The phytohormones gibberellin (GA) and abscisic acid (ABA) play essential and often antagonistic roles in regulating plant growth, development and stress responses. The long-awaited identification of receptors for both GA and ABA has shed light upon the initial events that surround the perception of these two phytohormones. The discovery of these receptors also challenges conventional views of plant hormone signaling and raises intriguing questions regarding the nature of GA and ABA perception and the initiation of their signaling pathways. Moreover, recent advances in understanding GA and ABA signaling point to the existence of multiple, non-linear cell- and compartment-specific pathways that regulate genomic and non-genomic responses to these phytohormones.