New York Botanical Garden

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More than five times the size of its Brooklyn counterpart, this lush, 250-acre forest, flower and plant habitat delivers a refuge for urbanites and a relaxing chaser to the Bronx Zoo right next door. Warm weather brings the giant water lily to the tropical pool and over 3,000 fragrant roses to the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, but the garden is a year-round destination with blooming indoor and outdoor gardens, concerts, hundreds of classes, special exhibits, the quiet retreat of the surrounding forest, and guided tours of the exotic tropical rain forest in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Opened in 1891, the garden is also home to the only fresh water river in the city (the Bronx River), the largest pressed plant herbarium collection in the western hemisphere and one of the world’s most important botanical research centers. And if that doesn’t impress you, maybe this will: the NYBG’s Hester Bridge was featured in the intro to Sesame Street in the 1970s. — Sandra Nygaard

The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory

The nation’s largest Victorian glass house holds an indoor horticultural environment that shifts from a tropical rain forest to an arid desert gallery. From November to January, the spectacular Holiday Train Show takes over two galleries of the conservatory, filling them with plant miniature replicas of New York landmarks (the Statue of Liberty to the Apollo Theater).

The NYBG Forest
50 acres of pristine woods—one of the few remaining tracts of natural, uncut woodland in New York City. Great for bird watchers. Don’t miss the cascading waterfall.

Gift Shop
Housed in a 7,500-square-foot pavilion, the gift shop offer diverse products: handmade horn sunglasses, an impressive antique-book collection, a surprising jewelry collection, and a whole section of skin creams, home fragrances, and scented candles. Naturally, the store is also stuffed with practical gardening items, too. —Rima Suqi

Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden
The Garden hypes it all year long, but the rose garden is really only worth seeing in June or September ,when the flowers are actually in bloom.

Tours
Audio tours, tram tours, and guided tours are free with admission.

Classes & Lectures
More than 900 one-day and multi-week classes open to the public in Botanical Art & Illustration, Floral Design, Horticulture Therapy, and others.

Weddings
There are two reception sites at this beautifully landscaped garden in the Bronx. For large parties, the Garden Terrace Room, with lush-looking murals on the walls and soft-sconce lighting, will seat 300 guests. Smaller seated groups of 110 might prefer the charms of the Snuff Mill, an 1840 tobacco factory with a beamed ceiling and nearby waterfall. Catering is provided by Abigail Kirsch, starting at $140 per person (including alcohol).

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