Flushing's week runs on its gardens and its parks. On Main Street, Queens Botanical Garden's beekeeper is opening the hives' harvest to the public and sending everyone home with a bottle. In Kissena Park, NYC Parks is putting volunteers to work planting trees in the park's forest. And on Northern Boulevard, Flushing Town Hall is pairing its current photography exhibition with a portrait-making workshop for families.

Honey bottling with Queens Botanical Garden's beekeeper

On Sunday, October 25, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Queens Botanical Garden beekeeper Helen Colhoun is leading a hands-on workshop on how she harvests and bottles the garden's honey. Participants learn about the bees, try the harvesting tools, taste the honey and leave with a bottle of it.

Tickets are $30 for non-members and $20 for members, sold through the garden's site. Queens Botanical Garden is at 43-50 Main Street, a walk south from the Flushing-Main Street stop on the 7.

A fall walk with the garden's horticulture director

The day before, on Saturday, October 24, from 11 a.m. to noon, horticulture director Andi Pettis leads a walk through the garden's landscapes focused on the autumn plants that carry color after the summer flowers fade. The garden's farm stand also returns on Wednesday, October 21, from 2 to 5 p.m. on the Visitor and Administration Building terrace, selling what the garden's farm is harvesting that week, and the farm opens to visitors Thursday, October 22, from 10 a.m. to noon.

Planting trees in the forest of Kissena Park

NYC Parks' Stewardship Team is running two volunteer tree and shrub plantings in Kissena Park, on Friday, October 23 and Saturday, October 24, each from 9 a.m. to noon. Volunteers are trained in planting technique on the spot. The meeting point is the Kissena Velodrome parking lot.

The plantings are funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service. Registration is required through the NYC Parks stewardship page, and groups of ten or more are asked to email the stewardship team first. Parks asks volunteers to wear sturdy boots or shoes, long sleeves and long pants they do not mind getting dirty. Volunteers under 18 need a chaperone.

Portraits of Queens at Flushing Town Hall

Flushing Town Hall's current exhibition, Portraits of America, is a group photography show of portraits of people from different generations, communities and backgrounds, organized around the question of what it means to be American today. It runs through November 10.

On Sunday, October 25, from 2 to 3:30 p.m., the hall hosts Portraits of Queens, a participatory workshop tied to the exhibition in which participants make portraits of one another using transparency sheets. It is recommended for ages 5 and up, and tickets are sold through Flushing Town Hall. The hall is at 137-35 Northern Boulevard, two blocks from the Flushing-Main Street station.

Halloween in Flushing Meadows Corona Park

For families who want a costume outing, NYC Parks is bringing back Shocktoberfest on Sunday, October 25, from noon to 3 p.m. at the Playground for All Children in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The free festival has a pumpkin patch, bounce houses, live music, face painting and a photo booth. Costumes are optional.

The week at a glance

  • Wed., Oct. 21: Queens Botanical Garden farm stand, 2 to 5 p.m.
  • Fri., Oct. 23 and Sat., Oct. 24: Kissena Park tree and shrub planting, 9 a.m. to noon. Free, registration required.
  • Sat., Oct. 24: fall garden walk at Queens Botanical Garden, 11 a.m. to noon.
  • Sun., Oct. 25: honey bottling workshop, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ($30, members $20); Shocktoberfest, noon to 3 p.m. (free); Portraits of Queens at Flushing Town Hall, 2 to 3:30 p.m.

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