Dame Edna's glasses, Michael Jackson's glove and Marilyn Monroe's iconic features will be immortalised among the blooms at Floriade this year, which has the theme of pop culture.
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The vibrant colours of artist Ken Done, social media staples such as "LOL'' and hashtags, as well as children's favourites Grug, Where's Wally?, Angry Birds and the Rubik's cubes will also be displayed in the flowers.
The celebration of spring will be in Commonwealth Park in Canberra from September 15 to October 14, 9.30am to 5.30pm.
Both NightFest and Dogs' Day Out will return for the 2018 event.
Floriade head gardener Andrew Forster said this year's dry conditions had not impacted the 1 million bulbs and annuals planted for the festival, because they were irrigated by water from Lake Burley Griffin.
"The last couple of weeks have been good with a bit of rain so we don't have to irrigate. And the warmer temperatures have helped a little bit,'' he said. "The plants like the rain because they get their nitrogen feed and it's more even over the whole site.''
It's the 21st Floriade for Mr Forster who surely now deserves the key to the city. He promises another spectacular.
"The mix of the plants, you've got things that go at different times over the weeks. If you're a Canberra resident, you can come four or five times and see something different each time,'' he said.
"And if people like tulips, usually towards the middle is the best time.''
Mr Forster said he was excited by this year's theme, his enthusiasm for the event not dimmed after so many years.
"It's pretty cool because we get to see it from the start to the finish,'' he said.
"I'm excited now because you can start to see all the bulbs popping through and the little mounds of soil as you walk around the park as they're popping their heads out from their doonas.''
NightFest returns from Wednesday, September 26 until Sunday, September 30.
The ticketed event will feature illuminated flowerbeds, food and drink stalls, nightly entertainment and dazzling lighting installations making NightFest "an absolute must in 2018''.
There will be an open-air cinema, musicians performing including Jeff Duff and Kate Miller-Heidke and Comedy NightFest with Arj Barker, Akmal Saleh, The Stevenson Experience, Chris Ryan and Matt Okine. Two movies will play on the Wednesday night - Back to the Future at 6.45pm and the original Ghostbusters at 8.45pm.
Floriade wraps up on Sunday, October 14 with Dogs' Day Out, featuring a superhero dress-up theme.
