What better way to enjoy summer than to see the lush seasonal flowers at New York Botanical Garden? With over 50 different gardens to see, bring the whole family and make a day of it! A variety of tours, exhibits, and family-/kid-oriented programs are available as well. Before heading out, check out our tips below on what there is to do right now at the Garden.
Summer Gardens
Visit the summer seasonal collections to see what’s beautiful right now! Of the gardens included, stroll through the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden to see over 670 varieties of roses in one of the world’s best rose gardens. Also be sure to visit the Daylilies garden, which is at its peak in mid-July, with its 344 different daylilies colored all shades of yellow, orange, pink, and red. Not to mention, these summer gardens would make a lovely backdrop for family photos!
Year-Round Gardens
While year-round, the Jane Watson Irwin Perennial Garden is also a sight to see, peaking in the summer in a rainbow of colors and textures. And if you’d like to go for a bit of a walk, visit the Seasonal Walk, where the 200-foot-long border features thousands of bulbs, grasses, and perennials. Other year-round areas include the 250-acre Thain Family Forest, the Benenson Ornamental Conifers that stretches over 15 acres, Arthur and Janet Ross Conifer Arboretum, and the famous Conservatory, home to 11 different habitats.
Learn about local plant species in the 3.5-acre Native Plant Garden, which features over 100,000 plants in four areas: woodland, meadow, wetland, and glade. And if you are interested in gardening yourself, drop by the Home Gardening Center to get inspired by model gardens and display areas.
And of course, what visit would be complete without a stop at the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden? Here children can enjoy larger-than-life flowers, hands-on activities, an indoor laboratory, and more.
Tours
Visitors can learn about the intricacies and fun facts of the plants, gardens, and exhibitions from Garden staff on weekend Expert Tours and Talks. Garden Tour Guide-led Tours are held daily for a more in-depth looks at popular collections. For anyone interested in the birds that call the garden home, go on a Saturday Bird Walk with a National Audubon Society member!
If you’d rather not have a tour guide, there are free App Tours available from iTunes, complete with interactive maps, animated highlights, and more. There are also Audio Tours with over 100 different stops available on both mobile phone and in mp3 form.
For more information on tours, click here.
Exhibits
Celebrating the gardens 20th century and the extraordinary women who designed them, the Groundbreakers exhibition is a must-see. The Moon Gate at the Conservatory is now centerpiece to an evocation of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden in Maine, while at the LuEsther T. Mertz Library’s Rotunda are six profiles of the most influential women in 20th century landscape design and garden photography.
Children will enjoy the Weird, Wild, & Wonderful exhibit on display in the Ross Gallery, featuring 46 paintings and illustrations of exotic, often bizarre-looking plants. Stop by to take a look at these fun and unusual pieces!
Programs
If you have children ages 3-12, register them for the Children’s Gardening Programs, Garden Sprouts or Garden Crafters, in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden! With the help of instructors, kids plant, tend, and harvest fresh produce; then prepare and taste. There are programs for the spring, summer, and fall.
At the same garden is The Edible Academy, which offers hands-on activities that help families learn about gardening and healthful living, cooking demonstrations, and other programs presented with chef Mario Batali.
For more information, visit the New York Botanical Garden website here.
