Like you, Brooklyn Botanic Garden is actively monitoring the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 situation. The health and safety of volunteers, attendees, and gardening partners is our greatest concern and we wish to be responsible partners in community health. BBG is canceling Making Brooklyn Bloom as a precautionary step, knowing this event can draw 2,000 or more and requires the support of many volunteers and staff. The Garden, meanwhile, will remain open, and we encourage you to join us to see the early signs of spring on what looks to be a mild and sunny Saturday. We hope that whatever disruptions to daily life the situation represents, you might still find comfort and optimism in the beauty of Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Taking plants out of the shadows, the theme for this year’s conference, draws inspiration from the Garden’s Fight for Sunlight campaign. The day’s workshops, tours, and keynote address will highlight the powerhouse of knowledge, healing, and connection that plants provide us. Visitors will have the opportunity to network with dozens of NYC greening organizations in the Palm House. Download & Bring Event Flyer for Free Admission (PDF) “How have African people built a food culture in America? Far from the succulent greens, pearlescent cowpeas, and comfort-cooked yams? New World stand-ins—collards, red beans, and sweet potatoes—ingeniously reconfigured, helped our ancestors re-create home and humanity wherever we went. Celebrating our ancestral foods by farming, consciously cooking, praying with, and sharing them can heal the spiritual and physical damage that we and our ancestors have experienced in our bittersweet American journey.” Learn more about the workshops offered. Register the morning of the event to secure a spot in the workshop of your choosing. Arrive early to get your first choices. You may choose one morning and one afternoon workshop, space permitting. Wild Bees of New York Don’t Ditch that Dirt!* Seed Saving: Stories of Liberation* Plant Journeys Through the African Diaspora* Sense-sational Plants* Fight for Sunlight Tour Delights of the Tropical Pavilion Native Trees of NYC Walk * Hands-on or interactive workshops A Day in the Life of a City Tree Don’t Ditch that Dirt!* Seed Starting: Preserving Our Cultures* Plant Journeys Through the African Diaspora* Sense-sational Plants* Fight for Sunlight Tour Food and Fragrance in the Warm Temperate Pavilion Tour a New BBG Garden * Hands-on or interactive workshops Morning Workshops Register for one morning (11 a.m.) and one afternoon (3 p.m.) workshop, space permitting. Arrive early to get your first choices. The final schedule will be listed at registration. Visit this page for updates. Look for signage in classrooms and the Palm House for areas to sit, eat your lunch, and chat with fellow attendees. Wilbur A. Levin Keynote Address in the Auditorium Register for one morning (11 a.m.) and one afternoon (3 p.m.) workshop, space permitting. Arrive early to get your first choices. The final schedule will be listed at registration. Visit this page for updates. Shine the Light on Plants
Wilbur A. Levin Keynote Address
She Hid Seeds in Her Hair: The Power of Ancestral African Foods
Christopher Bolden-Newsome, farmer and codirector of the Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden, Philadelphia
Workshops
Paula Sharp, sharpeatmanguides.com
This best-selling novelist and photojournalist has documented nature throughout the U.S. and Brazil, and is the creator of the highly regarded website Wild Bees of New York. Let her take you on a stunning photographic safari to reveal what makes New York’s native bees so special. View some unsung—and too often unnoticed—pollinating workhorses, marvel at incredible images that capture them in action, and learn how city gardeners can plant urban oases that feed and support them.
Cuyler Remick and Teddy Tedesco, NYC Compost Project Hosted by BBG
Soil is a precious and finite resource, yet indoor and container gardeners often kick potting soil to the curb when plants begin to underperform. Learn what makes up common commercial potting soil, how it loses life and luster over time, and how to refresh it using compost to keep it performing its best for years to come.
Owen Taylor, Truelove Seeds
Keeping the seeds and seed stories of our ancestors is essential to preserving our past and safeguarding our future freedom. Explore the rich stories of heirloom seed crops, and dig into the science and practice of collecting and storing seeds using common kitchen items.
Kimberly Curtis, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and Yashmun Morisseau, UConn Master Gardener
Discussion and seed-saving demonstration will focus on indigenous African plants and herbs. Participant sharing of plant stories linked to your own journey and heritage are welcome! Leave with an African seed packet and suggested growing tips. Receive a prize for eager participation.
Joanne D’Auria, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
There are so many ways in which people find beauty, comfort, and pleasure through plants! Explore fun and inspiring activities that celebrate the touch, taste, smell, sight, and yes, even sound of the plants in our lives.
Rowan Blaik, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
What exactly is at stake if tall towers are built just outside the Garden? Plant survival. Tour the rare and wonderful plants at risk behind the scenes with BBG’s plant collections expert and find out why this fight defends the Garden’s very existence.
Bonnie Hagen, BBG Garden Guide
The Tropical House—6,000 square feet under a 65-foot-tall ceiling—re-creates a tropical forest, complete with waterfalls and streams. Discover the many food plants that thrive here!
Katherine Patton, BBG Garden Guide
BBG’s landscape is dotted with trees native to the NYC region. Learn to locate and identify these trees in their winter nakedness and witness the early spring surprises on offer, both above our heads and beneath our feet. Weather permitting.
Michael Veres and Erinn White, NYC Parks Urban Park Rangers
Whether in a natural area, public park, or city street, the trees that grow in Brooklyn have seen it all. Learn more about the trees that surround us, the important role the urban forest plays for people, wildlife, and the planet, and what we can do to help them thrive.
Cuyler Remick and Teddy Tedesco, NYC Compost Projected Hosted by BBG
Soil is a precious and finite resource, yet indoor and container gardeners often kick potting soil to the curb when plants begin to underperform. Learn what makes up common commercial potting soil, how it loses life and luster over time, and how to refresh it using compost to keep it performing its best for years to come.
Owen Taylor, Truelove Seeds
Starting heirloom fruits and vegetables from seed saves money, promotes biodiversity, and safeguards our cultural legacies. You’ll start your own seeds today.
Kimberly Curtis, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and Yashmun Morisseau, UConn Master Gardener
Discussion and seed-saving demonstration will focus on indigenous African plants and herbs. Participant sharing of plant stories linked to your own journey and heritage are welcome! Leave with an African seed packet and suggested growing tips. Receive a prize for eager participation.
Joanne D’Auria, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
There are so many ways in which people find beauty, comfort, and pleasure through plants! Explore fun and inspiring activities that celebrate the touch, taste, smell, sight, and yes, even sound of the plants in our lives.
Rowan Blaik, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
What exactly is at stake if tall towers are built just outside the Garden? Plant survival. Tour the rare and wonderful plants at risk behind the scenes with BBG’s plant collections expert and find out why this fight defends the Garden’s very existence.
Liz DiLauro, BBG Garden Guide
At this time of year, the Warm Temperate Pavilion—which houses plants native to the Mediterranean, Australia, South Africa, and much more—is bursting with blooms. Come explore plants beautifully adapted to harsh seasonal conditions like drought and even fire. Please note: Due to space constraints, this tour will be ticketed as two 30-minute sessions at 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Carol Pittman, BBG Garden Guide
Worth the wait! BBG’s latest improvements, the north end of Belle’s Brook and The Robert W. Wilson Overlook, are delightful, fully accessible, and full of plant inspiration for urban gardeners looking to improve their own corner of Brooklyn. Weather permitting.Schedule
Ticketing and Coffee in the Palm House
Register the day of the event to secure space for workshops and the keynote address. Line forms at 1000 Washington Avenue entrance.
Snacks and lunch items available for purchase at the Yellow Magnolia coffee bar in the Visitor Center.
Bring a Bag Lunch Zones
Activities
“She Hid Seeds in Her Hair: The Power of Ancestral African Foods,” presented by Christopher Bolden-Newsome, farmer and codirector of the Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden, PhiladelphiaAfternoon Workshops
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Questions? Contact [email protected] or call 718-623-7250.
If you need any accommodations to participate fully, please visit bbg.org/visit/accessibility.
Support
Brooklyn Botanic Garden gratefully acknowledges support for these programs from Brooklyn Community Foundation, National Grid, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the NYS Assembly and NYS Senate, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, the NYC Department of Sanitation, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams, Councilmembers Laurie Cumbo, Mathieu Eugene, and Alicka Ampry-Samuel, and the NYC Council.
Leadership Support, Community Greening Programs
Major Sponsor, Community Greening Programs
