They hold hands beneath the soil, through roots that can identify their fellow species. They communicate with one another through scent. They cool the earth. And by producing oxygen they allow animals, including us, to breathe. At the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, “Power of Trees” offers a summer’s worth of art and science exhibitions, tours and family programs, that will reveal the secrets of our silent, leafy, wise, and protective friends. “I, for one, welcome breaking down the moral barriers between animals and plants,” Peter Wohlleben has written in his marvelous book The Hidden Life of Trees. “When the capabilities of vegetative beings become known, and their emotional lives and needs are recognized, then the way we treat plants will gradually change, as well.” More than 50 tree species will be featured across the Garden. —Laura Jacobs