A delight for the senses, the cherished Holiday Train Show at The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) inspires awe and wonder while signaling the official start of the Holiday season. The Garden exhibit inside the Enid A Haupt Conservatory and on the lawn fronting the historic glass house, is a nostalgic time travel journey as the colorful model trains, steam engines, streetcars, along with freight and passenger trains from days gone by, weave around 200 of New York City and Hudson Valley’s iconic landmark and historical buildings, bridges, and destinations, including parks, gardens, bridges, mansions and row houses. Twinkling lights, abundant, hand-crafted, detailed landscapes of trees, flowers, and vines all harmonize to the sounds of colorful engines’ toot, toot and trains coming ‘round the tracks, that is at once, transporting and exhilarating.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral at NYBG Holiday Train Show
Park any thoughts of GPS or Google lens at the entrance. The Holiday Train Show is artfully curated, the landmarks positioned in ways that conjure a Gotham fever dream. At one point you’re at the original ~ then gorgeous ~ Penn Station, and next you’re looking at, the “house that Babe Ruth built” ~ Yankee Stadium, and a few steps away, you're in Central Park’s Bethesda Terrace; and in a head-spinning Gotham euphoria, just across the aisle walk is the Metropolitan Museum, which is across from the Elephantine Colossus at Coney Island. Other stops on this magical journey include Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and Macy’s flagship store.
The newest addition to this year’s show is the SUMMIT of One Vanderbilt, one of New York City’s newest architectural icons and the home of the world-renowned immersive observatory experience SUMMIT One Vanderbilt. The replica recreates the skyscraper’s elegant, tapered form and the signature elements of the new skyscraper, using an intricate composition of natural materials, transforming glass-and-steel modernism into a work of botanical art. According to the Garden “The model showcases the creativity and engineering expertise behind the landmark tower and its plant-based miniature counterpart.”
The SUMMIT One Vanderbilt ~ with moving elevator ~ all made with plant parts
Nostalgia is as much a design element for the miniature masterpieces just as much as the plant parts used to create the inspired replicas of NYC, using nature’s foraged materials, including palm fronds, pinecones, nuts, and cinnamon sticks natural materials such as leaves, seeds, twigs, bark, and acorns.
Holiday Train Show magic at NYBG
How do they do it?
Along with the incredibly dedicated and talented staff of the Garden, the Garden has partnered with Applied Imagination ever since its debut, 35 years ago.
Laura Busse Dolan, Applied Imagination, explains the making of the magical landscapes
Enjoy my interview with Laura Busse, the beautiful and talented owner of the company, launched by her father, Paul, who heads a team of artists that continue to design and create breathtaking “botanical architecture” ~ from locales as diverse as botanic gardens across the US to Singapore, where Laura told me she was heading after the Preview.
Outdoor Vignettes at NYBG Holiday Train Show
The twinkling lights and illuminated water features and pathways make the experience even more glorious in the evenings. I encourage you to visit both day and night.
Beautifully-lit vignettes, which offer truly memorable, card-worthy holiday photo opportunities at every turn.
Under the glass of the warm and welcoming Enid A. Haupt Conservatory you can get up close to see these miniature masterpieces, each one meticulously crafted; from outside, on the Conservatory lawn, you can explore a glowing mountain-scape brimming with even more trains and picture-perfect moments.
Holiday Train Show Magic in the Haupt Conservatory at NYBG
The New York Botanical Garden will be open until 8 p.m., with last entry at 7 p.m., on the following dates: November 27 to 29, December 5, December 11 to 12, December 18 to 20, December 26 to 30, and January 2.
We all need more enchantment and the Holiday Train Show, renowned for its vignettes of G-scale model trains enlivening botanical replicas of famous New York landmarks in miniature, delivers on its promise as The holiday tradition for families ~ and anyone seeking to rekindle or ignite wonder, timeless magic, and romance.
Holiday decor inspiration at NYBG
NYBG notes: “After more than three decades, the Holiday Train Show® celebrates its 35th year at the New York Botanical Garden. The popular exhibition runs from November 14, 2026, through January 10, 2027, continuing to delight as New York City’s favorite winter tradition and a can’t-miss adventure.” I agree. It never ceases to amaze…
Tickets are available for purchase at https://www.nybg.org/event/holiday-train-show-2026/?keyword=holiday%20train%20show
About The New York Botanical Garden
The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) has been a connective hub among people, plants, and the shared planet since 1891. For more than 130 years, NYBG has been rooted in the cultural fabric of New York City, in the heart of the Bronx, its greenest borough. NYBG has invited millions of visitors to make the Garden a part of their lives, exploring the joy,
Me with news crew at NYBG Press Preview extolling the awe of plants at the Holiday Train Show
And for a kicker, my horticulture associate, the successful founder of Lynn Torgerson Designs, a NYC-based garden design firm from which she recently retired, and yours truly were tapped for a TV interview, ostensibly because we looked so stylish, according to the host 🤩 in order to do an on-camera interview, providing our thoughts about the show.
Here it is: NTD TV Interview a good report on the show, including our thoughtful, plant-fueled applause: (Wait for it ~ we’re at the end, naturally 🙂)
So much Garden Glamour 💚🚂🚂
With Love,
Leeann
