If you missed the bus to Woodstock in the 1960s — or simply long for those groovy, peace-loving, hippie days, whether you lived through them or not — a visit to the New York Botanical Garden this summer will transport you back in time.
“We are proud to present an exhibition that celebrates how flowers have been used as enduring symbols of peace and creative possibility, from the transformative movements of the 1960s to today,” said Joanna L. Groarke, vice president of exhibitions and programming at the botanical gardens. “‘Flower Power’ reminds us that plants have always been a shared language, one that artists return to again and again to express hope, harmony, and connection.”
Flowers are expected at NYBG, but it is especially striking to find them painted across the VW buses and caravans that seem to bloom directly from the garden’s fields, some with the music of the era drifting softly from within. Were they not part of the summer-long exhibition, it would be tempting to climb aboard and disappear into the sunset with flowers woven into your hair.
Before embarking on that imagined journey, you may want to step inside the museum building at the heart of the garden for some historical context. There, a display of paintings, photographs, screen prints, and collages explore flowers as symbols of peace, protest, and love.
“We begin to see this proliferation of photographs of young people arriving at protests carrying flowers, embracing them as an inherent symbol of peace, but also as a joyful counterpoint to violence,” said Michaela Wright, NYBG’s director of exhibitions, content and interpretation. “Flowers became symbolic of life itself — something entirely opposed to war.”
Organized around themes of anti-war activism, utopian ideals, and early environmentalism, the exhibition includes works by Andy Warhol, Corita Kent, and many others, alongside archival news footage, photography, posters, and original fashions from the period.
For Wright, revisiting that era feels particularly timely.
“We were excited to dive into a historical moment in which flowers were a celebrated symbol of optimism and creativity,” she said. “It was also the period in which the modern American environmental movement was just starting.”
As you move through the garden, oversized peace signs appear throughout the grounds, some floating serenely on water and adorned with flowers.
On the Conservancy Lawn stands “Velora,” a sweeping installation by the artist Mushuman. The hand-painted fabric canopies, suspended overhead in vibrant layers, echo the colors and textures of the natural world.
“With Mushuman, we were drawn to the color and scale of his work and how it amplifies the experience of listening to music,” Wright said. “In the 1960s a lot of visual art sprang up around music, for example liquid light shows. Mushuman’s work fit into the ethos of the period.”
Just steps away, in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, a towering floral sculpture from multimedia artist Amie Jacobsen greets visitors. Inspired by the psychedelic concert posters of 1960s festivals like Woodstock and Monterey Pop, the work rises dramatically from the botanical pool at the conservatory entrance.
Inside, wander through aisles of flowers arranged in swirling psychedelic patterns beneath flowing fabric banners by Eugenia Mello, a Brooklyn-based Argentine artist. Her bold graphics and stylized lettering capture the rock music and psychedelia of the time.
More sculptures by Jacobsen await, including “Flower Shower,” which pays homage to the infamous Woodstock traffic jam of Aug. 16, 1969, when organizers reportedly brought in helicopters to deliver supplies and performers to the stage, dropping daisies onto the crowd to lift spirits after a rainstorm.
The exhibition also highlights flowers with remarkable histories. Madagascar periwinkle, for example, helped revolutionize cancer treatment, while foxglove contains digitoxin, a compound used in many heart medications today. Other plants were chosen for their visual connection to the era: coleus with its tie-dye-like swirls, and Egyptian star clusters that resemble the cheerful graphic flowers seen on the era’s music posters.
Throughout the exhibition, signage and reflections from the artists themselves reinforce the exhibition’s message. As Jacobsen writes: “It’s such a simple idea that flowers are for everyone. But it’s true: there’s a simple beauty in the natural world that is there for everyone, if we just pause long enough to see it.”
“Flowers became a symbol for a kind of utopia that a lot of counterculture youth were seeking, and that feels relevant today,” Wright said. “Flowers hold so much symbolic importance to people, and their power to bring joy is universal. I hope visitors walk away with a little more understanding of nature’s power to bring joy.”
The exhibition runs through Oct. 18 and is complemented by liquid light shows, sing-alongs, classes, and other counterculture-inspired events.
