An art exhibition opening Friday at the Florence Griswold Museum explores the work of American impressionists and how gardening blossomed, as it were, as a leisure activity at the turn of the 20th century. “The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism and the Garden Movement, 1887–1920,” organized by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, features paintings and stained glass from the academy as well as paintings, sculpture and more from the Flo Gris and from some private loans. According to the museum, “Drawing on new scholarship, ‘The Artist’s Garden’ considers the role of artists and designers in defining a cultivated landscape in an era of new attitudes toward leisure, labor, and a burgeoning environmentalism.” The exhibition runs through Sept. 18 at the museum at 96 Lyme St., Old Lyme. It has been on tour, and this is its only New England stop. Runs through Sept. 18 at the museum at 96 Lyme St., Old Lyme. Hours 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun.; (860) 434-5542. Admission $10 adults, $9 seniors, $8 students, free to age 12 and younger.