The Narrows Botanical Gardens lie amid the strip of parkland just south of the Bay Ridge Pier in Brooklyn – the northern tip of Shore Park, really. It's a small wonderland I learned about recently from a Roger Clark NY1 TV report – but it's been here since 1995.
We were visiting the neighborhood a few weekends ago via the NYC Ferry. (Bay Ridge Pier is the last stop on the South Brooklyn Route). Stopping by, we found the Gardens closed. But as this is a pretty narrow space, it's easy to see inside.
The Narrows Botanical Gardens website lists events like movie nights, a springtime planting event, and in the fall a Harvest Festival and Canine Costume Contest. Bees and butterflies buzzing and flitting were the only activity when we visited.
Condé Nast Traveler ranked the NBG one of New York City's "Outstanding Urban Gardens" – along with the likes of Fort Tryon Park, Wave Hill, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden – in a 2013 feature, pointing out "a butterfly garden, a zen garden, two rose gardens, a lily pond, and a turtle sanctuary." I'd love to get a better look at those one day. The website doesn't say when the Gardens are open, though. My guess is that, as with many of these places, availability of personnel to open and oversee is irregular.
Meantime, take a look at the website for a photo of what the site looked like back in 1941. What a testament to the power of community and imagination.
All photos © Jon Sobel, Critical Lens Media
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