Auckland Botanic Gardens will open a summer exhibition in mid-November exploring how grasses underpin everyday life — from food to architecture — and featuring the first Oceania appearance of “Grassman”, a performance work built around a living grass costume grown onsite.

Tangled Roots begins with a free launch on Saturday 15 November. The opening day is set to include a Grassman performance, bamboo angklug music by the Sabilulungan Family Auckland, a “make your own grass friend” workshop and grounding mindfulness sessions.

The exhibition runs through to 1 March 2026 and is billed as part natural history, part cultural exploration and part summer programme. Greg Meylan, the Gardens’ visitor services project coordinator and lead curator, said the show aims to reset how people think about grasses. “Grasses cover 40 per cent of Earth’s land and make up over half of the human diet!” he said. “We’ve got a deep-rooted history together and yet most people pass it by without a second thought.”

UK artist Ashley Peevor, creator of Grassman, will give talks on Tuesday 18 and Friday 21 November. Micheline Newton, the Gardens’ manager of visitor services, said the Grassman costume has been grown in the Gardens’ nursery and will be presented locally for the first time.

Beyond the launch, the calendar includes:

• Create Taonga Puoro (Māori musical instruments): Sunday 23 November, 10am–2pm
• Grounding mindfulness: Saturday 06 December, 11am–12pm
• Nature Journaling – Let’s Look at Grasses: Saturday 13 December, 10am–12:30pm or 1pm–3:30pm
• Yoga on the Grass: Friday 19 December, 9am–10am
• Forest Bathing: Friday 06 February, 10am–12pm
• Extreme drought resistance of grass from chloroplast and mitochondrial biology: Thursday 12 February, 11am–12pm
• Living in the Sky: Friday 20 February, 11am–12pm

Live Music on the Terrace also returns on Sundays and public holidays, 11am–2pm, from 16 November to 1 March.

Tangled Roots is presented by Auckland Council with support from Friends of the Auckland Botanic Gardens.