What else is there to do during yet another violent forever war in the Middle East caused by the United States and Israel, other than dissociate while staring blankly at beautiful flowers? Pretty, pretty! Even better if those flowers are shaped into a romanticized, sweetly scented New York City, courtesy of Queens-born floral artist Mr. Flower Fantastic, who puts his own Gotham spin on this year’s Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden. Emily Colucci and Alexandria Deters tiptoed through the orchids and then had a chat about it:

Alexandria: We have both attended a good number of shows at the New York Botanical Garden. Some years, the orchid show is great, other times it is….lackluster. Because of this, I try to go with my expectations well, in the dirt! Did you have any ideas entering this year? 

Emily: Well, first, I feel like we have to address the context in which we attended the show this year: the Iran war! I woke up on Saturday morning, looked at Instagram, watched my favorite squirrel account, and then switched over to X to see that we were at war for Israel’s ongoing multi-front war of aggression with all their neighbors! Before I left for the long trek from Manhattan to the Bronx, I saw the horror of either the U.S. hitting a girls school and killing a slew of Iranian children. So…my expectation was that we live in hell, so fuck it, why not look at flowers?! Appreciate them…while we still can! 

But to directly answer your question, embarrassingly, I don’t go to the New York Botanical Garden near enough, though it is a true jewel of our city! The only other orchid show I went to, again with you, was 2023’s Natural Heritage, designed by Lily Kwong. Though it was pretty, as all orchids are in both their many inventive structures and colors, I wasn’t exactly awed by any particular theme. Mostly, I recall how crowded it was, especially with those big boulders covered in orchids, perfect for everyone’s Instagram selfie! This year, I saw some images of Mr. Flower Fantastic’s Concrete Jungle on social media, so I anticipated a few big installations like the introductory brownstone covered in pinkish-purple orchids, the 99-cent pizza place (not yet adjusted for inflation), and the yellow cab. But you’ve been to a lot more of these shows than I have. 

Alexandria: That was such a fun show we went to in 2023! I always love dragging you to my borough and making you enjoy the best nature the city has to offer. Because let’s be honest, the Brooklyn and Queens gardens are a joke in comparison. 

I was not sure what to expect. Last year, the theme was Mexican Modernism, inspired by the architect Luis Barragán. It was nice, but I was underwhelmed. I’ve learned that the orchid shows are best when a living artist is directly involved, which made me excited that this year’s show was by a living artist who not only is from NYC but is known internationally for being a floral artist.

Still, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Just cautiously hopeful. But entering the space, and the first thing you see is a recreation of a brownstone facade with a trash can? I knew it was going to be good. For an NYBG orchid show, I would give it a 9 out of 10. 

Emily: I wasn’t at all familiar with Mr. Flower Fantastic before going into the show, were you? Or really ANY floral artists in general. Floral art is way out of my frame of reference, but probably shouldn’t be, because it makes me happy, especially in the winter. More floral art in galleries and museums, please! 

Alexandria: I agree! More floral! When I lived in San Francisco from 2010 to 2015, one of my favorite events was the yearly Bouquets to Art at the de Young and the Legion of Honor. It’s a fundraising event that invites floral artists to interact with and make arrangements inspired by the permanent collection of both spaces. It was so nice seeing a floral artist’s interpretation. 

I wish we had something like that in NYC, especially in the winter. I have to say, going to the NYBG while snow was covering most of the garden was kinda ideal. I even started sweating while we walked around. It was a nice mini-vacation from the cold and snow we have been bombarded with this year. Is that the key to visiting the orchid show? Go when it is a frozen hell outside?!

Emily: At one point, I thought I was going to have to run and kick a Boomer off of a bench because it was so hot and humid in there. The orchids’ preferred temperature plus all the visitors’ body heat made me almost pass out! I took my coat off and pushed my long sleeves up, but it wasn’t enough! I needed to strip! But other than a near momentary loss of consciousness, I agree with you. It’s better to go when it’s frigid and snow-covered because that means fewer crowds! When we visited in 2023, it was a nice spring day, which meant it was slammed. I also enjoy walking around the NYBG’s enormous outside grounds, even if it is just bare trees, snow, and the trickle of water. And squirrels! Plus, the winter we’ve had made the lushness of the flowers inside feel that much more extraordinary.

Alexandria: Ok, let’s get real, there is a downside to being crammed inside, too. During the show, I saw a lot of kids with their parents, which…great… wonderful…but there were like 3 and 4-year-olds running around, and their parents were kinda like whatever? I kept waiting for a kid to fall into a display or get knocked over. What is up with accountability? Are all social graces gone?

Emily: I’m so glad you brought this up because I can finally rant about Millennial parents. I’ve been accused of being a Boomer hater, which, guilty as charged! But, I’ve explained to Boomer friends that 1. #NotAllBoomers and more importantly, 2. I have critiques about my own noxious and narcissistic generation, but we aren’t the ones in power with the culmination of the Boomer hivemind currently inhabiting the White House. So, let me do the Boomers a solid and rant about Millennials for a change, specifically Millennial parenting. Now, I should preface that it’s also #NotAllMillennials, but often white, privileged, upper-middle-class Millennial parents. I take daily walks around Stuytown, and I study their habits and what I’ve noticed is…Millennials don’t give a fuck about their kids at all! Of course, some of this is also the Boomers’ fault. Hey, YOU raised us. But privileged Millennial parents can’t take their eyes off their phones long enough to notice what their kids are doing. I see kids falling down stairs, running into the street, playing with things they shouldn’t be, and the parents are still glued to the phone. Or even more dystopian, the kids also stare into the phone, watching Italian brain rot. Millennial parents treat their kids like dogs (“Drop it! Drop it! Stop!”), and they treat their dogs like children. So the parenting on view at the NYBG on Saturday was just par for the motherfucking course. I like that the kids were having fun; it’s cute. But please don’t let your kid run so wild that I almost knock them down. Hold their hand! Make them walk with you! Look at displays with them! Engage! 

*Ahem* I feel a bit better now. 

Alexandria: Deep breaths, Emily! I know how you feel. It also made me hella nervous that I might trip over one of them, and then I would be yelled at and scolded by a parent who was not paying attention. Or worse yet, when I saw the little kids getting too close to cacti! What if they accidentally fell on one?! And agreed, it is wonderful that parents encourage their kids to enjoy nature and get excited by natural beauty. But, I wish some of them were a bit less hands-off, because there were so many moments that could have ended in yelling with other visitors or even injury!

Ok, now my rant is done! HA! So let me smoothly switch topics but still stay in the theme of the space…. I was obsessed with how the exhibition incorporated the entire building. Often, the shows have a theme, but the artworks are really only fully realized in the first and last two rooms. I was pleasantly surprised by how they incorporated NYC signage and callbacks throughout the exhibit. I loved the one installation that recreated a subway wall and had street art tag made out of flowers. What were some parts that got you excited?

Emily: I loved all the smaller details, which, as I said to you when we left, made the show feel like such a love letter to New York. Not only was there the orchid brownstone in the introductory room, but there was also the aforementioned flower-filled trash can next to a street lamp. Though now that I’m thinking about it, they should have had loose garbage bags with trash strewn over the sidewalk because, despite Eric Adams’s best intentions, we still primarily do not use garbage cans. But as a trash aficionado, my heart was warmed by both the trash can and the white orchid-filled dumpster! But there were more details than just filth. The sidewalk shed over a bus stop with those construction peepholes framing a small orchid was delightful. The fire hydrant surrounded by flowers! The steam pipe! Even the pizza place’s facade included a series of on-theme toppings, like Vanilla Seeds, Dendroblum Stems, and Cymbidium Tubers. 

The show’s biggest strength was that it didn’t simply celebrate the touristy New York City. It wasn’t Times Square, the Empire State Building, and Rockefeller Center. Mr. Flower Fantastic honored and beautified the grubby aesthetic of everyday New York, the sometimes grimy, graffiti-covered, pizza-grease-slicked city that we New Yorkers deeply love, and that keeps us here despite it being so hard sometimes. 

Alexandria: The show captured NYC energy for sure. It was, though, a very particular type of NYC. It reminded me more of being on the outer edges of the boroughs in the Bronx or Queens, like seeing the laundromat with orchids in the washing machine windows. While the show didn’t have the chaotic feeling of Manhattan (in particular Midtown), it did have that city vibe, especially with the fire escape with flowers flowing down and the prettiest dumpster filled with orchid ‘trash.’

I loved the newsstand with issues of popular magazines titled with orchid and garden themes like Vanity Fleur; the stellar subway line signs that broke down information about orchids; and the steam pipe, too. I was thoroughly impressed by the construction. I found it so cute and perfect. Even the crowds, with people stopping every second to take a picture and delay the flow of traffic, felt very NYC. While I say this, I realize that every time a tourist stops on the stairs while leaving or entering the subway, I want to scream, but somehow, when it happens at the NYBG, I don’t mind too much. 

As a floral artist, Mr. Flower Fantastic understands how to use flowers in a way that other types of artists do not. He also has the bonus of being born in Queens. I felt his connection and the care he put into the entire show throughout, which mattered because art in 2026 feels, at times, disconnected from our reality. So much is happening in the news that is out of our control and scary. This show left me happy because it felt so connected to the local, to living life in New York City, but elevated—because come on, that would be ideal if pizza was still 99 cents and ‘Post No Bills’ were followed by a little window of orchids! 

Emily: Actually, I’m sure they planned the show long before his election, but I see parallels with Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. From that silly scavenger hunt to his halal cart video, his campaign really honored the city and its people beyond the stereotypical view of NYC. I mean, most mayors see NYC as either a luxury playground for their billionaire friends (Bloomberg), a source of scamming (Eric Adams), or a crime-riddled hellscape (Rudy Giuliani). But Zohran actively LIKES New Yorkers and the city. And he makes me love the city even more. That’s how the show made me feel. Happy to live here, even if our dumpsters aren’t filled with orchids. 

Actually, one critique: I wish they had some little floral rats! 

Alexandria: HOLY SHIT!! YESSSSS!!  A larger-than-life installation of a rat fighting a pigeon over a slice of pizza would have been perfection! *takes a moment to imagine this hypothetical floral arrangement*

Some opportunities were missed, but it succeeds as a beautified, sanitized version of NYC that Millennial parents could enjoy with their terrorizing toddlers. For instance, the ‘Post No Bills’ with a few kitsch wheat-paste posters was nice, but that would have been the perfect place for the artist to tag his signature, or have one of the posters partially ripped off to see a sign for a previous orchid show or an OG ad for the personal injury lawyers Cellino & Barnes (you know, from before they broke up and one passed away in a plane crash, RIP). Or better yet, tease the upcoming 2027 KAWS show and have his tag on there! Damn, now that I am thinking about it, that would have been top-tier. 

Emily: You’re right—it was sanitized on some level, but that’s to be expected. No random lumps of dog or human shit to step over! Though that might be kind of amusing. Orchid turds! Kids would love that! Or immature adults, like me! 

Speaking of turds, the KAWS show should certainly be curious. I can’t get into his work. On one hand, I’m so turned off by the anti-KAWS art snobs that I WANT to like it, but as much as I’ve tried, like seeing the KAWS + Warhol show at the Andy Warhol Museum, I just can’t. He DID do the cover art of Clipse’s fantastic Let God Sort Em Out from last year, which is about as close as I’ve come to enjoyment. That being said, I’m looking forward to seeing what he does with the place! And the hippy-dippy-trippy ‘60’s summer show well before that!