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Key Takeaways
• Whimsy and enchantment are the major themes of several public garden exhibits across the country this summer.
• Some whimsical design ideas to try at home include adding small statues, mossy elements, and curving paths.
• Naturalistic drifts of pollinator plants or large-leafed tropical plants can also lend a sense of whimsy to a garden.
Fairy houses. Twinkling lights. Twiggy structures. The whimsical garden aesthetic is trending—and not just on social media. New exhibits at public gardens across the country have gone all-in on whimsy, through both plantings and garden art. Here are five of the best shows to visit this summer to experience this trend yourself, along with design ideas you can recreate to bring a little extra wonder to your own yard.
Gary Sexton / Filoli House & Historic Gardens
1. Trolls at Filoli
What is it: Six larger-than-life trolls emerge among the oaks at Filoli in California for a landscape that’s like stepping into a storybook. Crafted by Danish artist Thomas Dambo of recycled wood, each troll has a unique personality and ecological message. Follow up a walk through the enchanted woods with a visit to Filoli’s legendary formal garden.
Ideas to steal: While replicating the supersized trolls for a home garden would be challenging, the space is a reminder to add a little statue in wood or stone that makes you smile. Or get a fairytale feel with mossy garden decor.
Details: June 7 – November 10, 2025; Filoli, 86 Cañada Rd, Woodside, CA
NYBG
2. Van Gogh at New York Botanical Garden
What is it: The expressionistic paintings of Vincent Van Gogh find new life at the New York Botanical Garden. For the show Van Gogh’s Flowers, contemporary artists reimagined Van Gogh’s depictions of flora to create a series of inventive botanical displays and installations. Highlights include a field of sculptural sunflowers and a series of columns that present a deconstructed version of his iconic irises paintings (above). After dark, a drone show puts on a very 21st-century rendition of Starry Nights.
Ideas to steal: You’ll want to plant not just one or two, but a whole mass of sunflowers or irises in your garden after seeing the show. We also love the daydream quality of the exhibit’s reflecting pools, which can be incorporated on a smaller scale with an at-home water feature.
Details: May 24 – October 26, 2025; New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY
Rashmi Gill
3. Gardens of Renewal at Madison Square Park
What is it: Landscape designer Lily Kwong has transformed Manhattan’s Madison Square Park into an immersive green escape with the new installation, Gardens of Renewal. Designed as a meditative oasis, the landscape includes two spaces: a spiral path lined by pollinator plantings (above), and a lawn with playful topography and plantings to foster curiosity about the natural world. Meditation and botanical arts workshops through the summer encourage visitors to find calm through nature.
Ideas to steal: You don’t need space in your garden for a full spiral walkway—even a gently winding path encourages anyone walking through the garden to slow down and take in the scene. Kwong’s naturalistic style and reliance on pollinator plantings is an inspiring reminder to plant for the birds and bees.
Details: April 22 – September 1, 2025; Madison Square Park, NY, NY
Atlanta Botanical Gardens
4. Alice’s Wonderland at Atlanta Botanical Garden
What is it: The show Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland at the Atlanta Botanical Garden captures all the surrealism of the Lewis Carroll story in botanical form. Across 7 installations, 38 topiary and planted sculptures depict Alice spinning amid the teacups, the Cheshire cat, the queen’s chess set, and the white rabbit.
Ideas to steal: Get curiouser and curiouser with your own clippers—be it shaping your own hedge into a fanciful topiary or tending to a small bonsai planting.
Details: May 10– September 14, 2025; Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1345 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta, GA
Paul G. Wiegman
5. Jungle Quest at Phipps
What is it: As magical for plant lovers as Disneyland, the Phipps Conservatory’s Jungle Quest exhibition explodes with tropical plants, flowers, and a whole host of topiary animals across several spaces. A flock of flamingos crafted out of pink begonias and a pair of elephants set against the South Conservancy’s lush jungle of plantings are highlights.
Ideas to steal: Tropical plants like cannas, begonias, and elephant’s ears all have an inherent whimsy. Even if you live in a less-than-tropical locale, you can enjoy them in containers in the warmer months. And for an immersive canopy of foliage, try planting a climber for a pergola or archway.
Details: May 10 – September 21, 2025; Phipps Conservatory, One Schenley Park, Pittsburgh, PA
