Free NYC Wildflower Week Giveaways!
Time: Saturday, May 1, 8:00am - 3:00pm
Location: Union Square Greenmarket

Pick up free NYC Wildflower Week goodies, get information on the week’s events and take home native plant seedlings for your garden while supplies last (one per person).
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Gardening Advice and Demonstrations
Time: Saturday, May 1, 8:00am - 3:00pm
Location: Union Square Greenmarket

We will provide native plant gardening advice and container garden demonstrations throughout the day. Find out what makes a plant native, how to attract butterflies and birds, and the best ways to start a native plant garden.
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Native Plant Garden
Time: Sunday, May 2, 11:00am - 3:00pm
Location: 15th Street and Union Square West
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Garden Tour
Learn about the hundreds of ferns, grasses, shrubs and wildflowers that are native to NYC and call this garden home. The designer will also be available to answer questions about your own wildlife native plant garden. If you can’t make it on May 2nd, we'll have seasonal videos and a podcast will be available for self-guided tours to meander at your own pace later in the year.  We'll also have floristic face painting and other crafts for kids!
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BABY BUGS
Time: Wednesday, May 5, 10:00 - 10:45 am. For ages 18 mo to 4 years
Location: Native Plant Garden, 15th Street and Union Square West, Union Square Park
Contact: Lloyd Miller, Deedle Deedle Dees, Brooklyn-based educational rock band
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Description: Baby Bugs is an introduction to the natural world featuring songs, stories, and hands-on explorations for younger children and their caregivers. Afterwards native wildflowers and other aspects of nature are available for children to experience up-close in the garden.
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Experience Life as a Plant!
Time: Saturday, May 8, 2:00 - 3:00pm for pre-teens (ages 7-12) and
Saturday, May 8, 3:00-4:00pm for teens (ages 13-17)
Location: Native Plant Garden, 15th St. and Union Square West
Contact: Nina
Register for this event (strongly encouraged due to limited space).

Description: Imagine the life of a NYC wildflower. How does it breathe? How does it interact with other wildlife? How does it thrive in the city? And how is it like us? Through words and movement we will explore the world of native plants living in Manhattan, including their interaction with the sun, wind, soil, pollinators, and people. Our exploration will take the form of a structured improvisation, inspired by basic botanical information. No prior knowledge or experience necessary!
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Plant Poetry
Time: Saturday, May 8, 1:00 – 2:00pm for ages 8-12 and
Saturday, May 8, 2:00 – 3:00pm for ages 13-17
Location: Native Plant Garden, 15th St. and Union Square West
Contact: Daniel
Register for this event (strongly encouraged due to limited space)

Description: A one-hour workshop during which we will explore how nature, specifically plants and wildflowers, can be useful sources of poetic inspiration. No experience necessary, just an open mind and love of language. Poems will be collected and edited for publication in an online digest: the inaugural issue of "Deep Seed" a magazine devoted to plant life and the arts. "Deep Seed" will be available this spring. (For details Email Daniel Roberts, danieljroberts@gmail.com)
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Celebrate Mother’s Day with Wildflowers!
Time: Sunday, May 9, 1:00 – 2:00pm, all ages (Fathers are welcome!)
Location: Native Plant Garden, 15th St. and Union Square West
Contact: Nina
Register for this event

Description: Learn how flowering plants make their baby plants, or seedlings. Play games of movement and imagination to experience the life of a plant in spring. Learn why native plants are vital to human life in New York City, and even which ones have special healing powers.
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Native Plant Display Garden in Union Square Park

Located at East 15th Street and Union Square West, the garden features plants native to the New York City area. Showcasing that historically grew wild in lower Manhattan, it is home to large-leaved trillium, wild columbine, witch hazel, and maidenhair fern. It is a habitat haven for birds, bees, and butterflies, and engages New Yorkers with their local flora. The garden also reflects our local natural heritage, is a model for thoughtful, ecological designs in public parks, and encourages place-based nature education in our schools.
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To see the species being planting in the garden, click here.

Want to know more? Listen to the garden’s designer, Mariellé Anzelone, extol the virtues of wildflowers. To listen to the audio file, click here.