens
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5024-444: Is fluted and is 35 feet (11 m) high, with ginkgo leaves inscribed into the pedestals of each column. There is a stone flower bed between the northern and southern pairs of columns, which originally served as a reflecting pool. The fountain is located near the southern pair of columns and is surrounded by limestone benches, which are arranged in a semicircle. The benches are nicknamed the "whispering chairs" because people sitting on
5181-466: Is a modern adaptation of a 1577 garden designed by Thomas Hill, while the eastern portion copies Hill's original design. By 2001, the Herb Garden contained seven planting beds: six are divided by function and use, while the other planting bed is for miscellaneous herbs. Botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic garden is a garden with a documented collection of living plants for
5338-488: Is closely linked to the history of botany itself. The botanical gardens of the 16th and 17th centuries were medicinal gardens, but the idea of a botanical garden changed to encompass displays of the beautiful, strange, new and sometimes economically important plant trophies being returned from the European colonies and other distant lands. Later, in the 18th century, they became more educational in function, demonstrating
5495-544: Is heated by a ground source heat pump system. At the extreme north end of BBG, just south of the Eastern Parkway entrance, is the Osborne Garden, a 3-acre (1.2 ha) Italian-style garden that features pergolas. The Osborne Garden also contains a memorial with four columns, a fountain, sinks, and seats. The columns are arranged in two pairs, one each at the northern and southern end. Each set of columns
5652-523: Is inside the Parque La Carolina is a 165.5-acre (670,000 m ) park in the centre of the Quito central business district , bordered by the avenues Río Amazonas, de los Shyris, Naciones Unidas, Eloy Alfaro, and de la República. The botanical garden of Quito is a park, a botanical garden, an arboretum and greenhouses of 18,600 square meters that is planned to increase, maintain the plants of
5809-439: Is made of concrete and glass, with a gabled copper roof , while the northern and southern facades of the visitor center are curved. The interior consists of a rectangular pavilion to the east, which houses the gift shop, and a 480-foot-long (150 m) curving pavilion to the west, with kitchens, event spaces, offices, and exhibits. The visitor center has a sloped green roof , covering 10,000 square feet (930 m). The structure
5966-581: Is near the New York City Subway 's Prospect Park station . McKim, Mead & White designed an Italian Renaissance Revival-style gate at Flatbush Avenue. The gate measures 20 feet (6.1 m) tall by 23 feet (7.0 m) wide and is made of brick and limestone. It contains three arches measuring 6.75 feet (2.06 m) deep, with a large central arch flanked by smaller entry and exit arches. Three similar arches were proposed, one on Eastern Parkway and two on Washington Avenue, but were not built. In
6123-500: Is one of the tallest hills in Brooklyn, rising 200 feet (61 m) above sea level. As a result of the Wisconsin glaciation, there were a large number of rock outcroppings on the site prior to BBG's development. The northwestern and eastern edges of the site contained outcroppings, while the rest of the site was in an overwash plain. Boulders from the site were used in the rock garden, the native flora garden, bridges and dams across
6280-719: Is one of two in New York City, the other being in Central Park . This English cottage garden has more than 80 plants that are mentioned in William Shakespeare 's plays and poems. Plants are labeled with their common, Latin and Shakespearean names, relevant quotations, and in some cases a graphic representation of the plant. Some of the specimens in BBG's Shakespeare Garden were not mentioned in Shakespeare's work but were planted because they were suited to
6437-669: Is respected worldwide for the published work of its scientists, the education of horticultural students, its public programmes, and the scientific underpinning of its horticulture. In 1728, John Bartram founded Bartram's Garden in Philadelphia , one of the continent's first botanical gardens. The garden is now managed as a historical site that includes a few original and many modern specimens as well as extensive archives and restored historical farm buildings. The large number of plants needing description were often listed in garden catalogues; and at this time Carl Linnaeus established
Brooklyn Botanic Garden - Misplaced Pages Continue
6594-1101: Is the acquisition and dissemination of botanical knowledge. A contemporary botanic garden is a strictly protected green area, where a managing organization creates landscaped gardens and holds documented collections of living plants and/or preserved plant accessions containing functional units of heredity of actual or potential value for purposes such as scientific research, education, public display, conservation, sustainable use, tourism and recreational activities, production of marketable plant-based products and services for improvement of human well-being. Worldwide, there are now about 1800 botanical gardens and arboreta in about 150 countries (mostly in temperate regions) of which about 550 are in Europe (150 of which are in Russia ), 200 in North America , and an increasing number in East Asia. These gardens attract about 300 million visitors
6751-546: Is to maintain documented collections of living plants for the purposes of scientific research, conservation, display, and education, although this will depend on the resources available and the special interests pursued at each particular garden. The staff will normally include botanists as well as gardeners. Many botanical gardens offer diploma/certificate programs in horticulture, botany and taxonomy. There are many internship opportunities offered to aspiring horticulturists. As well as opportunities for students/researchers to use
6908-679: The Consolidated Laws of New York . As of January 2021 , the Democratic Party holds supermajorities in both houses of the New York State Legislature, which is the highest paid state legislature in the country. Legislative elections are held in November of every even-numbered year. Both Assembly members and Senators serve two-year terms. In order to be a member of either house, one must be
7065-670: The Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna and Hortus Botanicus Leiden . Many plants were being collected from the Near East , especially bulbous plants from Turkey . Clusius laid the foundations of Dutch tulip breeding and the bulb industry, and he helped create one of the earliest formal botanical gardens of Europe at Leyden where his detailed planting lists have made it possible to recreate this garden near its original site. The hortus medicus of Leyden in 1601
7222-822: The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation by producing a range resources and publications, and by organizing international conferences and conservation programs. Communication also happens regionally. In the United States, there is the American Public Gardens Association (formerly the American Association of Botanic Gardens and Arboreta), and in Australasia there is the Botanic Gardens of Australia and New Zealand (BGANZ). The history of botanical gardens
7379-842: The Government Hill in Victoria City , Hong Kong Island . The Koishikawa Botanical Garden in Tokyo, with its origin going back to the Tokugawa shogunate 's ownership, became in 1877 part of the Tokyo Imperial University . In Sri Lanka major botanical gardens include the Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya (formally established in 1843), Hakgala Botanical Gardens (1861) and Henarathgoda Botanical Garden (1876). Jardín Botánico de Quito
7536-662: The New York Botanical Garden , which covers 250 acres (100 ha). As of 2015, BBG has over 14,000 plant species. Approximately 17,000 years ago the terminal moraine of the receding Wisconsin Glacier that formed Long Island , known as the Harbor Hill Moraine , established a string of hills and kettles as well as a lower lying outwash plain . Mount Prospect (or Prospect Hill), near the intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway ,
7693-557: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly . The Constitution of New York does not designate an official term for the two houses together; it says only that the state's legislative power "shall be vested in the senate and assembly". Session laws passed by the Legislature are published in the official Laws of New York . Permanent New York laws of a general nature are codified in
7850-470: The New York metropolitan area in the 1950s and 1960s, while its main garden in Brooklyn fell into decline. The original Brooklyn Botanic Garden was expanded and restored substantially starting in the 1980s, and additional structures were built through the 2010s. BBG's landscape includes many specialty gardens and a group of buildings on its eastern boundary, accessed from three entrances. A brook flows from
8007-1001: The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens , 1818; the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne , 1845; Adelaide Botanic Gardens , 1854; and Brisbane Botanic Gardens , 1855. These were established essentially as colonial gardens of economic botany and acclimatisation. The Auburn Botanical Gardens , 1977, located in Sydney's western suburbs , are one of the popular and diverse botanical gardens in the Greater Western Sydney area. Major botanical gardens in New Zealand include Dunedin Botanic Gardens , 1863; Christchurch Botanic Gardens , 1863; Ōtari-Wilton's Bush , 1926; and Wellington Botanic Gardens , 1868. Hong Kong Botanic Gardens , 1871 (renamed Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens in 1975), up from
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#17327722903728164-565: The climate of New York City . Next to the Shakespeare Garden, just north of the Laboratory Administration Building, is the Fragrance Garden. It was created by landscape architect Alice Recknagel Ireys . The Fragrance Garden was the first in the U.S. to be designed for the vision-impaired and has braille information signs for visitors with impaired vision . Visitors can rub the fragrant or pleasingly textured leaves of
8321-506: The "Father of Botany". There is some debate among science historians whether this garden was ordered and scientific enough to be considered "botanical", and suggest it more appropriate to attribute the earliest known botanical garden in Europe to the botanist and pharmacologist Antonius Castor , mentioned by Pliny the Elder in the 1st century. Though these ancient gardens shared some of
8478-408: The 16th and 17th centuries, the first plants were being imported to these major Western European gardens from Eastern Europe and nearby Asia (which provided many bulbs ), and these found a place in the new gardens, where they could be conveniently studied by the plant experts of the day. For example, Asian introductions were described by Carolus Clusius (1526–1609), who was director, in turn, of
8635-633: The 2019–2020 legislative session, the Senate Democratic Conference held 39 of the chamber's 63 seats and the Assembly Democratic Conference held 106 of the 150 seats in that chamber. The Senate Democratic Conference increased to 40 seats after Democratic senator Simcha Felder was re-accepted into the Conference. The Legislature is empowered to make law, subject to the governor's power to veto
8792-422: The 20th century, BBG could not expand beyond 52 acres (21 ha) because of space constraints. BBG initially did not charge admission. By the early 1920s, BBG had 330,000 visitors a year, including over 15,000 students from across Brooklyn. During 1921, BBG staff planted 2,000 lily bulbs within its Lily Pool Terrace, as well as thousands of daffodils and crocus bulbs. BBG also planted thousands of asters east of
8949-565: The Asian flowering cherries bloom from late March or early April to mid-May, though the many species flower at slightly different times. The original cherry trees date to 1921 when BBG planted 30 trees on the Cherry Walk. The Cherry Walk connects the pond with the Cherry Esplanade in the north-central portion of BBG. The Cherry Esplanade features two rows of tall cherry trees, as well as several rows of shorter cherry trees. There are 76 trees on
9106-685: The British and Dutch, in India , South-east Asia and the Caribbean . This was also the time of Sir Joseph Banks 's botanical collections during Captain James Cook 's circumnavigations of the planet and his explorations of Oceania , which formed the last phase of plant introduction on a grand scale. There are currently about 230 tropical botanical gardens with a concentration in southern and south-eastern Asia. The first botanical garden founded in
9263-455: The Brooklyn Museum's parking lot. This entrance contains the Diane H. and Joseph S. Steinberg Visitor Center, designed by Weiss/Manfredi, and faces the botanical garden's northeastern corner. The structure is accessed by a set of stairs, which lead to a concrete plaza with a rock garden on its northern border (abutting the Brooklyn Museum's parking lot). The visitor center's Washington Avenue facade
9420-920: The Campaign for the Next Century, BBG started to raise money for new gardens, entrances, and a visitor center. Major donors to the campaign included Charlie and Irene Hamm, the Leon Levy Foundation , the Brooklyn Community Foundation, and the Robert Wilson Charitable Trust. BBG announced in 2009 that it would build a new entrance and visitor center on its northeastern corner, at the intersection of President Street and Washington Avenue. The botanical garden also planned to construct herb, woodland, and water gardens for its centennial. The visitor center
9577-434: The Chelsea Physic Garden to the Province of Georgia in 1732 and tea into India by Calcutta Botanic Garden. The transfer of germplasm between the temperate and tropical botanical gardens was undoubtedly responsible for the range of agricultural crops currently used in several regions of the tropics. The first botanical gardens in Australia were founded early in the 19th century. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney , 1816;
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#17327722903729734-403: The Cherry Esplanade, which represent 21 varieties. There is a 7.25-foot (2.21 m)-high limestone fountain in the Cherry Esplanade, which consists of a circular limestone bowl above a 28.5-foot-wide (8.7 m) concrete water basin. The southern end of the esplanade contains the Rose Arc Pool, consisting of three beds of roses arranged in a semicircle. BBG's Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden is at
9891-409: The Christian conquest in 1085 CE. Ibn Bassal then founded a garden in Seville, most of its plants being collected on a botanical expedition that included Morocco, Persia, Sicily, and Egypt. The medical school of Montpelier was also founded by Spanish Arab physicians, and by 1250 CE, it included a physic garden, but the site was not given botanic garden status until 1593. Botanical gardens, in
10048-540: The Cranford Rose Garden as having 1,200 varieties of roses. The garden features many varieties of roses including the Knock Out rose , the Julia Child rose , and the Yellow Rose of Texas . In addition, there are numerous All-America Rose Selections , as well as roses honoring celebrities such as actors Angela Lansbury and George Burns . Brooklyn Botanic Garden has more than 200 cherry trees, representing 42 Asian species and cultivated varieties, across its Cherry Walk and Cherry Esplanade. Depending on weather conditions,
10205-434: The Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden in the north to the Water Garden in the south. BBG's other specialty gardens include rose, native flora, Shakespeare , fragrance, and children's gardens. There are also more formal landscape features such as an overlook, a celebrity path, the Osborne Garden, and a cherry esplanade. The structures include the 1980s-era Steinhardt Conservatory, the Laboratory Administration Building (which contains
10362-587: The Laboratory Administration Building. Daniel Chester French designed the Alfred Tredway White Memorial for the botanical garden in 1922 following White's death. John D. Rockefeller Jr. offered to donate $ 250,000 to BBG in 1925 on the condition that the botanical garden raise matching funds. By then, 500,000 people (including 50,000 students) visited BBG annually, and BBG gave lectures and classes to another 25,000 people per year. The same year, Ernest F. Coe donated 32 bonsai to allow BBG to establish its Bonsai Collection, and Henry C. Folger gave BBG $ 500 to establish
10519-404: The Legislature, such as the Laws of New York . The LBDC consists of two commissioners, the commissioner for administration and the commissioner for operations, each appointed jointly by the temporary president of the Senate and the speaker of the Assembly. In the 2018 elections, Democrats won control of the State Senate and increased their majority in the State Assembly. At the beginning of
10676-465: The Native Flora Garden, opened on May 13, 1911; the date was chosen to coincide with the birthday of the naturalist Carl Linnaeus . At the time, the plants had temporary labels, and work on the Palm House and laboratory had not started. By late 1911, the Brooklyn Institute was planting shrubs and trees and were curating BBG's lawn. The plantings included between 150 and 200 species of shrubs that grew within 100 miles (160 km) of Brooklyn. BBG staff used
10833-857: The Netherlands ( Hortus Botanicus Leiden , 1590; Hortus Botanicus (Amsterdam) , 1638), Germany ( Alter Botanischer Garten Tübingen , 1535; Leipzig Botanical Garden , 1580; Botanischer Garten Jena , 1586; Botanischer Garten Heidelberg , 1593; Herrenhäuser Gärten, Hanover , 1666; Botanischer Garten der Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel , 1669; Botanical Garden in Berlin , 1672), Switzerland ( Old Botanical Garden, Zürich , 1560; Basel , 1589); England ( University of Oxford Botanic Garden , 1621; Chelsea Physic Garden , 1673); Scotland ( Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh , 1670); and in France ( Jardin des plantes de Montpellier , 1593; Faculty of Medicine Garden, Paris, 1597; Jardin des Plantes , Paris, 1635), Denmark ( University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden , 1600); Sweden ( Uppsala University , 1655). During
10990-399: The Palm House and the Laboratory Administration Building in August 1915 at a projected cost of $ 150,000. The Board of Estimate approved the rock garden in March 1916, and the Laboratory Administration Building's cornerstone was laid at a groundbreaking ceremony that April. The rock garden was completed in May 1916. The same year, the third section of the Palm House was built, and contracts for
11147-445: The Palm House in 2017. In 2018, BBG announced that it would re-landscape a hill leading to the Robert W. Wilson Overlook, which was rededicated in November 2019. The Elizabeth Scholtz Woodland Garden, named in honor of BBG's former director, also opened the same year. After a high-rise tower development was announced next to BBG at 960 Franklin Avenue, BBG protested the project in 2019; the towers were canceled after city officials rejected
11304-429: The Palm House's fourth section were awarded. The Laboratory Administration Building and Palm House were nearly complete in early 1917 and were dedicated on April 19–21, 1917. The children's building was finished the same year. Caparn designed most of BBG's grounds in the botanical garden's first three decades of operation, including the Osborne Garden, Cranford Rose Garden, Magnolia Plaza, and Plant Collection. For most of
11461-743: The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1759) and Orotava Acclimatization Garden (in Spanish) , Tenerife (1788) and the Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid (1755) were set up to cultivate new species returned from expeditions to the tropics; they also helped found new tropical botanical gardens. From the 1770s, following the example of the French and Spanish , amateur collectors were supplemented by official horticultural and botanical plant hunters. These botanical gardens were boosted by
11618-607: The Royal Garden set aside as a physic garden. William Aiton (1741–1793), the first curator, was taught by garden chronicler Philip Miller of the Chelsea Physic Garden whose son Charles became first curator of the original Cambridge Botanic Garden (1762). In 1759, the "Physick Garden" was planted, and by 1767, it was claimed that "the Exotick Garden is by far the richest in Europe". Gardens such as
11775-542: The Ryōan-ji stone garden. The conservatory's $ 25 million cost included $ 3 million from Michael and Judith Steinhardt and $ 11.65 million from the city government. The Steinhardt Conservatory was named for the couple in March 1988 and opened on May 19, 1988. BBG also renovated the Palm House into an education center and event space, and it erected an education building with greenhouses, displays, and classrooms. The renovation added 80,000 square feet (7,400 m), more than doubling
11932-503: The Senate is headed by the president, a post held ex officio by the State lieutenant governor . the lieutenant governor, as president of the Senate, has only a tie-breaking " casting vote ". More often, the Senate is presided over by the temporary president, or by a senator of the majority leader's choosing. The assembly speaker and Senate majority leader control the assignment of committees and leadership positions, along with control of
12089-630: The Spanish invaders, not only with their appearance, but also because the indigenous Aztecs employed many more medicinal plants than did the classical world of Europe. Early medieval gardens in Islamic Spain resembled botanic gardens of the future, an example being the 11th-century Huerta del Rey garden of physician and author Ibn Wafid (999–1075 CE) in Toledo . This was later taken over by garden chronicler Ibn Bassal (fl. 1085 CE) until
12246-530: The United States by enacting the Field Code . The Code inspired the enactment of similar codes in 26 other states, and gave birth to the term " code pleading " for the system of civil procedure it created. The first African-American elected to the legislature was Edward A. Johnson , a Republican, in 1917. The first women elected to the legislature were Republican Ida Sammis and Democrat Mary Lilly , both in 1919. The first African-American woman elected to
12403-486: The Vatican grounds in 1447, for a garden of medicinal plants that were used to promote the teaching of botany, and this was a forerunner to the University gardens at Padua and Pisa established in the 1540s. Certainly the founding of many early botanic gardens was instigated by members of the medical profession. In the 17th century, botanical gardens began their contribution to a deeper scientific curiosity about plants. If
12560-466: The agenda in their chambers. The two are considered powerful statewide leaders and along with the governor of New York control most of the agenda of state business in New York. The Legislative Bill Drafting Commission (LBDC) aids in drafting legislation; advises as to the constitutionality, consistency or effect of proposed legislation; conducts research; and publishes and maintains the documents of
12717-632: The amount of space dedicated to displaying plants and exhibits. A gift shop opened next to the Steinhardt Conservatory in June 1989, and a discovery center sponsored by Chase Manhattan Bank opened in September 1989. Judith Zuk was named as BBG's president in 1990 after Moore resigned. Several of BBG's gardens were renovated under Zuk's tenure. The Discovery Garden opened next to the Discovery Center in September 1992, and
12874-699: The artificial brook, and pedestals for various memorial tablets. In addition to 18 boulders in the rock garden, there are six outcroppings in other parts of BBG. A brook runs across the garden from the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden in the north to the Shelby White and Leon Levy Water Garden in the south. Water from the Water Garden flowed into a storm drain prior to 2019, when the Water Conservation Project
13031-641: The benches at either end can hear each other clearly even when whispering. A staircase at the south end of the Osborne Garden descends to the Louisa Clark Spencer Lilac Collection. The Native Flora Garden, formerly the Local Flora Section, is located at BBG's northwestern corner, just southwest of the Osborne Garden. It was the first of its kind in North America. It was originally a wildflower planting but
13188-434: The botanical garden's buildings. The Board of Estimate voted on December 10, 1909, to allow the city and the Brooklyn Institute to sign a maintenance agreement for the botanical garden. New York City government and the Brooklyn Institute signed the maintenance agreement on December 28, and an endowment fund for BBG was created three days later. C. Stuart Gager was hired as BBG's first director in March 1910. At this point, BBG
13345-481: The characteristics of present-day botanical gardens, the forerunners of modern botanical gardens are generally regarded as being the medieval monastic physic gardens that originated after the decline of the Roman Empire at the time of Emperor Charlemagne (742–789 CE). These contained a hortus , a garden used mostly for vegetables, and another section set aside for specially labelled medicinal plants and this
13502-564: The city block bounded by Eastern Parkway to the north, Washington Avenue to the east, Empire Boulevard to the south, and Flatbush Avenue to the southwest. BBG shares a large city block with Brooklyn's Central Library , Mount Prospect Park , and the Brooklyn Museum to the west and north. The far southeastern corner of the block contains the Brooklyn Central Office, Bureau of Fire Communications, at 35 Empire Boulevard. BBG covers 52 acres (21 ha), making it much smaller than
13659-442: The classification systems being developed by botanists in the gardens' museums and herbaria. Botanical gardens had now become scientific collections, as botanists published their descriptions of the new exotic plants, and these were also recorded for posterity in detail by superb botanical illustrations. In this century, botanical gardens effectively dropped their medicinal function in favour of scientific and aesthetic priorities, and
13816-405: The collection for their studies. The origin of modern botanical gardens is generally traced to the appointment of botany professors to the medical faculties of universities in 16th-century Renaissance Italy, which also entailed curating a medicinal garden . However, the objectives, content, and audience of today's botanic gardens more closely resembles that of the grandiose gardens of antiquity and
13973-481: The construction of a 500-by-90-foot (152 by 27 m) plaza in front of the Laboratory Administration Building in April 1930, more than a decade after plans for the plaza had been drawn up. Gager also planned to build three other gates, an overlook, a north addition next to the Brooklyn Museum, garden seats, and plantings within the Native Flora Garden. The Japanese garden was expanded as well, reopening in 1931. In 1933,
14130-403: The country (Ecuador is among the 17 richest countries in the world in the native species, a study on this matter). The Ecuadorian flora classified, determines the existence of 17,000 species) New York State Legislature Minority caucus Minority caucus The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York :
14287-614: The early 21st century, a visitor center was added next to the Flatbush Avenue entrance. The northern entrance on Eastern Parkway is adjacent to an entrance to the New York City Subway's Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum station . Prior to 2003, it contained a decorative metal gate dating from 1946. The gate contained plaques symbolizing three major crops, namely rice, maize, and wheat. In addition, there were vertical reliefs that symbolize plant evolution. The entrance
14444-481: The educational garden of Theophrastus in the Lyceum of ancient Athens. The early concern with medicinal plants changed in the 17th century to an interest in the new plant imports from explorations outside Europe as botany gradually established its independence from medicine. In the 18th century, systems of nomenclature and classification were devised by botanists working in the herbaria and universities associated with
14601-544: The end of the 18th century, Kew, under the directorship of Sir Joseph Banks , enjoyed a golden age of plant hunting, sending out collectors to the South African Cape , Australia , Chile , China , Ceylon , Brazil , and elsewhere, and acting as "the great botanical exchange house of the British Empire ". From its earliest days to the present, Kew has in many ways exemplified botanic garden ideals, and
14758-497: The entrance to the Brooklyn Museum was rebuilt in 2002, some of BBG's cherry trees had to be cut down. The entrance on Eastern Parkway was rebuilt in 2003 at a cost of $ 2.5 million. The previous entrance had been too narrow and was set back from the street, making it difficult for visitors to see the entrance. The new entrance opened in 2005. After Zuk retired in 2005, the Magnolia Plaza was named in her honor, and Scot Medbury
14915-525: The fact that Tokyo is a sister city of New York City . The brook from this garden leads through several other parts of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, terminating at the Water Garden. The shrine and viewing pavilion were both rebuilt in the 1960s after burning down. The Japanese Garden was renamed the Oriental Garden during World War II and restored in 1950 following an extended wartime closure. The Japanese Garden's 2000 restoration, costing $ 3 million,
15072-424: The first time in its history. The change was attributed to the fact that BBG's annual operating budget had come to exceed $ 2 million, a two-thirds increase from the $ 1.2 million budget in 1970, but the city had committed to funding a smaller portion of BBG's expenses. BBG had 800,000 annual visitors by the late 1970s; although this was half the number of visitors that the garden had recorded in the mid-20th century, BBG
15229-456: The flora being sent back to Europe from various European colonies around the globe . At this time, British horticulturalists were importing many woody plants from Britain's colonies in North America , and the popularity of horticulture had increased enormously, encouraged by the horticultural and botanical collecting expeditions overseas fostered by the directorship of Sir William Jackson Hooker and his keen interest in economic botany . At
15386-474: The garden are wooden bridges, stone lanterns , a viewing pavilion, a torii (gateway), and a Shinto shrine. The pond is filled with hundreds of Japanese koi fish that visitors can view at the torii or along the garden's trail. The center of the pond contains Turtle Island, a small rock that contains a granite lantern. There is also a Japanese temple dedicated to Inari , the fox kami . A 10-foot-high (3.0 m) shogun lantern, installed in 1980, celebrates
15543-434: The gardens, these systems often being displayed in the gardens as educational "order beds ". With the rapid expansion of European colonies around the globe in the late 18th century, botanic gardens were established in the tropics, and economic botany became a focus with the hub at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew , near London. Over the years, botanical gardens, as cultural and scientific organisations, have responded to
15700-414: The institute's director Franklin W. Hooper requested the same month that more land be allocated to BBG. McKim, Mead & White had completed plans for two wings of the Palm House and the first part of the Laboratory Administration Building that March. The next month, the institute decided to build only one part of the Palm House, as the botanical garden only had a $ 50,000 budget. The first section of BBG,
15857-488: The interests of botany and horticulture . Nowadays, most botanical gardens display a mix of the themes mentioned and more; having a strong connection with the general public, there is the opportunity to provide visitors with information relating to the environmental issues being faced at the start of the 21st century, especially those relating to plant conservation and sustainability . The "New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening" (1999) points out that among
16014-616: The larger New York Botanical Garden did, but received less funding from the city. The Women's Auxiliary proposed creating a "garden of fragrance" at BBG in May 1954; the project was inspired by a British garden for the blind. Construction of the 1.5-acre (6,100 m) garden, located just north of the Laboratory Administration Building, began in October 1954. The fragrance garden was dedicated in June 1955. Elizabeth Van Brunt sold 223 acres (90 ha) of forest at Kitchawan in Westchester County, New York , to BBG in 1956 for use as
16171-599: The latest plant classification systems devised by botanists working in the associated herbaria as they tried to order these new treasures. Then, in the 19th and 20th centuries, the trend was towards a combination of specialist and eclectic collections demonstrating many aspects of both horticulture and botany. The idea of "scientific" gardens used specifically for the study of plants dates back to antiquity. Near-eastern royal gardens set aside for economic use or display and containing at least some plants gained by special collecting trips or military campaigns abroad, are known from
16328-577: The legislature was Bessie A. Buchanan in 1955. Five assemblymen were expelled in 1920 for belonging to the Socialist Party . In 2008, when the U.S. Supreme Court reluctantly affirmed the constitutionality of a statute enacted by the New York legislature, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in a concurring opinion : "[A]s I recall my esteemed former colleague, Thurgood Marshall , remarking on numerous occasions: 'The Constitution does not prohibit legislatures from enacting stupid laws. ' " There
16485-508: The modern sense, developed from physic gardens , whose main purpose was to cultivate herbs for medical use as well as research and experimentation. Such gardens have a long history. In Europe, for example, Aristotle (384 BCE – 322 BCE) is said to have had a physic garden in the Lyceum at Athens, which was used for educational purposes and for the study of botany, and this was inherited, or possibly set up, by his pupil Theophrastus ,
16642-471: The museum and reservoir. Workers began constructing the second section of the Palm House and landscaping the northern section of the botanical garden in early 1913. The completion of the Laboratory Administration Building was postponed because of difficulties in obtaining roof tiles and structural steel. The first portions of the Laboratory Administration Building and the Palm House were being completed by mid-1913, and these structures opened in December 1913. At
16799-494: The neighborhood. The building's developer Bruce Eichner threatened to cancel the project following opposition from BBG and local residents, but he then proposed a modified plan following negotiations with BBG and city officials. Brooklyn Botanic Garden is in the central part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn , on the border of the Park Slope , Prospect Heights , and Crown Heights neighborhoods. It occupies much of
16956-469: The north addition was completed in 1935, when BBG had 1.35 million annual visitors. Afterward, BBG staff planted a formal garden along the north addition; a "wall garden" next to Mount Prospect Park; and an herb garden. Mrs. Walter V. Cranford donated a Rose Arc Pool to BBG in 1936. BBG's Japanese shrine burned down in January 1938; the herb garden at the northeast corner of BBG, planted by the Women's Auxiliary,
17113-466: The northeast corner, east of the Cherry Esplanade. It was one of the first Japanese gardens to be created in an American botanic garden, and reportedly the first one to be accessible free of charge. It was constructed for $ 13,000, a gift of early BBG benefactor and trustee Alfred Tredway White . The garden was created by Japanese landscape designer Takeo Shiota . Shiota never fully documented his design before his death in 1943, and various renovations over
17270-447: The original garden in Brooklyn only employed seven full-time instructors and some part-time instructors. The Ryōan-ji stone garden, which had been closed for several years because of a lack of funds, reopened in 1973. BBG split from the Brooklyn Institute during the 1970s. The Women's Auxiliary of BBG launched a docent program, Volunteer Garden Guide, in 1974. Continuing financial problems forced BBG to close on Mondays starting in 1975 for
17427-724: The physicians (referred to in English as apothecaries ) delivered lectures on the Mediterranean "simples" or " officinals " that were being cultivated in the grounds. Student education was no doubt stimulated by the relatively recent advent of printing and the publication of the first herbals. All of these botanical gardens still exist, mostly in their original locations. The tradition of these Italian gardens passed into Spain Botanical Garden of Valencia , 1567) and Northern Europe , where similar gardens were established in
17584-401: The plants between their fingers. There are four themed sections in the garden; plants to touch, plants with scented leaves, plants with fragrant flowers, and kitchen herbs. The garden is wheelchair-accessible, and all planting beds are high enough for people in wheelchairs to touch. There is also a fountain that is used as a washbasin. The Children's Garden, at the southeastern corner, is one of
17741-447: The private estates of the wealthy, in commercial nurseries , and in the public botanical gardens. Heated conservatories called " orangeries ", such as the one at Kew, became a feature of many botanical gardens. Industrial expansion in Europe and North America resulted in new building skills, so plants sensitive to cold were kept over winter in progressively elaborate and expensive heated conservatories and glasshouses. The 18th century
17898-493: The project. BBG was closed temporarily from March to August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City . Former city parks commissioner Adrian Benepe was selected as BBG's eighth president in late 2020, after Medbury resigned. The retailer Anthropologie opened a Terrain home-and-garden store at BBG in 2024. A 14-story apartment building east of BBG was again proposed in the 2020s, amid an affordable-housing shortage in
18055-557: The public for the purposes of recreation, education and research." The term tends to be used somewhat differently in different parts of the world. For example a large woodland garden with a good collection of rhododendron and other flowering tree and shrub species is very likely to present itself as a "botanical garden" if it is located in the US, but very unlikely to do so if in the UK (unless it also contains other relevant features). Very few of
18212-454: The public, and may offer guided tours, public programming such as workshops, courses, educational displays, art exhibitions , book rooms, open-air theatrical and musical performances, and other entertainment. Botanical gardens are often run by universities or other scientific research organizations, and often have associated herbaria and research programmes in plant taxonomy or some other aspect of botanical science. In principle, their role
18369-551: The purpose of scientific research, conservation, display, and education. It is their mandate as a botanical garden that plants are labelled with their botanical names . It may contain specialist plant collections such as cacti and other succulent plants , herb gardens , plants from particular parts of the world, and so on; there may be glasshouses or shadehouses , again with special collections such as tropical plants , alpine plants , or other exotic plants that are not native to that region. Most are at least partly open to
18526-824: The purposes of scientific research, conservation, display and education." The following definition was produced by staff of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium of Cornell University in 1976. It covers in some detail the many functions and activities generally associated with botanical gardens: A botanical garden is a controlled and staffed institution for the maintenance of a living collection of plants under scientific management for purposes of education and research, together with such libraries, herbaria, laboratories, and museums as are essential to its particular undertakings. Each botanical garden naturally develops its own special fields of interests depending on its personnel, location, extent, available funds, and
18683-620: The revolutionary New York Provincial Congress , assembled by rebels when the New York General Assembly would not send delegates to the Continental Congress . The New York State Legislature has had several corruption scandals during its existence. These include the Black Horse Cavalry and Canal Ring . In the 1840s, New York launched the first great wave of civil procedure reform in
18840-544: The rubber plant was introduced to Singapore. Especially in the tropics, the larger gardens were frequently associated with a herbarium and museum of economy. The Botanical Garden of Peradeniya had considerable influence on the development of agriculture in Ceylon where the Para rubber tree ( Hevea brasiliensis ) was introduced from Kew, which had itself imported the plant from South America . Other examples include cotton from
18997-743: The second millennium BCE in ancient Egypt , Mesopotamia , Crete , Mexico and China . In about 2800 BCE, the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung sent collectors to distant regions searching for plants with economic or medicinal value. It has also been suggested that the Spanish colonization of Mesoamerica influenced the history of the botanical garden as gardens in Tenochtitlan established by king Nezahualcoyotl , also gardens in Chalco (altépetl) and elsewhere, greatly impressed
19154-428: The sites used for the UK's dispersed National Plant Collection , usually holding large collections of a particular taxonomic group, would call themselves "botanic gardens". This has been further reduced by Botanic Gardens Conservation International to the following definition which "encompasses the spirit of a true botanic garden": "A botanic garden is an institution holding documented collections of living plants for
19311-500: The south. There was also a pavilion and a pergola, as well as a triangle south of the pavilion with space for historical roses. During the late 20th century, it was the United States' third-largest rose garden that was open to the public. At the time, the Cranford Rose Garden had 5,000 bushes, representing 900 varieties. Many of the original plants were still in the garden in the early 21st century. A 2001 guidebook cited
19468-564: The south; and Washington Avenue to the east. Egbert Viele began drawing plans for the park, which was to straddle Flatbush Avenue and include Prospect Hill and the land now occupied by the Brooklyn Public Library , Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the Brooklyn Museum . The botanical garden was initially planned to be located along the shores of the park's lake. The onset of the Civil War stopped further activity; following
19625-475: The surrounding area. BBG had an average of 5,000 daily visitors by the late 1960s. Avery served as BBG's director until 1969, and Louis B. Martin briefly served as BBG's third director for the next two years, until the beginning of 1972. As early as 1971, the city considered allowing the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to charge admission. Elizabeth Scholtz , BBG's assistant curator of instruction,
19782-404: The system of binomial nomenclature which greatly facilitated the listing process. Names of plants were authenticated by dried plant specimens mounted on card (a hortus siccus or garden of dried plants) that were stored in buildings called herbaria , these taxonomic research institutions being frequently associated with the botanical gardens, many of which by then had "order beds" to display
19939-417: The term "botanic garden" came to be more closely associated with the herbarium, library (and later laboratories) housed there than with the living collections – on which little research was undertaken. The late 18th and early 19th centuries were marked by the establishment of tropical botanical gardens as a tool of colonial expansion (for trade and commerce and, secondarily, science) mainly by
20096-401: The terms of its charter. It may include greenhouses, test grounds, an herbarium, an arboretum, and other departments. It maintains a scientific as well as a plant-growing staff, and publication is one of its major modes of expression. This broad outline is then expanded: The botanic garden may be an independent institution, a governmental operation, or affiliated to a college or university. If
20253-552: The time, the Palm House had about 250 specimens from 140 species. Dirt from the Brooklyn Botanical Garden was used to flatten land in Prospect Park, and workers also landscaped BBG's watercourses and laid out paths. The ongoing work forced officials to close off about two-thirds of the botanical garden's area to the public. BBG launched a children's garden in 1914, which was one of the first of its kind in
20410-847: The tropics was the Pamplemousses Botanical Garden in Mauritius , established in 1735 to provide food for ships using the port, but later trialling and distributing many plants of economic importance. This was followed by the West Indies ( Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Botanic Gardens , 1764) and in 1786 by the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanical Garden in Calcutta , India founded during
20567-519: The various kinds of organizations known as botanical gardens, there are many that are in modern times public gardens with little scientific activity, and it cited a tighter definition published by the World Wildlife Fund and IUCN when launching the "Botanic Gardens Conservation Strategy" in 1989: "A botanic garden is a garden containing scientifically ordered and maintained collections of plants, usually documented and labelled, and open to
20724-480: The viewing pavilion in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden was renovated in 1993 as part of a larger $ 1.5 million rehabilitation of the Japanese garden. In 1996, the garden began charging admission of $ 3 per adult after cuts in public and private funding and increases in operating costs. Community groups objected that the admission fee would negatively impact local residents, but Zuk said the fee would raise at least half
20881-551: The war, the triangle of land to the east of Flatbush Avenue was excluded from the park. The botanical garden within Prospect Park was not built. The northeast portion of the triangle served as an ash dump until just before Brooklyn Botanic Garden was established. On May 18, 1897, as the city moved toward consolidation , the New York State Legislature reserved 39 acres (16 ha) for a botanic garden. The site became part of Institute Park in 1902. The garden
21038-444: The world's oldest children's gardens, as well as the oldest in the U.S. It was founded by BBG educator Ellen Eddy Shaw and was initially divided into plots measuring 8 by 10 ft (2.4 by 3.0 m) or 10 by 12 ft (3.0 by 3.7 m). The Children's Garden has historically taught 200 to 300 children per season. Youth grow vegetables rather than flowers. A BBG staff member quoted in 1971 said that "a variety of vegetables provides
21195-420: The world. By the end of that year, workers were constructing a Japanese garden and a rock garden. BBG's Japanese garden opened on the northeastern corner of the grounds in June 1915, next to the lake. At that time, BBG started admitting visitors every day of the week; the grounds had been closed during the previous year because workers were regrading the paths. McKim, Mead & White filed plans for expansions of
21352-529: The years have modified Shiota's original plans for the Japanese Garden. The 3-acre (1.2 ha) garden contains three man-made hills signifying earth, heaven, and humanity; an artificial waterfall and island, and rocks. The garden also contains a curved pond; although it is commonly cited as being shaped after the Chinese character for "heart", the pond predates BBG. Among the architectural elements of
21509-439: Was a perfect square divided into quarters for the four continents, but by 1720, though, it was a rambling system of beds, struggling to contain the novelties rushing in, and it became better known as the hortus academicus . His Exoticorum libri decem (1605) is an important survey of exotic plants and animals that is still consulted today. The inclusion of new plant introductions in botanic gardens meant their scientific role
21666-498: Was appointed as the garden's acting director in 1972 and officially became the garden's fourth director the next year, making her the first woman to lead a large U.S. botanical garden. Under Scholtz's leadership, BBG shifted its focus to its three "outreach stations" in Westchester County and on Long Island , as there was very little space to expand the original garden in Brooklyn. Although public interest in BBG had grown,
21823-417: Was authorized to spend between $ 2,000 and $ 2,500 annually on plantings. That June, the city government appropriated $ 25,000 for Brooklyn Botanic Garden's plant houses. Gager wanted to create "an animated textbook in botany", with a Palm House and laboratories facing Washington Avenue, as well as a landscape with valleys, hills, a pond, and rocks. In contrast to older botanical gardens, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
21980-558: Was called the herbularis or hortus medicus —more generally known as a physic garden, and a viridarium or orchard. These gardens were probably given impetus when Charlemagne issued a capitulary , the Capitulary de Villis, which listed 73 herbs to be used in the physic gardens of his dominions. Many of these were found in British gardens even though they only occurred naturally in continental Europe, demonstrating earlier plant introduction. Pope Nicholas V set aside part of
22137-402: Was closed from 1941 to 1947 because of anti-Japanese sentiment during World War II. BBG rehired McKim, Mead & White in 1942 to design a $ 200,000 annex to the Laboratory Administration Building, but the annex was not completed because of financial shortfalls. Gager, BBG's first director, died in 1943 and was succeeded by George S. Avery Jr. the following year. Michael Tuch and his wife donated
22294-415: Was closed in 1963 due to a lack of funding; it did not reopen for two decades. By the mid-1960s, Avery said BBG's finances were in decline, as most of the garden's funding came from wealthy benefactors who were moving away from Brooklyn. Furthermore, an increase in crime had caused BBG officials to close off most of the botanical garden's exits by the end of the decade, and litter was beginning to accumulate in
22451-458: Was completed. As a result of the project, water from the Water Garden is recirculated to the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. This project was intended to save over 21 million U.S. gallons (79,000,000 L) of water per year, reducing by 95 percent the amount of water that the brook drew from the New York City water supply system . Brooklyn Botanic Garden contains three entrances. The southwest entrance, at Flatbush Avenue near Empire Boulevard,
22608-496: Was dedicated that September. Sade Elisabeth Osborne dedicated the Dean Clay Osborne memorial at BBG in April 1939. BBG attracted about 1.8 million annual visitors at the beginning of the 1940s with an endowment fund of nearly $ 1.4 million. The Cherry Esplanade was created in 1941 after the Women's Auxiliary donated four rows of cherry trees. An ivy garden was also dedicated the same year. The Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden
22765-556: Was formed in 1954 as a worldwide organisation affiliated to the International Union of Biological Sciences . More recently, coordination has also been provided by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), which has the mission "To mobilise botanic gardens and engage partners in securing plant diversity for the well-being of people and the planet". BGCI has over 700 members – mostly botanic gardens – in 118 countries, and strongly supports
22922-643: Was marked by introductions from the Cape of South Africa – including ericas , geraniums , pelargoniums , succulents, and proteaceous plants – while the Dutch trade with the Dutch East Indies resulted in a golden era for the Leiden and Amsterdam botanical gardens and a boom in the construction of conservatories. The Royal Gardens at Kew were founded in 1759, initially as part of
23079-538: Was not arranged based solely on taxonomic classifications; the Olmsted Brothers sought to make the garden aesthetically pleasing as well. McKim, Mead & White began drawing up plans in late 1910 for a laboratory and administration building with a 480-seat lecture hall, laboratories, and classrooms. The New York City government turned over 43 acres (17 ha) to the Brooklyn Institute in February 1911, and
23236-658: Was now widening, as botany gradually asserted its independence from medicine. In the mid to late 17th century, the Paris Jardin des Plantes was a centre of interest with the greatest number of new introductions to attract the public. In England , the Chelsea Physic Garden was founded in 1673 as the "Garden of the Society of Apothecaries". The Chelsea garden had heated greenhouses , and in 1723 appointed Philip Miller (1691–1771) as head gardener . He had
23393-505: Was one of ten institutions that received the National Medal for Museum and Library Service in 2014, the centennial of its children's garden. BBG's Discovery Garden reopened in June 2015 after a renovation designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh . The Water Garden, which was named for Shelby White and Leon Levy after they donated $ 7.5 million to BBG, reopened in September 2016 following a restoration. The Yellow Magnolia Café opened within
23550-505: Was originally supposed to be located near the Cherry Walk but was moved to provide a better connection with the surrounding area. BBG relocated its herb garden in 2010, and the visitor center opened in May 2012. In June 2013, BBG opened an expansion of its Native Flora Garden. BBG suspended its science program that year because of budget cuts and the severe deterioration of BBG's science center in Crown Heights. Brooklyn Botanic Garden
23707-474: Was rebuilt in 2003 with a 16-foot-wide (4.9 m) stainless-steel gate flanked by 12-foot-high (3.7 m) curved steel walls. The new entrance, designed by James Polshek , also contains a 50-foot-high (15 m) cast-glass cone, as well as an embankment with information and ticket kiosks. Just within the entrance, there are boulders from New Jersey on either side of the path, as well as an overhanging birch branch. The eastern entrance on Washington Avenue abuts
23864-631: Was recognized with the New York Landmark Conservancy 's 2001 Preservation Award. BBG's original Shakespeare Garden was funded by a donation from Henry Clay Folger , founder of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. The original garden was overshadowed by Austrian pines , so it was relocated in 1979. The modern-day Shakespeare Garden, sited just east of the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden,
24021-407: Was redesigned in 1931 as a woodland habitat with plants native to the New York metropolitan area. The 1931 redesign divided the Native Flora Garden into eight sections, each corresponding to a different "ecological zone". The Native Flora Garden was closed from 1963 to 1983 due to a lack of funding. Until the 2000s, the Native Flora Garden's ecological zones consisted of a serpentine rock formation,
24178-399: Was selected as president the same year. Medbury planned to build a party room, restaurant, and visitor center; by then, BBG had 700,000 annual visitors and an operating budget of nearly $ 15 million. The Cranford Rose Garden was restored in 2006, followed by the C.V. Starr Bonsai Museum the next year. BBG's Laboratory Building was designated as a city landmark in 2007. The same year, as part of
24335-565: Was still more popular than comparable botanical gardens. The Shakespeare Garden reopened in June 1979 after being relocated from its original location near the Children's Garden. Donald E. Moore became BBG's fifth leader in 1980. Under his tenure, BBG was expanded, and its membership grew threefold to 25,000. BBG began allowing events, such as parties and weddings, on its grounds in 1982; it also started hosting an annual cherry blossom festival that year. In 1983, BBG reopened its native flora garden, which had been closed for twenty years, after hiring
24492-442: Was the investigation of the local flora for its economic potential to both the colonists and the local people. Many crop plants were introduced by or through these gardens – often in association with European botanical gardens such as Kew or Amsterdam – and included cloves , tea , coffee , breadfruit, cinchona , sugar , cotton , palm oil and Theobroma cacao (for chocolate). During these times,
24649-498: Was to be run under the auspices of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences , which until the 1970s included Brooklyn Museum , Brooklyn Children's Museum , and Brooklyn Academy of Music . By 1901, the institute sought to acquire a site on the eastern side of Flatbush Avenue for the botanical garden. This site had also been proposed as the location of a proposed Brooklyn university, but the institute wanted to establish
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