Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Japanese garden
Posted in Exhibitions, Exhibitions, Kiku, Video on September 30 2014, by Lansing Moore
This Thursday is the opening of Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Garden, NYBG‘s stunning tribute to Japan’s most celebrated fall flower, the chrysanthemum—or kiku. For many months, NYBG’s specially trained experts have been painstakingly cultivating hundreds of Japanese chrysanthemum flowers along frames in a variety of traditional and contemporary styles. Masters of the art of kiku can coax hundreds of blossoms from a single stem. The end result will debut in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory on October 2, when these flowers blossom simultaneously to create showstopping displays.
NYBG will offer a variety of programs throughout the run of this special exhibit, from weekends dedicated to bonsai and ikebana to a special Japanese Pop-Up Restaurant in the Garden Café. Below, enjoy a behind-the-scenes, time-lapse video showing the progress of one of our kiku displays: the monumental ozukuri.
Posted in Exhibitions, Kiku on November 13 2009, by Plant Talk
Final Year of Incredible Chrysanthemum and Japanese Garden Displays
Kiku in the Japanese Autumn Garden showcases more than 5,000 kiku (chrysanthemums) meticulously displayed in traditional Japanese styles. This last weekend—the exhibition is in its third and final year—step into the brilliant colors of a Japanese garden: kiku in full bloom, Japanese maples a deep red; and the Garden bustling with activities.
Don’t miss these highlights:
- The taiko Japanese drum is believed to be entertainment for the gods. You’ll be in good company as you enjoy a thrilling drumming presentation by Taiko Masala on Saturday and Sunday at 1 and 3 p.m.
- Japanese Autumn Adventures in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden offers hands-on fun for the whole family. This weekend children can slip on a kimono and enjoy a tea ceremony.
- Take part in Home Gardening Center demonstrations of Japanese gardening techniques and docent-led tours of the Kiku exhibition.
Get Your Tickets |
Posted in Exhibitions, Kiku on October 22 2009, by Plant Talk
Both Battle Cold, Damp Weather in New York to Perform at Peak
The grounds crew in Yankee Stadium has not been the only team compensating for Mother Nature’s freakishness this month.
Across the Bronx at The New York Botanical Garden, the horticulture team is also doing some fancy footwork due to the weather—manipulating the Japanese-style chrysanthemum “sculptures” in the spectacular exhibition Kiku in the Japanese Autumn Garden.
For this year’s eagerly awaited flower show, cold temperatures and overcast skies have NYBG staff gardeners giving the mums needed extra light and warmth by bringing them back into the greenhouse.
Specific amounts of light and heat are needed to bring the chrysanthemums into flower. Those needs in this, the final year that the Garden is presenting its most elaborate show, are in direct contrast to what was needed in the first two years of the exhibition. Then, warm, late-summer temperatures persisted through October causing staff gardeners to scramble in order to shade and cool the plants to be presentable for the show.
Always anticipating change and preserving flexibility, the gardeners have grown a backup set of Kiku mums, keeping them outside in the chill all the time. This backup mum set can be moved into the show to replace the first set in case warm weather and bright sun send their flowers past peak before the show ends.
Visitors can appreciate this marvelous manipulation of Mother Nature and see the fruits of the horticulture team’s labor now through November 15. Kiku in the Japanese Autumn Garden showcases the spectacular autumn landscapes of Japanese gardens, with scarlet maples and golden bamboos against the backdrop of emerald conifers and, when the sun cooperates, clear blue skies. More chrysanthemums than ever are on display in traditional and contemporary display styles, with bonsai providing another fabulous element to the exhibition. On weekends, participate in guided tours, autumn gardening demonstrations, and taiko drumming performances.
Get Your Tickets
Posted in Exhibitions, Kiku on October 8 2009, by Plant Talk
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Todd Forrest is Vice President for Horticulture and Living Collections.
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Jessica Blohm is Interpretive Specialist for Public Education. |
With comparable latitude and climate as eastern North America, Japanese gardens and hillsides in fall become a dappled canvas of scarlet, gold, and orange, just as they do here. Millions of Japanese travel in cars, buses, and trains to reach a favorite viewing spot—often a rugged mountain landscape or a garden belonging to a temple or shrine—to view the changing leaves and flowers.
Maples (kaede) are the main source of stunning autumn colors along with emerald conifers, bamboo, chrysanthemums (kiku), and Japanese perennials, grasses, and ferns. Beginning October 17, the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory Courtyards will again come alive with two gardens that celebrate ancient Japanese horticultural traditions and the brilliant hues of chrysanthemums and Japanese garden plants in Kiku in the Japanese Autumn Garden.
For the past two years, chrysanthemums trained using traditional Japanese methods have been the centerpiece of the Garden’s autumn offerings. This year will be the final showing of this special presentation of kiku, and it will be combined with other elements that make viewing Japanese gardens in autumn memorable.
Garden design has been an important Japanese art for centuries. Many traditional Japanese gardens were closed to the public. Built by the elite for their own use or as temple gardens, they served as places for peaceful worship and quiet contemplation. Gardens in Japan are not simply a collection of plants; they are an interpretation of the natural landscape. Each element has a specific meaning and inspiration.
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This Thursday is the opening of Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Garden, NYBG‘s stunning tribute to Japan’s most celebrated fall flower, the chrysanthemum—or kiku. For many months, NYBG’s specially trained experts have been painstakingly cultivating hundreds of Japanese chrysanthemum flowers along frames in a variety of traditional and contemporary styles. Masters of the art of kiku can coax hundreds of blossoms from a single stem. The end result will debut in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory on October 2, when these flowers blossom simultaneously to create showstopping displays.
