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.
Thundering and thrilling, the taiko (Japanese drum) has been called “the voice and spirit of the Japanese people.” From its roots in agriculture and the ancient music of shrines and temples, traditional taiko folk music is believed to entertain the gods, attract good fortune, drive away evil forces and insects, lend strength and courage to warriors, and celebrate life.
Each weekend during Kiku in the Japanese Autumn Garden experience the sounds of both ancient and modern Japan by the group Taiko Masala on the Conservatory Lawn.
Jessica Blohm is Interpretive Specialist for Public Education.
A chrysanthemum blossom, which appears to be a single flower, is actually made up of hundreds of tiny flowers.
Chrysanthemums are members of the Asteraceae (aster or daisy) family. All plants in the aster family are composites. They have flower heads made up of many tiny individual flowers. Other composites include asters, sunflowers, black-eyed Susans, dandelions, marigolds, and zinnias.
There are two types of composite flowers, ray and disc. Some composites have both ray and disc flowers; others have only ray or disc flowers.
The National Chrysanthemum Society defines 13 different classes of chrysanthemums with varying flower forms: irregular incurve, reflex, regular incurve, decorative, intermediate incurve, pompon, single and semi-doubles, anemone, spoon, quill, spider, brush and thistle, and unusual. Many of these 13 classes are on display at Kiku in the Japanese Autumn Garden. To see examples of each, click here.
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.
Special Display by Yama Ki Society on through November 1
Michael Pollock is Vice-President of Yama Ki Bonsai Society, whose members will display their bonsai in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory during Kiku in the Japanese Autumn Garden.
Bonsai’s beginning is shrouded in the mists of time. With origins in either China or India, bonsai (or penjing in Chinese) found fertile ground when visiting Buddhist monks brought potted trees to Japan. When Japan opened up to the West, interest in bonsai, which means “tray planting,” reignited throughout Asia and began to spread to other parts of the world. As the art form continues to reach new areas, new plants are used to create local bonsai. Whatever the climate, there are plants that can make beautiful bonsai.
I first studied bonsai in 1982 with Yuji Yoshimura at The New York Botanical Garden. I was immediately captivated by a mixture of feelings these trees elicited from me: tranquility, calmness, excitement. Unfortunately, a busy career prevented me from seriously practicing bonsai then and I gave up. Twelve years ago, I realized that if I could successfully raise children, I could probably grow bonsai, too. It has been a wonderful journey of discovery and creation ever since. Now I grow between 40 and 50 bonsai. In 2004 I won a prestigious “new talent” competition and was awarded a trip to Japan, where I visited many of the most famous bonsai nurseries, growing fields, and public and private collections.
There are many ways to create a bonsai: starting with seeds or cuttings, buying a plant from a nursery (Shanti Bithi Bonsai Nursery in Stamford, Conn, has been an important resource) or collecting a tree from the wild. Of course, for beginners it takes longer to establish an impressive bonsai, but someone with experience can create a “showable” tree within three to five years. Older bonsai plants bring their own stories with them as they are trained, whether it be the twisted and scarred trunks with old, flaky bark or the bonsai practitioners who have cared for the tree over generations, as is witnessed in Japan and China.
Chrysanthemums trained in a variety of growing styles, maples aglow in autumn colors, and the soft, rustling effects of grasses and bamboos showcase the splendor and diversity of Japanese gardens in Kiku in the Japanese Autumn Garden, from October 17 through November 15 in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory Courtyards.
This is the Botanical Garden’s third and final showing of kiku—chrysanthemums meticulously trained by Garden horticulturists for up to 11 months and resulting in elaborate displays. Cultivated from tiny cuttings, the plants are pinched back, tied to frames, and nurtured to grow into particular shapes. The four traditional styles (single stem, thousand bloom, cascade, and driving rain) presented under special decorative structures known as uwaya are accompanied by large installations of contemporary styles such as cones, columns, and spheres.
Bonsai, a crowd favorite, is shown throughout the exhibition in the Courtyard and a special display of bonsai will be presented in the Conservatory through November 1. Other happenings during Kiku include educational children’s activities in Japanese Autumn Adventures, a Japanese Plant Tour throughout the grounds, weekend performances by taiko drummers, an art exhibition, Ex Libris: Treasures from the LuEsther T. Mertz Library, and a photography show, The Presence of Trees.
Todd Forrest is Vice President for Horticulture and Living Collections.
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.
Tens of thousands of visitors have discovered the same, awed by the exquisite beauty of these meticulously cultivated chrysanthemums in a traditional Japanese art form never seen before on this scale outside Japan. “If the stock market has you blue, go to the exhibition and drink in the uplifting display,” wrote Bill Cunningham in The New York Times.
But hurry. The spectacular flower show and cultural exhibition comes to a close Sunday. For an extra special experience, you may want to come this evening from 6–8 p.m. for Kiku and Cocktails, when you can view the exhibition under lights and with the authentic ambiance of live Japanese musical performances.
