Not Held at Japan Society – Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Chrysanthemum

Saturday, October 20 –  November 18, 2007

Held at New York Botanical Garden, Bronx River Parkway at Fordham Road, Bronx, NY.

This month-long flower show is the culmination of a cultural exchange and collaboration between Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in Tokyo and the Botanical Garden, featuring distinct styles of kiku and other Japanese garden plants, including maples and bamboos, in the expansive courtyards of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, the largest Victorian-style glasshouse in America.

Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Chrysanthemum will display several traditional styles of the Japanese chrysanthemum, highlighted by dramatic shapes, vibrant colors, and numerous blossoms. The “thousand bloom” plants feature hundreds—if not quite thousands—of simultaneous blossoms in massive, domed-shaped arrays, all from a single plant. Another type, single-stem plants ranging up to six feet in height, present one single perfect flower balanced atop the stem. Quantities of these are arranged in diagonal lines to form disciplined color patterns. A third type, cascades, present dramatic waterfall-like frameworks covered by small-flowered chrysanthemums. Additional programming includes an exhibition in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library gallery of works on paper illustrating the plants of Japan and a wide range of events for adults, children, home gardeners, and aficionados of Japan.

New York Botanical Garden, Bronx River Parkway at Fordham Road, Bronx, NY. For more information call (718) 817-8700 or visit www.nybg.org.