As autumn arrives in New York City, the New York Botanical Garden invites visitors to experience the beauty, traditions, and creativity of the season with an exciting lineup of fall programming. From spectacular foliage and late-season blooms to the Garden’s inaugural Día de los Muertos celebration, the Bronx destination offers something for visitors of all ages throughout the fall.
Set across NYBG’s 250 acres, the seasonal experience combines horticulture, art, culture, education, music, and family programming. Visitors can explore colorful autumn displays, enjoy the final weeks of the popular Flower Power exhibition, discover the centuries-old art of Japanese chrysanthemum cultivation, and participate in hands-on workshops.
Celebrate Día de los Muertos at NYBG
Running October 3 through November 2, 2026, NYBG’s inaugural Día de los Muertos celebration brings the vibrant traditions of Mexico to the Garden.
The celebration explores themes of memory, life, family, and renewal through colorful marigolds, an ofrenda, calaveras, alebrijes, music, dance, crafts, and family-friendly activities. Visitors can follow a trail of floral displays and art installations while enjoying the beauty of autumn foliage.
On select October dates, visitors can participate in Hands-on Tradition: The Art of Papel Picado & Silk Flowers, creating colorful silk flowers and miniature papel picado banners while learning about Mexican botanical and cultural traditions.
Live folk music performances will take place on October 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, and 18, while MAZarte Dance Company presents Mexican folkloric dance on October 31 and November 2.
The celebration culminates with the Día de los Muertos Parade on November 1, featuring musicians, dancers and larger-than-life puppets. Families can join La Catrina, skeletons, and monarch butterflies in a colorful procession before enjoying Mexican music, dance, crafts, food, and community dancing.
Flower Power Continues Through October 18
Visitors can also experience Flower Power, on view through October 18, 2026. Inspired by the spirit of the 1960s, the exhibition explores the enduring connection between flowers, peace, love, and the natural world.
The colorful exhibition combines horticultural displays with photography and visual art from the 1960s, while installations throughout the Garden encourage visitors to consider flowers as symbols of connection and creativity.
Discover Kiku: Spotlight on Tradition
From October 31 through November 15, 2026, NYBG presents Kiku: Spotlight on Tradition, highlighting the extraordinary Japanese art of training chrysanthemums into intricate living sculptures.
The exhibition takes place in the Bourke-Sullivan Display House in the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections. Among the highlights are traditional kiku forms, including the spectacular ozukuri, or “thousand bloom,” in which hundreds of chrysanthemum flowers are cultivated from a single stem.
The Kiku Highlight Weekend, November 7 and 8 from noon to 4 p.m., will feature live taiko drumming, hands-on crafts, and opportunities to explore the chrysanthemum displays.
Autumn Foliage and Fall Horticulture
Fall horticulture takes center stage throughout the Garden, with asters, goldenrods, salvias, dahlias, chrysanthemums, ornamental grasses, fruits, sculptural seedheads, and colorful foliage creating a seasonal landscape.
The Native Plant Garden, Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, Maureen K. Chilton Azalea Garden, and Thain Family Forest are among the areas where visitors can enjoy autumn’s changing colors.
Family-Friendly Fall Programming
Families can explore Día de los Muertos traditions at the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, where rotating activities introduce children to the holiday’s symbols, colors, stories, and importance of remembrance.
Young visitors can pot their own marigolds and explore the story trail The Ofrenda That We Built by Jolene and Shaian Gutierrez.
On October 31 and November 1, Bilingual Birdies will present a special Día de los Muertos concert in Spanish and English.
The Garden will also host puppet appearances, including Monarchs Puppets on Parade on October 24 and 25 and La Catrina and skeleton puppets October 31 through November 2.
Learn Something New at NYBG
NYBG’s fall continuing education program offers a wide selection of classes for gardeners, artists, nature lovers, and aspiring horticulturists.
Among the fall offerings are Autumn Mushrooms, Beekeeping Basics, Japanese Anemones in Watercolor, Container Gardening, Soil Science I, Fall Leaves in Watercolor, Introduction to Bulbs, Fundamentals of Form, Botanical Latin, Ornamental Pumpkins in Watercolor, Growing Hardy Roses, Natural History of Birds: Fall, Field Sketching, and Cempazúchitl: Mexico’s Marigold.
The classes range from botanical art and gardening to birding, soil science, floral design, and Mexican plant traditions.
Shop, Dine and Enjoy the Season
The NYBG Farmers Market continues Wednesdays through October 21, offering locally grown produce, baked goods, specialty products, and live music.
The NYBG Shop is also open Tuesdays through Sundays and holiday Mondays, offering plants, gardening supplies, pottery, home products, and gifts from local and independent artisans.
For dining, visitors can stop at the Pine Tree Café for panini, Neapolitan-style pizza, salads, sweets, and snacks. The Hudson Garden Grill offers a farm-to-table dining experience featuring seasonal dishes made with locally sourced ingredients.
With its combination of fall foliage, cultural celebrations, horticultural artistry, family activities, educational opportunities, shopping, and dining, the New York Botanical Garden fall 2026 season offers a memorable way to experience autumn in New York City.