Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a 52-acre botanical garden in central Brooklyn, designed by the Olmsted Brothers and developed as both a picturesque landscape and a center for science, education, and conservation. Established on a site set aside in 1897 and opened in 1911 on former ash-dump land, it grew substantially under first director C. Stuart Gager, with landscape architect Harold Caparn shaping many of its signature spaces. Its collections and gardens include water features, specialty plantings, and major scientific buildings. Early additions such as the Native Flora Garden, children’s garden, and Japanese garden helped define its identity, and later restoration secured its place as a major New York City horticultural institution.