Illustration of large yellow corn in the left corner with tall corn stalks, purple eggplant hanging next to the corn stalks over green grass and colorful representation of three rows of crops. A swirlly painted picnic table is next to the crops with three people, two are seated, one looking at a phone and one is standing walking toward them. Behind them is a large glass Conservatory dome and the sky is rendered in bright blue and darker blue strips that all point down toward the dome. On the right side are a pumpkin, bright red tomatoess hanging from a vine, and a white flower with a purple inside with green flowers and leaves along the side. The illustration is signed by Andre Trenier, 2022.

Living Exhibition in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory

Saturday, June 4, 2022 – Sunday, September 11, 2022

10 a.m.–6 p.m. | At the Garden

Showcasing hundreds of varieties of edible plants, the displays in and around the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory invite you to explore the diversity and beauty of food plants grown around the world—with living plant installations that highlight crops from a variety of climates.

Seasonal Exhibition Galleries

Edible herbaceous plants and fruit-bearing trees flourish here, entwined in overhead trellises and growing from vertical planters perfect for compact urban spaces. Find gourds and passionfruit growing along arbors, while palms, root vegetables, and fruiting plants thrive in the glasshouse galleries.

Conservatory Courtyards

Explore dietary staples of the world’s tropical regions in the Hardy Courtyard, including rice, taro, and banana; grapes, olives, and other Mediterranean region plants; and arid climate crops such as figs, citrus, and pearl millet. In the Tropical Courtyard, discover peppers, tomatoes, and other nightshades; as well as a gourd trellis.

Basket of purple taro rough rounded and oval shapped root vegetable.

Spirit Garden in the Courtyard

The spirit garden features raw ingredients for alcoholic concoctions made around the world. Wheat, barley, and the closely related rye are all distilled as the base for a variety of spirits, including whiskey, gin, and many vodkas. Hops, originally used as a preservative, add a distinctly bitter flavor to beer. Potatoes are distilled to create vodka. The bark of Quercus ruber is the source of corks for everything from Champagne to Scotch.

Small green round grapes in a cluster, with large green leaves on brown branches.

Conservatory Lawn

Discover an undulating field of dwarf sorghum and barley, traditional grains well-suited to NYBG’s climate here in the Bronx, and learn about the diversity of grains around the world.

Edible plants in front of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory

Around the World's Table in the Palm Dome

An artful data visualization installation created by information designer Giorgia Lupi and Pentagram, conveys the global impact of food production and consumption on the planet. The installation is made up of 100 partially submerged sculptures representing the major food groups we consume, their share in the global diet, and their relative carbon footprint.

Using the basin of the pool as a metaphor for the world, the size of the installation reflects the percentage of the world’s habitable land used for agriculture—roughly 50%. The color, height, placement, and features of the sculptures visually represent 2019 data on global food production and consumption gathered from the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization and Our World in Data—an open-source knowledge-sharing platform for scholars and researchers.

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Multi-colored blue, yellow, and red tall sculptures reflecting in a black pool with tall palm fronds and palm trees behind.