Since 2018, Madison Square Park Conservancy has hosted at least one horticulture exhibition each year. Our team of expert horticulturists curate exhibitions from scratch. The design of these temporary interpretive gardens help tell the stories of current and historical horticultural trends, utilizing plants as a medium for expression. Each plant is chosen for its unique bloom color, texture, growth, or contribution.

Our horticulture team visits nurseries and garden trials to assess the quality of the products offered by each grower. We also check to see which plants are trending, and which would perform well in the park landscape. This is important because it allows us to form relationships with the growers and nurseries who custom-grow plants for each exhibition.

It also allows us to form connections with the plants themselves. Detailed maps and color palettes are drawn to help visualize the exhibition design. Each design is the culmination of years of horticulture study, as each plant has its own individual growth, habits, and needs. Sunlight, bloom time, watering conditions, and interaction with other plants are all taken into account.

Designs are finalized in early winter, as our anxious group of horticulturists await the warmer weather, and our growers practice the science of cultivating seedling plants. Finally, the plants arrive at the park and installation can begin! We lay out all of the plants in the designs we came up with months before. The designs we put on paper come to life when we place each plant in its place. Careful planting and watering can then begin as our plants put down roots for visitors to enjoy.