STRANGER PLANTS

August 30 – November 2, 2025

Stranger Plants has ended. Thank you to everyone who purchased tickets this year! By making us part of your fall experience, you’ve helped our nonprofit’s mission and ongoing work of connecting people with plants year-round.

Step into a world of intergalactic botanical wonder with Stranger Plants. This exhibition brings to life sculptures of imaginary plant species with bizarre, otherworldly traits inspired by the remarkable adaptations of their earthly ancestors. Celebrating the strange and the spectacular with bold colors and unusual shapes, this immersive experience unfolds in The Ramble, a garden designed to spark curiosity for visitors of all ages. This fall, prepare for extraordinary encounters with alien plants unlike any you’ve ever seen and get up close to species so unique they could only exist in your wildest dreams, and nowhere else on Earth. 

Experience this otherworldly exhibition during the Garden’s daytime general admission hours, through an educational program, or during Glowing Wild, a special event series taking place on select Fridays and Saturday evenings. Stranger Plants is included with general admission. Additional tickets are required for educational programs and Glowing Wild. We recommend you purchase general admission tickets online in advance. You can also buy tickets in person at the Garden. View the Stranger Plants Exhibit Guide here.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Glowing Wild
Select Fridays & Saturdays, September 20 – October 31

Get lost in a night where nature gets weird and things aren’t quite as they seem. This immersive nighttime experience transforms The Ramble into an otherworldly dreamscape of unusual, illuminated plants and other curiosities set among captivating light displays. Select evenings offer experiences for a 21+ or family audience.

Children dressed as unicorns and young adults as dragons, at Enchanted Weekend eventWeekend of Wonder
Saturday, October 11 – Monday, October 13 | 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Join us for a weekend full of legends and lore this autumn as the Garden is transformed into a realm of imagination, wonder, and magic. Enjoy brews and local fare at our beer garden, browse our magical marketplace, and discover an otherworldly dreamscape of unusual plants along the way. This weekend will feature enchanting crafts, workshops, and entertainment for all ages. Come dressed up as your favorite fantasy being! Included with General Admission.

BIRTHDAY PARTIES

NEW! Evening Birthday Party Packages

Celebrate your child’s special day during our Stranger Plants exhibit and explore our out-of-this world garden lit up during our exclusive evening event series, Glowing Wild (Saturdays only). All evening birthday party packages include admission to Glowing Wild and a 45-minute guided activity.

Discover the Garden’s strangest plants and transform a live succulent into a mutant plant monster using pipe cleaners, eyeballs, and other embellishments.
Recommended for ages 7-12 

Learn about the sticky, slimy, and sometimes disgusting adaptations of carnivorous plants and mix up your own plant inspired slime recipe.
Recommended for ages 5-10

CLASSES & PROGRAMS

Celebrate the weird and wonderful side of horticulture with creative, hands-on workshops that explore spooky, strange, and unexpected plant topics–perfect for people of all ages with a curiosity for the curious.

Plant Slime | Ages 5-10
Saturday, October 4, 10:30a.m.-12p.m.
Learn about the amazing adaptations of carnivorous plants and mix up plant inspired slime recipes.
Member: $15 Child, $0 Adult; Non-Member: $25 Child, $20 Adult

Extraterrestrial Terrariums | Ages 6-12
Saturday, October 11, 2-3:30p.m.
Design an otherworldly terrarium and fill it with a strange plant and out of this world décor.
Member: $28 Child, $0 Adult; Non-Member: $36 Child, $20 Adult

Carnivorous Plant Pals | Ages 7-10
Sunday, October 12, 10:30a.m.-12p.m.
Craft your own bug-eating buddy and learn about our favorite carnivorous plants.
Member: $18 Child, $0 Adult; Non-Member: $26 Child, $20 Adult

Spider Plant Monsters | Ages 8-14
Monday, October 13, 2-3:30p.m.
Explore the world of spiders as we turn an ordinary spider plant into a creepy-crawly creature.
Member: $28 Child, $0 Adult; Non-Member: $36 Child, $20 Adult

Stranger Plants: Needle Felting Monster Plants | LISA MAGNUSON
Tuesday, October 7, 6-9 p.m.
Looking for a fun, creative way to unwind or bond with loved ones? Discover the joy of crafting needle-felted monsters—perfect for beginners and seasoned crafters alike. Whether you’re crafting solo or with family and friends, we’ll provide everything you need to create some strange plants.
$55 Member; $66 Non-Member

Goth Your Garden: Return to the Dark Side | MEG VARNES & LIZ IVES
Tuesday, October 14, 6-8:30 p.m.
Plan a most unusual garden by combining dark, spiky, leathery, and creeping plants to create your own goth-themed paradise. This immersive evening includes a guided garden tour and all design materials.
$65 Member; $78 Non-Member

FAQs

All the pieces you see in Stranger Plants are imagined and expertly crafted by Lea Morgan, New England Botanic Garden’s manager of exhibitions. Lea has been at the Garden since 2021, mixing her plant biology smarts with her studio art flair to help visitors dive into the natural world—and have some fun doing it—with creative, sometimes out-of-this-world artistic adventures.

Each Stranger Plant is created in-house by our exhibitions team. The sculptures are made using a combination of recycled, upcycled, and new materials. Materials are chosen carefully for their durability in an outdoor setting and reusability. After the exhibit each sculpture is either stored for future use or disassembled for parts that will be reused in future exhibits. 

These unusual plants can lose their otherworldly charm when handled by humans! Please refrain from making contact.

The exhibit can be experienced during the Garden’s regular daytime hours, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., beginning August 30 and ending November 2. This exhibit is included with general admission. 

Visit on select Friday and Saturday evenings during Glowing Wild for a chance to see these sculptures in a whole new light. Glowing Wild evenings are not included with general admission. Tickets must be reserved in advance. 

There are many ways to enjoy the Stranger Plants exhibition. The exhibit is included with general admission and can be experienced daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The last admission time is 4:30 p.m.

Glowing Wild is a special after-hours ticketed event that invites visitors to see these strange plants illuminated at night with additional fantastical lighting throughout The Ramble, music, performers, and drop-in activities.

Weekend of Wonder is a larger-scale, weekend-long event that spans the whole property and allows you to see the exhibit during the daytime, while also enjoying additional entertainment, artisan vendors, and workshops that differ from the activities offered during Glowing Wild. While Weekend of Wonder is included with general admission, some activities may have an additional fee. The event can be experienced from Saturday, October 11 through Monday, October 13, 2025.