Kiku 2008 at the New York Botanical Garden

Kiku 2008 at the New York Botanical Garden
The Art of the Japanese Chrysanthemum

This is going to have to be a two-part post. This is the second year I went to the show and it is much better this year. The exhibit opened on October 18th and the flowers still looked fresh and gorgeous last weekend. There were more flowers and types this year. I think the cascade style mums (kengai) were my favorite. They are something that, for me, is easier to relate to. The big mums are amazing but the mums that the cascades are made up of are more like something I would try and grow. This first purple mum is one of the cascade mums.

The next flowers are from the ogiku or single stem style. That was the style that I posted yesterday for Wordless Wednesday. The flowers really have a royal feel to them and the color arrangement was stunning. They are meant to be viewed from the front so all the colors line up correctly.


The collection of Japanese Maples was great. Many were, like the ones at work yesterday, at the peak of their fall color. From experience the Japanese Maples get very intense color (more so than the regular fall color) a couple of days before all the leaves fall off. Some of the Maples at Kiku were at this point. Which is unbelievable stunning to me. There was a good assortment of Japanese Maples including some I hadn’t seen before.


The show was definitely worth going to and since I am due a couple more member tickets I may go again. There is a nighttime showing of the Chrysanthemums on November 7th and 14th called Kiku and Cocktails.