Whether you drove a psychedelic flowered bus to the Woodstock music festival (and no shade for not remembering ~ after all, that’s part of the lore) or are just leaning into “Making Love Not War” ~ you’ll want to shimmy into those bell bottoms, shake out those tie-dye and macramé sartorial styles, and get to the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) for their summer multi-sensory show, Flower Power, a celebration of flowers as a cultural symbol of peace and love, borrowed from the groovy 60’s and 70’s decades. The Garden provided their sneak peek for the press preview this week and I had a blast. There is music from the era filtering through the garden installations: The Jefferson Airplane, Donovan, Cream, the Beach Boys, Sly & The Family Stone, and the Grateful Dead will have you groovin’ to the beat as you take in the flowers and flower-festooned vans that look like they landed from a colorful dream “trip.” The show officially opens May 23.

While often the Gallery exhibits amplify the main event of a featured seasonal theme, I feel that this time the gallery is so integral to putting the show into context ~ both as a reminder for folks who lived the eras and for those who are now coming of age. I discovered that “Flower Power” was coined by the Beat Poet, Allen Ginsburg. The Garden notes that “the Seed was Planted (oh how I love hort metaphors ~ they are irresistible!) in a 1963 issue of the Berkley Barb, suggesting that “masses of flowers” be used at the front lines of anti (Vietnam) war protests as strategic messaging. Soon images of protesters aka “flower children” dropping daisies into law enforcement’s rifle barrels were all over the news.

I was also reminded that the era gave rise to environmentalism and the First Earth Day was launched to an enduring success. (Fingers crossed it will continue…) And the fashion and album covers displayed in the Gallery are cultural touchstones.

Albeit a petit installation, the gallery offers just the right amount of fun learnings, with paintings, photography, and posters from the 60s and ‘70s, including three works by pop art icon Andy Warhol.

Other pieces by Milton Glaser, Joe Brainard, and Carlos Irizarry highlight how flowers take on resonance as creative and enduring symbols spanning generations.

I managed to secure an interview with Michaela Wright, the Director of Exhibitions & Interpretations for this impressive Gallery Show at NYBG. Listen as Michaela describes the focus and curation you’ll experience:

A fifteen-foot diameter peace sign filled with live plants welcomes everyone at the Leon Levy Visitor Center and on the lawns are those hippie-happy, musical, flower-packed vans, while additional sculptures and even an artistic “tree” (!) evoking the era can be found throughout the Garden. The exhibition invites visitors to “come together” and embrace flowers as meaningful symbols in our own lives. Flower Power runs through October 18, 2026.

Tickets are on sale now for daytime viewing of the exhibition and can be reserved here at https://www.nybg.org/event/flower-power/. Tickets for Liquid Light Shows, select evenings starting May 30, 2026. After hours, Flower Power comes alive with a mesmerizing liquid light show and unforgettable live music. Each night features a headlining band on stage whose work brings a fresh, modern edge to the iconic and free spirited sound of the late ’60s—including Ghost Funk Orchestra and Habibi—as colorful visuals by Liquid Light Lab transform the Mertz Library façade into a swirling, psychedelic canvas.

Over at the Conservatory, the colors and exhibits on the grounds delight you before you even enter. The Conservatory Lawn features large, hand-painted fabric canopies created by Mushuman, known for vibrant, ligh reactive, and dreamlike designs. Nearby, an interactive art fence, inspired by one at the original Woodstock Festival, allows visitors to participate in an ever growing textile artwork, accompanied by reproductions of archival photos and graphics

Once inside, the Conservatory exhibit offers a plant panoply to rival any poster display. The curated colors and textures found in the garden displays are energetic and inspiring. And they’ll get even better as they grow into their space. I really appreciated that Grace Slick & The Jefferson Airplane accompanied me on my video reporting. Please enjoy the tour ~ and wait for the trippy ending!

The site-specific installations on view in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, feature monumental sculptures by artist Amie Jacobsen, that dazzle in a rainbow of colors and daisy shapes amid horticultural delights.

Outside in the Conservatory’s Hardy Pool Courtyard, water lilies and lotuses create a meditative, peaceful space for visitors to connect to the 1960s-era interest in spirituality and enlightenment.

There’s also lots of fun displays for the children. It’s a summer of Moomin in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden! Don’t know about Moomin? You will see this adorable melange of characters everywhere in the Garden (and in the Shop. Moomins are merch magic!). Now I’m a big fan. Moomin ~ I just love even saying their name. A quick search sums up Moomin ~ “it is a series of children's literature created by Finnish author and illustrator Tove Jansson between 1945 and 1977. The stories center on a family of white, roundish trolls with large snouts—resembling hippopotamuses—who live in the peaceful and magical Moominvalley.The series is renowned for blending whimsical adventure with deep, gently philosophical themes such as friendship, family, inclusion, and the cycle of nature.” So sweet.

Children and their caregivers will discover Moomin starting at the entrance to the Everett Children’s Adventure ~ from the Quest Start to Snufkin’s Tent to Getting to Know MoominValley, the Puppet Theater and the Raft. The Summer of Moomin runs through September 13th.

I also had a serendipitous run-in with Patty Hulse, now the AVP for Children’s Education at NYBG. She recognized me as I was taking the self-guided press tour. It was wonderful to catch up with her. I’ve long been a fan of Patty’s from my days as a co-worker, both at NYBG and BBG. I also managed to garner an interview with Patty, the brilliant children’s educator. Listen here as she describes the hands-on programs you can experience.

So you can see there’s so much to see and do at the Garden. I suggest you plan a day or two or three, over the course of the summer in order to take in and enjoy all the various displays, with plenty of time to shop and dine.

Flower Power is a kind of groovy Garden Glamour ~ an immersive, fun, and culturally significant show that is, curiously, at the zeitgeist now. Yet again…

Oh, and that sartorial splendor I spoke of earlier with regard to the era’s seemingly ubiquitous macramé ~ Not only was it on display on this very talented living bespoke model (see below) ~ who made her outfit, but also the macramé art accessorized a “tree” was a wowsy treat. Plus, word of fashion travels fast in Gotham, being the fashion capital that it is, because I couldn’t help but witness (dare I say I saw a “pattern?”) as I came up from the subway to head home from Union Square. Right there was a varied macramé fashion display! Sock it to me?! Ha.

But then, I have to share a fashion flower to beat even this textile art: my dear cousin Teri made this macramé daisy flower boquet for Mother’s 100 birthday last year, Daisies being Mother’s favorite flower. See how plants inspire other artists?

Speaking of art, here’s what NYBG says about their dedication to the Arts at the New York Botanical Garden ~ Gardening throughout the ages has been closely related to scientifc exploration and innovation, the visual arts, architecture, and cultural and aesthetic movements. Through pioneering interdisciplinary exhibitions that bring together plants, rarebooks and manuscripts, and works of art, NYBG illuminates the deep and enduring relationships between plants and people. These exhibitions, along with their accompanying public programs, highlight the powerful connections among gardening, the arts and humanities, and human well-being.

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