By: Barnali Bose, Editor-ICN World
Travelling by subway Times Square 42nd Street to Eastern Parkway—Brooklyn Museum station took us a mere 30 minutes. As we climbed up the stairway, to reach the road above, the Brooklyn Museum loomed large before us. However, our destination being the Botanic Garden, we simply paused in front of the museum for a photograph or two.
A brisk walk of about 15 minutes was all that it took to reach The Brooklyn Botanic( not Botanical as we call such gardens in India) Garden. It is located on 990 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn New York. Spanning 52 acres of land, the garden is a display of hues of natural colours. A board spells its welcome as it says,“Come Share Your Love Of Plants.“ It being a summer Saturday, the timing for visitors was from 10 am to 6 pm. It was a paid entry.
A notice stated that visitors may take photographs as long as they abide by the Garden’s general rules and photo policies. Thus we stopped and clicked whatever caught our fancy, though careful that no rules were broken.
From bluebells to roses, from birds’ nests to weeping beeches, from Predator plants to cabbages and turnips, we arrested these and some more in our camera.
I had always been enamoured by pictures of the Pitcher plant during my school days.Seeing the carnivorous plant there at such close proximity was indeed an experience for me.
Specialty gardens included the Discovery Garden, Rose Garden, and portions of the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden and Native Flora Garden
Shakespeare Garden was a queerly labelled display of some flowering plants and herbs that Shakespeare had mentioned in his sonnets and plays.
We saw a few children digging, sowing and watering. On enquiring, I learned that since 1914, children have been growing flowers, vegetables, and herbs to acquire experience about nature.Children are thus not mere spectators but actively involved in nurturing the garden.
Our final stop was the Garden Shop.It had an extensive collection of indoor plants and seasonal outdoor plants, as well as bulbs and seeds besides books and momentos. Knowing fully well that international flight norms would not permit carrying any of those back to India, we overcame the urge to buy anything else but momentos.
‘Fight for Sunlight’ is a movement launched to oppose a proposed massive building complex located at a stone’s throw from the garden. Lack of sunshine, it is feared would pose a serious threat to the sustenance of biodiversity in the Botanical Garden.It brought to me with a jolt, the harsh truth of how the survival of nature and the race of urban development are at daggers’ drawn with each other.
Saying that my visit to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden was a visual treat would be no exaggeration but rather an understatement. Its sprawling expanse of breathtakingly beautiful botanical displays is truly a feast not only for the eyes but also for the soul.
