Charitable Gift Giving

New York City is probably best known for its skyscrapers, traffic jams, sidewalks covered with litter, and subway tunnels populated by rats. But something that people don’t realize is that the five boroughs of Manhattan are some of the world’s most impressive botanical gardens. They’re literally an oasis that a urbanite weary of the hustle and bustle of the city can escape to.

Every botanical garden in NYC has a distinct personality, reflecting the borough it’s in. The Queens Botanical Garden is smaller and cozier. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is my personal favorite with its cherry tree groves, rose gardens, and Japanese tea garden. But the biggest and most famous botanical garden in New York is in the Bronx–the New York Botanical Garden. It covers the most space and has the most impressive displays, from its annual orchid show the the jaw-dropping winter train show.

What a lot of people don’t realize is that all of these garden aren’t just for show. They’re doing serious research and work in plant conservation and science.

Not everyone has $840 to pay for a present, but if you do–and if you’re shopping for someone who loves beauty and the natural world and who perhaps lives in a space that would benefit from displaying beautiful flowers every month–this is one of the most amazing presents you can give. It’s a subscription to a monthly hand-crafted bouquet from BloomsyBox.

While you can buy bouquets from companies like ProFlowers, 1-800-Flowers, and FTD, I honestly wouldn’t trust any of them with something like a monthly subscription product. Especially around times like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day the quality from these companies goes down as they literally scrape the bottom of the barrel to find flowers to sell.

Bloomsybox has a different approach. Every month they reserve flowers in a subscription box that’s unique and stunningly beautiful. This NYBG Subscription product is one of their finest. Each month they’ll send a hand-crafted bouquet in a box, along with a special-edition collectable postcard with an illustration from NYBG’s library. A percentage of every purchase goes to help the NYBG.