Groovy floral exhibition at NY Botanical Garden

The New York Botanical Garden opened “Flower Power” on Saturday, May 23, at its Bronx campus, adding a large-scale floral exhibition to New York City’s Memorial Day weekend arts calendar. The show runs through October 18 and spreads across the Garden’s grounds, the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and gallery spaces, according to the Garden’s event page and a May 19 press release. Time Out described the exhibition as a summer-long, flower-centered show tied to peace-and-love imagery, psychedelic design and 1960s counterculture. Jennifer Bernstein, NYBG’s chief executive and president, said the project brings together art, history and living plant collections in a format “that can only happen at a botanical garden of this scale and scope.” ### What exactly opened at the Bronx garden this weekend? “Flower Power” is a multidisciplinary exhibition built around flowers as symbols of peace, love and environmental awareness, the New York Botanical Garden said in its May 19 materials. The Garden said the exhibition combines a flower show, monumental installations and a gallery presentation of paintings, photography, posters and archival materials from the 1960s and 1970s. May 23 marked the public opening, after a members-only preview on May 22, according to the Garden’s event listing. The exhibition occupies multiple parts of the campus rather than a single hall, with installations placed inside the Conservatory, on its lawn and across the wider grounds. ### Which artworks and installations are the main draws? Andy Warhol’s “Flowers” from 1964 is one of the marquee works in the gallery presentation, and NYBG said the exhibition includes three Warhol works in total. The Garden also named Milton Glaser, Joe Brainard, Carlos Irizarry and Corita Kent among the featured artists. A 15-foot-wide peace sign planted with live flowers stands near the entrance, Time Out reported. The publication also described artist-designed buses placed around the grounds, hand-painted fabric canopies on the Conservatory Lawn and rainbow-colored daisy sculptures by artist Amie Jacobsen inside the Conservatory. ### How much of the show is about plants rather than art? The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and surrounding displays anchor the botanical side of the exhibition, with NYBG describing “groovy and colorful” flower shows and seasonal plantings. The Garden said visitors can move between art objects and living displays rather than treating them as separate programs. Water lilies and lotus flowers appear in the Hardy Pool Courtyard, according to Time Out’s preview. NYBG said the broader exhibition is meant to connect flower imagery from the 1960s with present-day encounters with plants and gardens. ### What else is scheduled beyond daytime admission? May 30 is the first date for the exhibition’s ticketed “Liquid Light Shows,” which NYBG priced at $45 for the public and $35 for members. The after-hours series also has dates on June 13, June 20 and June 27, according to the Garden’s event page. Ghost Funk Orchestra is scheduled to headline the May 30 program, and Habibi is booked for June 13, NYBG said. The Garden said the evening events pair live music with projections by Liquid Light Lab across the façade of the Mertz Library Building. ### What can visitors expect on regular weekends? Saturdays, Sundays and select Fridays and Mondays include “Be-In the Music,” a daytime program of folk music and contemporary works inspired by 1960s scenes, according to NYBG. The Garden also listed rotating “Counterculture Circle Series” activities including drum circles, craft workshops and meditative experiences. Film screenings, friendship-bracelet workshops, sound bath sessions and guided breathwork are also part of the supporting program on select dates, NYBG said in a separate release. Those additions make the exhibition more than a walk-through flower show, with scheduled activities layered onto standard garden admission. ### Where do tickets and dates stand now? The New York Botanical Garden said “Flower Power” is now open and will continue through October 18, 2026. The Garden’s event page lists tickets, member access and programming details, while Time Out included the show in its Memorial Day weekend recommendations for New York City. Monday, May 25, is listed by NYBG as an open day at the Garden during opening weekend. The next major paid add-on is the May 30 Liquid Light Show, followed by June performances and additional daytime programming through the summer.