Queens Botanical Garden facts for kids
Entrance Plaza
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| Established | 1939 |
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| Location | Queens, New York |
| Public transit access | Long Island Rail Road:
Port Washington Branch
Flushing–Main StreetNew York City Subway:   Flushing–Main StreetNew York City Bus: Q20, Q44 SBS, Q58 |
The Queens Botanical Garden is a beautiful botanical garden located in Flushing, Queens, New York City. It's a special place where you can explore many different types of plants and flowers.
This amazing garden covers about 39 acres (16 hectares). It has many themed areas like rose gardens, a bee garden, an herb garden, and even a wedding garden. There's also a big collection of trees called an arboretum, an art gallery, and a Visitor & Administration Building that's super eco-friendly! The garden is owned by New York City and gets money from both public and private groups. The Queens Botanical Garden Society, Inc. helps run it.
The Queens Botanical Garden first started as part of the 1939 New York World's Fair. It was originally in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. Later, in 1963, it moved to its current spot to get ready for the 1964 New York World's Fair. Since then, the garden has grown a lot. It offers many fun programs for people living nearby. In 2001, a big plan was made to update the garden. This plan focused on the garden's location above an underground stream called Kissena Creek. Over the years, many improvements were made, including a new eco-friendly parking lot and a modern administration building.
Contents
Garden History
How the Garden Started
The Queens Botanical Garden began as a special plant exhibit for the 1939 New York World's Fair. It was called "Gardens on Parade" and was run by a group called Hortus, Incorporated. These first gardens were located near the fairgrounds, where the Van Wyck Expressway is now.
In the 1950s, there was an old city garage nearby that was no longer used. People wanted it torn down. Also, a playground was planned for the area. It was supposed to be finished in 1957 but was delayed because the land needed a lot of dirt to fill it in. After some delays, the playground was finally ready in June 1957.
Moving to a New Home
Before the 1964 New York World's Fair, the garden needed to move. In 1961, plans were made to move the Queens Botanical Garden to its current spot. This new area was described as "35 acres of bogs and dump land." The project cost $3 million and included a new administration building. It also had a walkway over Lawrence Street to connect to the World's Fair. The old garden area was taken down to make room for new fair exhibits and an extended highway.
Work on the new garden began in March 1961. The city approved the project in September 1961. Construction on the administration building started in 1962. Famous landscape designers, Gilmore David Clarke and Michael Rapuano, helped design the new garden. They also designed the original 1939 World's Fair grounds. Three large Blue Atlas Cedar trees were carefully moved from the old garden to the new main entrance. The new Queens Botanical Garden officially opened on October 19, 1963.
After the garden was finished, the city's Parks commissioner, Robert Moses, planned to expand the area. This included building the Queens Zoo next to the garden. The zoo opened in October 1968.
Later Years and Growth
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By 1972, about 300,000 people visited the garden each year. Many of these were students from Queens schools. In the years that followed, the garden offered many programs for local communities. For example, in 1977, teenagers were hired to help plant trees and fix up a nearby park. In the 1980s, volunteers worked with disabled teenagers at the garden.
The garden hosted events like Environment Day and Senior Day. It also offered gardening classes. By 1982, the Queens Botanical Garden had special areas like a senior garden, a children's garden, and community corn patches. There were also herb, bee, and bird gardens.
In 1992, the city took over the garden for a short time because of problems with its management. But in 1993, the Queens Botanical Garden Society got control back. They started offering programs for the many Chinese, Korean, and Latin American people living in Flushing. In 1997, a special Korean garden was planned to honor the large Korean community.
New Additions in the 2000s
In 1998, the garden started planning for a big update. Details of this plan were shared in 2001. The idea was to make the garden a beautiful green space with water features. It would also use sustainable energy to collect all its rainwater. This plan cost $70 million and was paid for by the city and state.
In 2002, a new fence was built around the garden. A big renovation of the rest of the garden also began. This renovation added cool features like a green roof on one building, solar panels, and systems that use heat from the earth (geothermal power). It also included systems to collect stormwater and new wetlands.
On September 27, 2007, the new Visitor & Administration Building opened. This building was the first in New York City to get the "Platinum" LEED rating. This is the highest rating for being eco-friendly! The renovation also included an environmentally friendly parking lot and an artificial wetland to collect stormwater.
In January 2023, the Bluestone Foundation gave $8 million to the garden. This was the biggest donation ever! The money will be used for educational programs, and a new building for these programs is planned.
What You Can See at the Garden
The Queens Botanical Garden is located in Flushing, Queens. It covers about 39 acres (16 hectares) and has many outdoor exhibits. You can enter the garden from Main Street or Cromellin Street. The garden charges a small fee from April to October, but it's free from November to March!
The main visitor building and gift shop are on the north side. Most of the public gardens are on the east side, with paths leading to different flower gardens. There are also educational buildings and a special area for making Compost. The Arboretum (tree collection) and a meadow are in the southwest part of the garden.
The garden is in a low area, and much of it is built on land that used to be a stream called Kissena Creek. Because of this, water naturally flows into the garden. The 2001 master plan helped design the garden to manage this water with special features. A "cleansing biotope" was built to collect stormwater.
The garden is often seen as part of the nearby Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. Main Street separates the garden from Kissena Corridor Park to the east.
Visitor & Administration Building
The Visitor & Administration Building opened in 2007. It's a two-story building with offices and a large room for events. This building is super eco-friendly! It was the first public building in New York City to get the highest "Platinum" LEED rating. It has cool features like heating that uses heat from the earth, toilets that don't use much water, and special roofs. One part of the roof has solar panels, another collects rainwater, and a third uses plants for insulation. These features help the building use 40% less energy!
Farm & Compost Site
The Farm & Compost Site shows how to make and use compost to create healthy soil. It has a compost display, a one-acre farm, and a special area for pollinators like bees. This site teaches people how to recycle food waste and improve city soils. Vegetables grown on the farm are shared with helpers and given to food programs. They grow things like tomatoes, beans, kale, and peppers.
Other Cool Spots
The Queens Botanical Garden has a Fragrance Walk, which is a path lined with sweet-smelling flowers near the Main Street entrance. There's also a Bee Garden, where you can learn about bees and their important role in nature.
Kissena Creek
Kissena Creek used to flow above ground through what is now Kissena Park, Kissena Corridor Park, and the Queens Botanical Garden. But in the mid-20th century, the creek was put into underground pipes when the garden was built.
Today, the creek's water flows in a sewer system under the parks and the garden. This water eventually goes to a special facility in Flushing Meadows. This facility can hold millions of gallons of water from storms. Then, the water is cleaned before it goes into the Flushing River and then into Flushing Bay.
Fun Programs and Events
The Queens Botanical Garden has exciting events all year long! They host cultural celebrations and seasonal festivals like Harvest Fest & Pumpkin Patch, Arbor Fest, and "Taiwan: A World of Orchids." In the past, they've had tours of the eco-friendly administration building and many children's events. In 2014 and 2015, a cool model-train show was held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1964 World's Fair.
The garden offers educational workshops and tours for kids, adults, and teachers. You can learn all about plants and nature! The Queens Botanical Garden is also a popular place for weddings and other private events. It has a special Victorian-style Wedding Garden just for ceremonies.
How the Garden is Funded
The Queens Botanical Garden gets money from different places. In 2016, it received over $4 million. More than half of this money came from the city and state governments. The rest came from fundraising events, memberships, and donations. A big donation came from HSBC Bank, which helped support the Children's Garden.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the city paid for about half of the garden's costs and all of the gardeners. But during a money crisis in New York City in the late 1970s, the city's funding for the garden went down. It was only restored in 1980 after many people spoke up.
In 2005, the Queens Botanical Garden received part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation. This was made possible by a donation from then-New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Getting There
You can reach the Queens Botanical Garden by public transportation. Several bus routes run near the garden. The Q58 bus stops on College Point Boulevard, on the west side of the garden. The Q20A/B and Q44 Select Bus Service buses run on Main Street, right by the garden's east side.
The closest New York City Subway station is Flushing–Main Street. It's served by the 7 <7> trains train. You can also take the Long Island Rail Road to the LIRR station of the same name, which is a bit further south on Main Street.
See also
In Spanish: Jardín botánico de Queens para niños
