NEWSLETTER
Saturday, March 14, 2020 | 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Full Day of Free Gardening Talks and Workshops
Brooklyn, NY—Brooklyn Botanic Garden is pleased to announce the 39th annual Making Brooklyn Bloom, Brooklyn’s kickoff of the spring gardening season, taking place on Saturday, March 14, 2020. Gardening enthusiasts from throughout the New York metro area gather for this spring event, which features a full day of conversations, presentations, and workshops to inspire and engage gardeners of every type and level. The day includes workshops by community gardeners, BBG staff, and other experts.
Shine the Light on Plants, 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.
This year’s Wilbur A. Levin Keynote Address, “She Hid Seeds in Her Hair: The Power of Ancestral African Foods,” will be given by Christopher Bolden-Newsome, farmer and codirector of the Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden, Philadelphia.
For further information on Making Brooklyn Bloom and Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s other community greening programs, please contact communications@bbg.org. For high-resolution images, please visit bbg.org/press.
Making Brooklyn Bloom 2020 Schedule of Events
10–11 a.m.
Registration 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. 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.
11 a.m.–12 p.m.
Morning Workshops
Wild Bees of New York
Auditorium
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.
Don’t Ditch that Dirt!
Lily Pool Room
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.
Seed Saving: Stories of Liberation
Room 125
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.
Plant Journeys Through the African Diaspora
Room 236
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 is welcome! Leave with an African seed packet and suggested growing tips. Receive a prize for eager participation.
Sense-sational Plants
Greenhouse 1
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.
Fight for Sunlight Tour
Meet at the Steinhardt Conservatory entrance
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.
Delights of the Tropical Pavilion
Steinhardt Conservatory, lower level
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!
Native Trees of NYC Walk
Meet at the Visitor Center outdoor staircase
Katherine Patton, BBG Garden Guide
Recently reopened, BBG’s Native Flora Garden holds wonders and mysteries both above our heads and beneath our feet. Witness the early spring surprises on offer. Travel back to a time when the ecosystems replicated here thrived throughout the region. Weather permitting.
12–1:30 p.m.
Lunch
Snacks and boxed lunches available for purchase at the Yellow Magnolia Coffee Bar in the Visitor Center. Look for signage in classrooms and the Palm House for areas to sit, eat your lunch, and chat with fellow attendees.
1:30–2:45 p.m.
Wilbur A. Levin Keynote Address
Auditorium
“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, Philadelphia
3–4 p.m.
Afternoon Workshops
A Day in the Life of a City Tree
Auditorium
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.
Don’t Ditch that Dirt!
Lily Pool Room
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.
Seed Starting: Preserving Our Cultures
Room 123
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.
Plant Journeys Through the African Diaspora
Room 236
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 is welcome! Leave with an African seed packet and suggested growing tips. Receive a prize for eager participation.
Sense-sational Plants
Greenhouse 1
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.
Fight for Sunlight Tour
Meet at the Steinhardt Conservatory entrance
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.
Food and Fragrance in the Warm Temperate Pavilion
Steinhardt Conservatory, lower level
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.
Tour BBG’s Newest Gardens
Meet at the Visitor Center outdoor staircase
Carol Pittman, BBG Garden Guide
Worth the wait! BBG’s latest improvements, the Robert W. Wilson Overlook and the Elizabeth Scholtz Woodland Garden, are two delightful and fully accessible outdoor classrooms full of herbaceous inspiration for urban gardeners looking to improve their own corner of Brooklyn. Weather permitting.
Activities
Explore the wealth of local greening organizations.
Palm House | 10 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
Sit, eat, and chat with fellow attendees in Bring a Bag Lunch Zones.
Look for signs in classrooms, Palm House, and Steinhardt Conservatory | 12–1 p.m.
Stroll the Garden on your own or join an hourlong guided tour: Seasonal Highlights in the Conservatory.
Meet at Steinhardt Conservatory | 1–2 p.m.
Enter your block in the Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest!
Palm House | 10 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
Browse the Library book sale.
Rotunda | 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
Find answers to your gardening questions at the “Ask a Gardener” table.
Rotunda | 10 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
Meet garden bugs and slugs at the American Museum of Natural History table.
Rotunda | 10 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
Pick up seeds and catalogs.
Rotunda | 10 a.m. until they are gone
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.
About Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Founded in 1910, Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is an urban botanic garden that connects people to the world of plants, fostering delight and curiosity while inspiring an appreciation and sense of stewardship of the environment. Situated on 52 acres in the heart of Brooklyn, the Garden is home to over 12,000 kinds of plants and hosts over 800,000 visitors annually.
Learn what’s happening at Brooklyn Botanic Garden at bbg.org/visit/calendar; read the Garden’s blog at bbg.org/news; and find out what’s in bloom at bbg.org/bloom. Visitor entrances are at 990 Washington Avenue, 150 Eastern Parkway, and 455 Flatbush Avenue. For hours, directions, and admission information, please visit bbg.org/visit. Follow BBG on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and join the conversation using #BrooklynBotanicGarden.
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Contact:
communications@bbg.org | 718-623-7283