The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx has launched an exhibition commemorating the flower power ethos of the 1960s, presenting a curated reflection on the era’s floral symbolism and cultural impact. The display, running through October 18, combines horticulture, sculpture, and period-inspired artistic elements to revisit the ideals and aesthetics associated with the hippie movement.

Central to the exhibition is a blend of vibrant plantings, sculptures, and immersive installations that evoke the psychedelic visual language of the sixties. Within the garden’s glass conservatory, artist Amie Jacobsen has constructed a towering bouquet made from steel and aluminum, designed to evoke the lush yet surreal qualities linked with botanical imagery from the period. Surrounding areas feature colorful flowering plants such as neon impatiens and magenta coles arranged alongside psychedelic banners emblazoned with peace and love motifs. Additional artworks include leafless trees adorned with knitted branch coverings by fiber artist Carmen Paulino and hand-painted canopies by installation artist William Hochweber, which shade seating and performance spaces.

The exhibition aims to highlight flower power’s historical and political significance, tracing botanical symbolism’s deep roots in European history—from the Wars of the Roses to socialist and anti-Nazi movements—and its distinctive role in the 1960s as a peaceful counterpoint to mechanized violence. The period’s characteristic fusion of pop art, Eastern mysticism, Victorian styles, and psychedelia is explored through visual and horticultural means, conveying the era’s convergence of art and altered states of consciousness.

Notably absent from the displays is cannabis, a plant closely tied to sixties counterculture, likely due to legal restrictions on public cultivation. A solitary depiction of a cannabis leaf is visible in a gallery poster, highlighting its omission from the garden’s plantings.

The exhibition’s gallery segment features Andy Warhol’s 1964 “Flowers” painting, depicting hibiscus blossoms based on a photograph by environmental activist Patricia Caulfield. Warhol’s work exemplifies the commercialization of counterculture imagery, an evolution underscored by accompanying memorabilia, including Woodstock photographs, album covers, and vintage advertisements. The show also traces how the flower power movement shifted into mainstream consumerism, with examples such as ads for Flower Children Bubble Gum and Campbell’s Soup leveraging psychedelic motifs for marketing purposes.

The exhibit acknowledges the accelerated decline of the hippie movement, recalling a 1967 mock funeral in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district that symbolized residents’ effort to reclaim their subculture from media exaggeration.

While the exhibition presents a nostalgic and visually engaging tribute to the 1960s flower power era, it also reflects on the tension between the grassroots, improvisational spirit of the original movement and the curated, polished environment of the Botanical Garden. Admission for non-New York residents is set at $35.