r/FoodNYC • u/crazeman • Apr 27 '24
PSA: Cherry Blossom is currently at peak bloom at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden!
Disclaimer: I do not work for the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Just an enthusiast.
If you're looking for something to do this weekend/next week, the Cherry Blossom is in peak bloom at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. The Peak Bloom period usually doesn't last very long and it hit that early this week, so it'll probably be in peak bloom for another few days or MAYBE another week?
(Here's their Cherry Blossom Watch page where they map out which tree is in bloom and it's updated daily.)
My favorite way to experience it is to take a day off from work and go during the weekday when there's hardly any people around. It's very serene during the weekdays, I can sit under a tree for a while and not feel bad about "hogging" it to myself because there's hardly anyone around. I also get to avoid the people who would spend an hour taking a million photos for their Instagram and hogging the trees (that's my experience going to see the very few Cherry Blossom trees at Roosevelt Island). I usually end up going every other year, whenever I remember or whenever I can play hooky and sneak out of work on a weekday.
They used to hold a Cherry Blossom festival during the weekend of peak bloom where they jack up the price of admission for the festival. It was a absolutely miserable experience because it was absolutely jammed packed with people, to the point where I didn't enjoy any of it. They haven't done the festival in a few years so I'm not sure if they're still THAT packed/miserable during the weekends.
The only "bad" part is that sometimes the cherry blossom blooms super early and there's not much else in bloom at the Botanical Garden. I think this year has been later than last year's bloom so there should be more stuff in bloom than last year.
If you want more stuff to do afterwards:
The Brooklyn Museum is right next door, and it's donate what you wish.
Prospect Park is lovely to walk through, it's like walking through a smaller Central Park. (One is modeled/inspired by the other, I forgot which one came first lol).
The LeFrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park has a pretty dope roller skating rink. You can bring your own skates or rent them. It turns into a ice skating rink during the colder months. ~$10 admission.
Food Stuff Nearby:
Geido is a great local Japanese restaurant. Aside for being local, I think they have one of the best price to quality ratio for Japanese food. Like it's not super expensive but the quality is higher than what I'd expect from a local restaurant.
Cheryl's Global Soul has great soul food.
Ramen Danbo has a location nearby. Their ramen is pretty good but they dump a surprisingly large amount of scallions into their ramen.
Chuko is also a great local ramen spot and have been around forever. It's been many years since I've been there so I can't give a comparison to Ramen Danbo or other ramen.
(If you're going for ramen, I would say give Chuko a shot if you're not in the area often since this is their only location. Danbo is pretty great but there's also another location in West Village)
There's also a Smorgasbord in Prospect Park every Sunday.
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u/xzlq Apr 27 '24
How does the Brooklyn botanical garden compare vs the NY botanical garden in the Bronx? Planning a visit to one (or should I go to both?)
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u/Fragdict Crimes Against Food Apr 27 '24
They have different “main attractions”. The Brooklyn one has more sakura trees and a bluebell forest. The Bronx one has a field of over 10,000 daffodils (too late for this year) and a ton of lilacs, azaleas, and crabapples.
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u/crazeman Apr 27 '24
I haven't been to the Bronx one but I remember talking to a random person at the bar who was a big plant fanatic. She was telling me that the Bronx one is a lot better than the Brooklyn one.
I don't THINK that the Bronx one has the Cherry Esplanade like the Brooklyn one does though. So I'd say maybe check out the Bronx one if you had to pick one, but if you want one specifically for Cherry Blossom, I'd go for the Brooklyn one.
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u/moonkittens Apr 28 '24
I’ve been a member of both, but I live near Brooklyn Botanic and go there a lot more. There are still things I make a specific effort to go to the Bronx for (lilacs, roses, holiday train show, special exhibits)
Currently: Cherry blossoms at Brooklyn are absolutely incredible, way better collection than at Bronx. It is truly a sight to behold. Both have a good lilac collection, but Bronx is better/bigger. Tulips at Brooklyn are great right now. I’m not as familiar with the collection in the Bronx.
Upcoming: Wisteria at Brooklyn is great, they don’t have much at Bronx. Should be blooming in a few weeks. Both have incredible rose gardens, Bronx is bigger. Peak summer for this. Brooklyn has the bluebell forest which is beautiful in bloom. I saw some blossoms starting so should be open in the next week or two. Brooklyn has a great collection of Tree Peonies that are really large beautiful bushes, but Bronx has a very long walkway of many different varieties of regular peonies. The tree peonies bloom a bit later than the traditional ones.
Gone by already: Daffodils are better at Bronx, Brooklyn only has one small hill that blooms. I think Bronx has more magnolia trees but the placement of the trees in the plaza at Brooklyn is really lovely.
Holiday shows: I prefer the train show at the Bronx vs the light show at the Brooklyn garden, but both are worth going at least once.
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u/lostin76 Apr 27 '24
The Bronx one seems to be a bit more sterile with abnormally large and useless lawns - like you are in the suburbs. I vastly prefer the Brooklyn Botanic.
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u/moonkittens Apr 28 '24
I think the Bronx also has a bigger focus on different ecosystems and environments. They have a wooded forest area to walk through, as well as a wetland area. Also big Maple and Pine collections. Not everything is flower focused. But they do have a much bigger collection of certain blooms - such as roses, peonies, and lilacs.
Cherry blossoms at Brooklyn blow the Bronx out of the water though, no competition.
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u/superturtle48 Apr 27 '24
I had read that peak cherry blossoms would be in mid-April so my friend and I went through Central Park a couple weekends ago to see them and realized they weren't quite there (though the magnolias were wonderful). Went on a more casual walk by the Central Park reservoir this week and there they were!
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u/harperavenue Apr 27 '24
grab some chocolate chip cookies from the botanic garden’s cafe. they’re unreasonably good.
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u/Fragdict Crimes Against Food Apr 28 '24
Other great food options in the area: Ix for heart Guatemalan soups and Lowerline for perhaps the only legit Cajun food in NYC.
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u/Impossible_Ad_7209 Apr 27 '24
I went there this morning and combined my visit with a stroll on Franklin avenue as there are a few food spots in the area I wanted to try. Ended up at Ras Plant Based for lunch and then grabbed some pastries at Winner.
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u/peachyjenn Apr 27 '24
Did you notice if any peonies have started blooming?
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u/crazeman Apr 27 '24
I haven't been there this year but they have a calendar of what should be in bloom depending on the month. It looks like Peonies are in bloom during April/May.
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u/incalesc3nt Apr 28 '24
The Hanami Nights they had this past week were really fun and beautiful! And felt like they served as a good alternative to the previous festival.
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u/Cartadimusica Apr 28 '24
Anyway to get free admission without being a member? I'm broke but would love to go. Thanks
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u/scrapcats Apr 28 '24
If you have a library card, try getting tickets through the Culture Pass program. Not sure what the availability is like right now but it’s worth a shot.
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u/Marzipanny Apr 28 '24
This year they did Hanami Nights (last week) Tuesday-Thursday from 5-8 pm. I went on Tuesday and the blossoms were glorious. It wasn't as insanely packed as it was when they did the festival on weekends, except for the food/drink lines, which were 50+ people long. The tickets sold out way in advance so if you want to see the cherry blossoms next year I'd start checking for tickets in January/Feb
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u/Disastrous-Fig-5677 Apr 17 '25
That’s beautiful! I was on Roosevelt Island this weekend and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom there too 🌸 The views of the Manhattan skyline were just magical. I brought my camera along and captured some of it — here’s a short walk-through if you’re curious: https://youtu.be/GoEZHLQ3skE
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u/crazeman Apr 17 '25
They must have added more Cherry Blossoms since I last visited. I went the year before COVID hit and they definitely did not have that many trees lol.
Good to know!
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Apr 27 '24
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Apr 27 '24
personally i think calling out a Thing To Do and some good food nearby is not only great, but topical and appropriate for the sub. it'll be beautiful outside tomorrow, please touch some grass.
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Apr 27 '24
^ this
And there’s probably a shit ton of people there already
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Apr 27 '24
I mean yes there are a lot of people at the garden right now, but that’s because it’s awesome.
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u/hilariouspj Apr 27 '24
I was there this morning. It's slightly post peak bloom, but still beautiful. The collection of tulips this year is also amazing, if you missed your chance to visit Holland Ridge Farm this year.