Discover the City’s Botanical Gardens

Many may not consider New York City as a hub for the study and conservation of plants. But the City is home to five magnificent centers of research, education, and celebration of flora. These botanical gardens are not only a fantastic resource for botanists but also for all New Yorkers.

In the Hudson Hill section of the Bronx, Wave Hill overlooks the Hudson River. This 28-acre estate is home to several public gardens and a cultural center. Once, the estate was home to celebrities and diplomats, but in 1960, the Perkins-Freeman family deeded the land to the City of New York. Known as Perkins Garden, it was renamed Wave Hill in 1987. Today, about 65,000 people visit the Garden each year. Many of those visitors have taken advantage of the Public Garden Highlights Walks.

In 1897, the New York legislation set aside 39 acres for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG). Today, it occupies 52 acres as part of Prospect Park. In this space, the Garden is home to over 14,000 taxa of plants and has over 800,000 visitors annually. Within BBG are several smaller gardens. Of particular note are the Children's Garden and the Discovery Garden, where children explore, learn, and enjoy time in nature.

Staten Island's Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden is a short ferry ride away. It consists of 28 buildings, fourteen distinctive botanical gardens, a two-acre urban farm, wetlands, and park land on a unique, free, open campus. Moreover, Snug Harbor is proud to be a distinguished Smithsonian affiliate. For more information, check out our previous blog dedicated to Snug Harbor or consider visiting. As one visitor noted, "It's a nice place to go on a warm sunny day to soak the beauty of nature."

Located at the northeast corner of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Flushing, Queens Botanical Garden (QBG) evolved from the five-acre "Gardens on Parade" exhibit showcased at the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair. Today, QBG is a 39-acre urban oasis. People, plants, and cultures are celebrated through inspiring gardens. But it is also home to innovative educational programs and real-world applications of environmental stewardship. You can learn more about this beautiful place in our previous blog on the QBG.

Finally, we bring you the largest of them all, the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG). Since 1891, NYBG has called 250 acres in the Bronx home. The dedicated experts at NYBG work across the city, the nation, and the globe to document the plants and fungi of our world—and find actionable, nature-based solutions to our planet's dual climate and biodiversity crises.

The NYBG also houses the LuEsther T. Mertz Library collection of plant and fungal specimens in the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium, the largest such collection in the Western Hemisphere. Moreover, it hosts events with some of the most influential figures in plant and fungal science, horticulture, and the humanities. The most recent event of particular note was the annual Orchid Show.

Broadway Stages prizes the flora of our city. We have more than 100,000 square feet of green rooftop infrastructure on top of our facilities. Also, we proudly partner with the Newtown Creek Alliance at our Kingsland Wildflowers site and for the general revitalization of Newtown Creek.

We strongly encourage you to take advantage of New York City's wonderful botanical gardens to support them in their missions and to improve the quality of your life! This is a great time to explore the parks in bloom. Check out this guide to find the best places to do just that. It is an excellent time to stop and smell the roses (and lilies, geraniums, and mayapples…).