Why visit
Brooklyn Botanic Garden occupies 52 acres beside Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Museum. Founded in 1910 and opened in 1911, it was conceived as an urban botanical institution where carefully labeled living collections, research and public education could share a compact landscape within a rapidly growing borough.
What to see
The Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, created by landscape designer Takeo Shiota and opened in 1915, layers a pond, waterfall, bridges, stone lanterns and a Shinto shrine into shifting framed views. Cherry Esplanade and Cherry Walk form the garden's celebrated spring display, while the Native Flora Garden represents regional plant communities.
Plan your visit
The Steinhardt Conservatory holds warm-temperate, tropical, desert and aquatic environments, and the C. V. Starr Bonsai Museum displays trees trained across generations. Herb, fragrance, Shakespeare and children's gardens add smaller thematic landscapes, making the institution both a seasonal park and a scientific collection whose appearance changes continually.
