Brooklyn Botanic Garden, USA

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden, located next to the Brooklyn Museum, is a jewel not only for this remarkable borough, but for New York City. The 52-acre garden is a celebration of landscape architecture. It was founded in 1910 by the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Designed by architects McKim, Meade and White, the Victorian Palm House and the Botanic Garden Administration Building were created. And landscape architect Harold Capurn prepared the design for the garden itself, which is lovely with its carefully arranged plants in their natural habitat.

It is the first garden of its kind in North America with a variety of wildflowers and trees. It was expanded in 2013 to include distinctive prairie vegetation, a pine forest, a pond and a wooden bridge allowing visitors to cross to various points of interest in the garden.

In subsequent years, more spaces have been added to the Botanical Garden thanks to donations and a desire to create beauty in this wonderful place.

The 1914 Japanese Garden was the first public garden created in America. It is considered the masterpiece of its creator Takeo Shiota (1881-1943), who was born in a small village outside Tokyo. Before emigrating to the United States, he crossed Japan on foot to experience his country's natural landscape. Therefore, his Japanese garden contains hills, a waterfall, a lake and an island, and the wooden bridges, paths, stone lanterns, rocks and typical Japanese plants are something fascinating. The lake is full of Japanese fish, which visitors watch with interest. The Japanese temple dedicated to the Shinto god of fertility adds to this enchanting atmosphere.

The cherry orchard, with its 200 cherry trees of forty-two Asian species, was established after World War I as a gift from the Japanese government. It is at its most beautiful here in May, when the cherry trees are ablaze with blossom and the Flower Festival is held. The best thing is that you can sit on the green lawn under the trees and enjoy the walk to the full.

Near the Japanese Garden is the Children's Garden also from 1914. In it students can grow various vegetables and flowers to harvest later.

The Cranford Rose Garden is something delightful. It was created by civil engineer Walter Vrance Cranford in 1927 to a design by Harold Capurn. More than 5 thousand rose bushes of nearly 1,400 species of roses, including wild species, old garden roses, hybrid tea roses, miniature roses and many others, spread their fragrance from June to September.

The Shakespeare Garden was established in 1925 by Henry Clay Folger, founder of the Folger Shakespeare Bible Library in Washington, DC. In this garden there are more than 80 plants mentioned in Shakespeare's works as the labels are inscribed with the botanical and Shakespearean names of the plants in addition to the plants.

The so-called Fragrance Garden is located near the Shakespeare Garden. Its creator, the Landstaff architect Alice Recknagel Iris, had a project of her own carried out in 1955 specifically for the visually impaired. Visitors can crush the leaves of the plants to smell their fragrance. It was the first such garden in the United States to have special paths for wheelchairs and the plants were planted at a height suitable for the disabled. This garden has a lovely fountain with soothing music and an interesting fountain for washing hands.

Another addition to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is the 1988 Steinhart Greenhouse, which houses the Bonsai Museum with a collection of 750 species of dwarf plants. In this greenhouse can be seen the "Path of Evolution" exhibit illustrating the four billion years of plant evolution and the Robert W. Wilson" with its collections of tropical aquatic plants, orchids and more.

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden has an Education Department where lectures are given on growing flowers and other plant species. Students from Brooklyn Specialized High School visit the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to develop their scientific and practical skills.