Annual Report 2007 - Brooklyn Botanic Garden

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Report2007pt1_FINAL.qxp 2/1/08 2:48 PM Page 66 Displaying Plants and Inspiring the PublicLeft: Crowds flocked to seethe blooming titan arum andto watch BBG horticulturistspollinate it.Right: The Garden created abrownstone façade for adisplay at the U.S. BotanicGarden in D.C.Plant Family Collection, and trees and shrubs in the Native Flora Garden. Planting in the Osborne Gardenand around the Eastern Parkway entrance also continued. The hedges that frame the seasonal bordersalong the Lily Pool Terrace were renovated, and plantings in the Shakespeare and Fragrance Gardens wereenhanced. In the Herb Garden, Horticulture staff restored paths and introduced drip irrigation. Staff alsoboosted the azalea plantings in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, added thousands of bluebells toBluebell Wood, and continued an extensive program of rejuvenation pruning in the Cranford Rose Gardenand throughout the collections.The Garden welcomed a number of important visitors throughout the year. Sharifa Zein Alsharafbint Nasser, the assistant for development, women, youth, and education for the Royal HashemiteCourt of Jordan and a member of the Jordanian royal family, visited the Garden in March to meet withstaff and to draw inspiration for a system of national gardens being developed in Jordan. She wasaccompanied by a Jordanian representative, Ibtesam Yunis, and Brenda Dean, international visitorprogram coordinator for the U.S. Forest Service.In December, renowned landscape architect and professor Darrell Morrison came to BBG to lead afull-day design workshop for the entire Horticulture staff. BBG also welcomed acclaimed author andhorticulturist William Cullina in February and New Zealand author and garden designer Neil Ross inApril. Horticulturist Shigeto Tsukie of the Hyogo Prefectural Conservatory’s Miracle Museum of Plantsin Japan shared his insights with the staff in June.BBG continued to extend its influence outside the Garden, as Horticulture staff contributeddesigns or advice to external projects. In the spring, Horticulture and GreenBridge staff worked withthe Maimonides Cancer Center to design a therapeutic garden for patient and staff enjoyment.Horticulture staff also consulted on plans for the DUMBO improvement district and advised on treespecifications for New York City’s ambitious PlaNYC 2030 street-tree planting program.Garden staff designed, constructed, and installed a garden display to present at the U.S. BotanicGarden’s (USBG) special exhibition “Celebrating America’s Public Gardens.” Featuring displays from12 leading public gardens across the country, the summer-long USBG exhibition celebrated the work,diversity, and importance of public gardens across America. A host of BBG staff members helpedcreate the Garden’s entry: a brownstone façade and stoop featuring antique architectural elementsand filled with plants that represent the diversity of BBG’s collections. BBG was the only public gardeneast of the Mississippi and north of Washington, D.C., selected for the exhibition, which ran from Maythrough October 2007.
Report2007pt1_FINAL.qxp 2/1/08 2:48 PM Page 7Displaying Plants and Inspiring the Public7The new Visitor Centerwill open onto the Garden’sCherry Esplanade and willhouse a number of visitoramenities.Capital Projects & Master Site PlanAs the Garden approaches its centennial year in 2010, it is undertaking an exciting Master Site Plan, anambitious and carefully considered blueprint for the future that will support the Garden's growingaudiences and provide the public with new ways to connect to the living collections.This year, the schematic design for the new Visitor Center was completed. Integrated into the northernend of the Garden, the new Visitor Center will provide a welcoming entrance with improved admission andretail services, as well as other amenities, to help the Garden meet the needs of its expanding audience.The Visitor Center will be BBG’s first “green” building and will be part of an unfolding series of futureprojects, including new gardens and improvements to public entrances. Constructed to meet rigorousLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building certification standards, the VisitorCenter will feature such environmental elements as a living roof, use of recycled building materials, passivesolar principles, geothermal heating, and bioswales (recessed catchment zones filled with water-lovingplants) that will improve storm water management and relieve the burden on the municipal sewer system.It will house an exquisite new garden shop, a much-needed orientation room for tours and classes, aninformation desk, a dramatic event space, a refreshment bar, and other visitor amenities.BBG and Weiss/Manfredi Architects presented the Visitor Center schematic design to the ArtCommission of the City of New York, which approved it unanimously and enthusiastically—as did theGarden’s local Brooklyn Community Board 9. Construction of the project has received generous supportfrom the City of New York. Partnering with BBG on horticultural components of the design, the NewYork City–based firm HM White Site Architects came on board the project as landscape architects forthe Visitor Center.The Garden is pleased to acknowledge Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the Department of Cultural Affairs,Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, and the New York City Council for their generous early supportof the new Visitor Center. Additional support has been received from the Achelis and Bodman Foundations,Booth Ferris Foundation, Helen V. Froehlich Foundation, Independence Community Foundation, KeyspanCorporation, Kresge Foundation’s Green Building Initiative, and the New York State Council on the Arts.Garden staff joined BBG master site plan coordinator Todd Rader, landscape architects from the PorticoGroup, and Visitor Center architects Weiss/Manfredi for a two-day charrette to conceptualize three newlocations for gates at the southern end of the Garden. This process resulted in a series of drawings that willbe refined during the design phases for capital improvements in the Garden’s southern zone.This year, the Garden answered a growing need for an additional venue for visitors to purchase unique,garden-focused gifts by opening a Gift Shop on the site of the former seasonal children’s shop. The storeopened on Forsythia Day and has proved a popular destination for thousands of BBG visitors.
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Annual Report 2007 - Brooklyn Botanic Garden

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