New York Botanical Garden facts for kids
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Visitor Center in June 2012
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| Established | 1891 |
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| Location | The Bronx, New York City |
| Public transit access | Metro-North Railroad:
Harlem Line
Botanical GardenNew York City Subway:   Pelham ParkwayNew York City Bus: Bx12, Bx12 SBS, Bx19, Bx22, Bx26 |
The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a huge garden in Bronx Park, the Bronx, New York City. It opened in 1891. The garden covers 250-acre (100 ha) and has over a million living plants.
It is home to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, which is a large greenhouse with many different plant habitats. The LuEsther T. Mertz Library is also here. It has one of the world's biggest collections of books about plants.
Over a million people visit the New York Botanical Garden every year. Many of these visitors are children. The NYBG also teaches people about plants, nature, and healthy eating. It even helps teachers learn how to teach science.
The NYBG runs one of the world's largest plant research and conservation programs. It has been a National Historic Landmark since 1967. Some buildings in the garden are also official New York City landmarks.
Contents
What is the New York Botanical Garden's Goal?
The New York Botanical Garden wants to protect the plant kingdom. It does this by showing off its plant collections in beautiful gardens. It also teaches people about plants and gardening. Plus, it does a lot of research on plants from all over the world.
How Did the New York Botanical Garden Start?
Early Ideas for a Botanical Garden
People in New York City started thinking about creating a botanical garden as early as 1877. They couldn't get enough money at first. But their efforts did lead to land being set aside for a future garden.
By 1888, a group called the Torrey Botanical Society really wanted a big botanical garden in New York City. A botanist from Columbia University, Nathaniel Lord Britton, and his wife, Elizabeth Gertrude Britton, led a fundraising effort. They were inspired by the Royal Botanic Gardens in London.
In 1889, the Torrey Botanical Society decided to build the garden in Bronx Park. This park is in the middle of the Bronx. The city had already bought much of the land there as part of the 1884 New Parks Act. This act aimed to save lands that would soon become part of New York City.
When Was the New York Botanical Garden Established?
The New York Botanical Garden was officially created on April 28, 1891, by a law from the New York State Legislature. The garden took over parts of the Lorillard family's land. It also used some land that used to belong to St. John's College (now Fordham University).
The main goal of the garden was to collect and grow plants, flowers, and trees. It also aimed to help plant science grow and to do new research. The garden was also meant to teach people about gardening and to offer fun and learning for everyone.
A group of directors was put in charge of the NYBG. This group included important people like the mayor of New York City and professors from Columbia College. The law said that the NYBG would get 250 acres (100 ha) of land in Bronx Park. The directors could build a library and a conservatory if they raised at least $250,000 in five years. If they did, the city would give them $500,000 more.
Important leaders and wealthy people, like Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, and J. P. Morgan, promised to help pay for the buildings. By May 1895, they had raised the $250,000.
The famous landscape architect Calvert Vaux helped choose the best spot for the garden. The north end of Bronx Park was chosen. A team of experts then created the master plan for the garden.
The LuEsther T. Mertz Library and the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory were some of the first buildings to open. The Library was built between 1897 and 1900. The Conservatory was finished in 1902.
How Has the Garden Changed Over Time?
For over 100 years, the NYBG did not charge for entry. Because of this, and not enough money from the government, it started to have money problems in the 1950s. In 1970, the city cut the garden's budget. This forced the garden to close for several days a week.
In 1974, the garden had to ask the New York State Legislature for money every year. The next year, more budget cuts meant the NYBG had to close on weekdays for the first time.
By the early 1990s, some parts of the NYBG were not well cared for. There wasn't enough parking for visitors. Many areas were neglected.
In the mid-1990s, the NYBG started making many improvements. In 1994, the garden began charging an admission fee to help pay for these changes and for keeping the garden nice. The Everett Children's Garden opened in 1998.
By 2000, the NYBG asked for $300 million for renovations. A new visitor center and gift shop opened in 2004. This new main entrance cost $21 million.
Over the next 20 years, many new projects were finished. The Leon Levy Visitor Center opened in 2004. The Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections opened in 2005. The NYBG also opened an education center in Manhattan in 2010.
A new parking garage opened in 2012. The old Lorillard Snuff Mill was restored in 2010 and renamed the Lillian and Amy Goldman Stone Mill. In 2018, the Edible Academy opened. This is a special place to teach kids and families about vegetable gardening and healthy eating.
What Can You See at the New York Botanical Garden?
The Garden has 50 different gardens and plant collections. You can find a peaceful waterfall, wetlands, and a 50-acre (20 ha) forest. This forest has never been logged and is very old.
Some special places include the 1890s-style Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. There's also the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, which was first designed in 1916. You can also see an alpine rock garden, a Herb Garden, and a 37-acre (15 ha) collection of conifer trees.
The NYBG also has large research facilities. These include a center for growing plants and a huge research library with 550,000 books. It also has an herbarium with over 7 million dried plant specimens. This is one of the biggest collections in the world.
At the center of the Garden is the Thain Family Forest. This is a very old forest. It is the largest part of the original forest that covered New York City before European settlers arrived. The forest has oak, American beeches, cherry, birch, tulip, and white ash trees. Some of these trees are more than 200 years old.
The Bronx River flows through the forest. This is the only freshwater river in New York City. The river has a canyon and rapids here. Along the river is the Stone Mill, which was built in 1840.
Plant Research Laboratories
The Pfizer Plant Research Laboratory is a big research center at the Garden. It opened in 2006. Scientists here study how genes work in plants. They want to learn when, where, and why flowering plants first appeared.
The lab also studies the DNA of plants to understand how different plant species are related. Scientists also look at how plants are used by different communities in New York City. They even study how some plants produce poisons that can affect humans.
About 200 staff members work here. They also train many students from all over the world. Since the 1890s, NYBG scientists have gone on about 2,000 trips around the world to collect wild plants.
In the lab, DNA is taken from many different plant species. This creates a huge library of plant DNA. This collection is kept in a special room with 20 freezers. It holds millions of specimens, including rare or extinct plants. There's a backup generator to protect the collection if the power goes out.
The NYBG also has a project called TreeBOL. This project aims to collect DNA from all 100,000 different tree species worldwide. This helps scientists learn about the variety of plant life and create a "DNA barcode" for plants.
LuEsther T. Mertz Library
The LuEsther T. Mertz Library was founded in 1899. It is named after a supporter, LuEsther Mertz. The library is in the northern part of the NYBG. It has one of the world's largest collections of books and texts about plants. One expert called it "the largest of its kind in the world under one roof."
The library is in a building that used to be called the NYBG's Museum Building. Construction started in 1897 and finished in 1900. The building was designed in a style called Renaissance Revival.
Enid A. Haupt Conservatory
The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory is a large greenhouse at the western end of the NYBG. It is named after Enid A. Haupt. The conservatory was designed by a company called Lord and Burnham Co. Its design was inspired by the Palm House at the Royal Botanic Garden in London.
Building started on January 3, 1899, and it was finished in 1902. It cost $177,000 to build. The building has been updated several times since then.
The Conservatory is home to many tropical plants and flowers. You can see cacti and other desert plants, as well as plants from rainforests. In the summer, the two pools next to the Conservatory have many kinds of lotuses and water lilies.
William & Lynda Steere Herbarium
The William & Lynda Steere Herbarium is one of the biggest herbaria in the world. It has about 7.2 to 7.8 million plant specimens. It is located in the International Plant Science Center, behind the library.
The herbarium was founded in 1891. It quickly became a place where many important plant collections were stored. In 1895, it received about 600,000 specimens from Columbia College. This included private collections from famous botanists. The herbarium is named after William Steere and his wife Lynda, who gave money to support it in 2002.
What Exhibitions Does the Garden Host?
The New York Botanical Garden has always had public exhibitions. Since 1992, it has presented the Holiday Train Show every year. This show features model trains running through displays of New York landmarks made from natural materials.
In 2002, The Orchid Show started. This is an annual show of beautiful orchid displays. Since 2007, the Garden has also had a fall exhibition of kiku, which are Japanese chrysanthemums grown in special shapes.
The NYBG has also hosted many large art and plant exhibitions. These include:
- Sculpture from the Museum of Modern Art (2002)
- Chihuly at The New York Botanical Garden (2006, 2017)
- Darwin’s Garden: An Evolutionary Adventure (2008)
- Monet’s Garden (2012)
- Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life (2015)
- Georgia O’Keeffe: Visions of Hawai'i (2018)
Who Has Led the New York Botanical Garden?
- Dr. Nathaniel Lord Britton (1891–1929)
- Elmer D. Merrill (1930–1935)
- Dr. Marshall A. Howe (1935–1936)
- Dr. Henry A. Gleason (acting, 1937–1938)
- Dr. William J. Robbins (1938–1958)
- Dr. William C. Steere (1958–1972)
- Dr. Howard S. Irwin (1973–1979)
- James M. Hester (1980–1989)
- Gregory Long (1989–2018)
- Dr. Carrie Rebora Barratt (2018–2020)
What is the Garden's Landmark Status?
The New York Botanical Garden was named a National Historic Landmark in 1967. This means it is a very important historical place.
Also, three buildings in the garden are special New York City landmarks:
- The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory (named a landmark in 1973)
- The LuEsther T. Mertz Library (named a landmark in 2009)
- The Lorillard Snuff Mill (named a landmark in 1966)
See also
In Spanish: Jardín Botánico de Nueva York para niños
