New York Botanical Garden

In 1888, American botanists Nathaniel Lord Britton and Elizabeth Gertrude Britton visited the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in England. Envisioning a similar garden that advanced botanical research and public knowledge of plants while conserving rare species, the Brittons opened the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) in Bronx Park in 1891. 

The 250-acre NYBG, a National Historic Landmark, continues that mission today as it houses more than 1 million plants across 50 specialty gardens and collections. With the largest botanical and horticultural library in the Western Hemisphere, the second-largest herbarium in the world, and one of only two freestanding botanical garden plant and fungal research centers on the planet, the NYBG stands as a leading and comprehensive plant research institution.

The garden also houses the Enid Annenberg Haupt Conservatory, named after the great aunt of GRoW founder Gregory Annenberg Weingarten. Completed in 1902, the greenhouse fell into disrepair in the 1970s, and Haupt, a horticulture enthusiast and philanthropist, donated $10 million to renovate the conservatory and endow its operations. Today, the conservatory serves as a vital hub for the garden.