When I tell people back in England that Ryan lives in Brooklyn, their eyes widen.
‘Is that safe?’ they ask. ‘Aren’t there gangs there? Like in films and stuff?’
So when my mum and aunt visited this weekend, Ryan and I thought we’d take them to Brooklyn to show them that it’s really quite safe, actually.
We spent most of the day eating (Mexican here, ice cream here and feasting on babaghanoush in a Bedouin tent here) but the highlight was visiting the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I’ve been meaning to go for ages now, and I was a bit narked that I missed the recent cherry blossom festival. But the weekend weather was finally perfect for it and it seemed like a parent-friendly, gang-free Brooklyn activity.
We started by wandering through the (no-longer-blossoming) cherry trees, over bridges, past waterfalls and into smaller, perfectly preened gardens.










Then we went inside the greenhouses to see rainforests, bonsai trees, cacti and giant lily pads.






I loved the variety of the gardens; some parts were busy, like the koi-crammed pond, whereas others, including the wooded trails, were quieter and cooler. Some visitors had brought picnics so they could spend a lazy day beneath the trees, which I thought was a great idea.
There were also never-ending species of flowers and plants. We all oohed and ahhed over a field of gorgeous bluebells – a small taste of the woods back home for my visitors.



See, Brooklyn’s not so scary, is it?
For more information about the Botanic Gardens, including opening times, check out their website.

We love Brooklyn – and the ice cream is fabulous – looking forward to another visit there
Yes, I’ll make sure I look for a place to live within a one block radius of that ice cream shop! (And get a spare room so you can visit and stock up.)
Sounds good xx
Your blog is fantastic, and I am learning so much about the city. Thank you. The Botanic Garden is one of my favorites, and my son lives in Brooklyn, not so far away from it. I was there two weeks ago, and missed the cherry blossoms, but the bluebells were heaven. Did you see the Shakespeare Garden?
Yes, we went to the Shakespeare Garden too – I thought it was such a lovely idea and so well kept. A couple of the photos above are from there – the stripy lettuce patch and the pansies. Gorgeous.
Thank you for reading 🙂
It was great to get out of the city into sunny, friendly Brooklyn. The Botanic Gardens are a brilliant day out.
Nearly as good as your vegetable patch!
[…] :: And did you see I went to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens last weekend? If you haven’t been yet, I’d really recommend it for a lovely, leisurely weekend […]
I adore the BBG, great pictures! SO funny to hear what europeans think of NYC!