The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a hidden gem, perfect for admiring beautiful blooms, cozying up to flowering trees, and if you’re an influencer, taking pix (hello!). It’s almost as if the flowers, particularly resplendent in the Spring, are quietly beseeching you to strike a pose in front of their gorgeous petals.
Taking professional photos inside the expansive garden is possible, but you’ll need to know a few things before you go:
This is kind of a ‘duh,’ but going to the Garden is not free. For $18 per person, you’ll get unlimited access to the grounds. Please note the rules: stay away from strangers and wear your mask (for the most part). Get your ticket here.
2. Doors close at 6pm.
These might be spring hours, but just make sure you plan your trip accordingly. The guards are serious about time (and getting home), and will tell you to start wrapping everything up at a quarter to 6.
3. Even though it closes at 6, the last entry is at 5:30pm!!
I learned this just a few days ago when I purchased tickets for 5pm, thinking I had a full hour to get in and out. Oh no! The last entry into the gardens is at 5:30pm. Life happens, and even though I planned on getting there at 5:15pm, I arrived at 5:32pm and the guard at the front gate on Eastern Parkway simply would not budge (and was kinda mean!). Even though I was only 2 minutes past cut off, he said my only option was to get a refund for my ticket (even though my photographer was waiting inside). I thought all was lost, but, I walked around to another entrance, begged and pleaded, and a kinder guard allowed us to run in and out in 5 minutes:
Which brings me to…
4.You can take pictures.
You think you’re the only one with the genius idea to take a picture by a gorgeous tree? Certainly not. There are basically lines of people vying for that perfect foliage laden shot. Though some tourists lack a bit of couth and consideration, patience is a virtue here. And the flicks are worth the wait!
5. If you want to do a full on shoot, you’ll have to purchase a permit.
This is certainly something I should have researched before my visit (ignorance is bliss). I didn’t, so hopefully this blog post is helpful to you! If you ‘change clothes’ while there, and a guard catches on, your photo shoot will be over–until you purchase a permit (I was told permits start at $150, another guard told me $400, get details here). As I skipped out of the bathroom, switching out my Shop August Rose dress to my Meow and Barks Boutique ensemble (below), my photographer and I were tailed by a security guard who let us know the deal. To her credit, she was very kind, and called over her supervisor to let me know that my outfit change was a red flag, and at that point, I would need a permit. Because the gardens were about to close, they let me slide with the one outfit change (but not the third one I had in my quiver), and it seems that if you’re subtle (ahem NOT me), you can get away with changing clothes. Just know that if you ‘do too much’ (again, me), you will have to get an official permit. Which is worth it because the Gardens are beautiful. Apparently you need to request a permit 5 business days before your shoot. Read more here.
Be sure to research as much as you can before you go. There are little things, like…no food allowed (You can bring a blanket, but you can’t bring food for a full on picnic) and other small rules you will not know unless you visit their website or read this post!
The Gardens are absolutely stunning and worth a trip, especially now that the trees are in bloom. It’s not super crowded and is a Fashion Bomb approved excursion should you find yourself in BK. Just beware of the guards. They are watching!!!
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Images: Sone Jr
*Get my printed dress here and my purple dress here. I had to go back and shoot my Rainbow dress. Get it here and my shoes here.
