Visiting the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
I took a trip to Brooklyn to grab some authentic Middle Eastern food and visit the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to experience the beauty of the changing seasons.
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Spring is, hands down, my favorite season — but when you’re in New York City, it’s sometimes hard to get a glimpse of all the verdant bloom you might get to see elsewhere. I decided it was time to take a break from the chaos of urban life by visiting the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Prospect Park, one of NYC’s finest green spaces.
Lunch Time!
Nobody likes travelling on an empty stomach. So on my way to the garden, I made a stop at Bedouin Tent, my all-time favorite spot for Middle Eastern food in Downtown Brooklyn. It’s run by a lovely family, who always has someone to greet you warmly at the door. They serve authentic Mediterranean recipes, hot and fresh out of the oven — the pita bread is made from scratch right in front of you.
It’s affordable too, so this place is hard to top. I ordered a chicken shawarma pita wrap and, since it was a beautiful day outside, sat down for lunch in their backyard garden — just the thing to get me in the spirit for my upcoming botanical adventure!
Hop on the S Train!
After lunch, I took the nearby G Train to Franklin Av, transferred to the S (Shuttle) Train, and got off at the stop called “Botanic Garden.” The Garden is accessible by a few subways (2,3,4,5, B, and Q) and there are three entrances, the closest one depending on which subway you took. If you follow my path, step out of the subway and sniff out the floral notes in the air.
If you’re not confident that your nose can lead the way, head to the 990 Washington Avenue entrance, which is on the east side of the park between President and Carroll Streets. It’s no more than a 15- minute walk and part of it is through the Dr. Ronald McNair Park, where benches await you in case you need to take a breather.
Here’s a tip: take a trip to the Garden on a Tuesday: the garden is open and free to the public from 8:00am-4:30pm!
A Stroll Through the Trees
As soon as I found the entrance and walked inside, I was instantly blown away by spring’s breathtaking beauty as golden amber sunlight peeked through the newly budding leaves. The garden is made up of over 25 smaller gardens and is big enough to get lost in the tall trees’ spell for hours.
The park is divided into different sections and, while you can follow routes on a map, I suggest ditching the paperwork and wandering around on your own. With signs indicating the genus and species of each plant, the Garden is especially great for those who like to garden and want to learn more about a specific kind of plant.
Grab a Snack
All that strolling and gazing can work up an appetite, and Brooklyn Botanic Garden has you covered there too. A cafe located inside the garden, called the Yellow Magnolia Canteen, sells lunch items as well as small snacks if you need a little pick-me-up. It’s located in a pocket between all of the indoor conservatories.
These large glass greenhouses are filled with plants that require specific climates such as the Desert Pavilion, the Tropical Pavilion, and Aquatic Pavilion, to name a few. You can break up the day by grabbing a snack and exploring different indoor environments to experience other climates’ foliage without ever leaving the city!
Time to Sit in the Grass
The garden is so unbelievably peaceful and quiet, it’s hard to believe that you can find this kind of sanctuary in New York City. You could spend an entire day lounging in the grass, people watching, taking photographs, reading, and writing. If you’re looking to “spring” into the new season, take a visit to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to enjoy the fascinating beauty of nature tucked discretely within the Big Apple’s concrete jungle.
Upcoming Events
Spring is the ideal time to visit the Botanic Garden because that’s when you can catch the cherry blossoms in all their full bloom glory. The flowering cherries bloom from late March or early April until mid-May, and you can find a map of where in the garden to find them at peak bloom here — updated daily during the cherrywatch season.
For a more immersive experience, catch an in-depth tour of seasonal highlights any day at 1pm. And don’t miss Mizue Sawano’s beautiful watercolor paintings, on display in the Conservatory Gallery through June 12.
