Fall Flowers of Japan

Chrysanthemum 'Yugiri'

Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting the Fall Flowers of Japan exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden. It was totally amazing and in my mind better than the other Kiku Shows they have had. All of the major Chrysanthemum growing techniques were out in force and set out perfectly. I arrived later than normal for a show at the garden and the crowds were growing but there was enough space to get some pictures without trouble. ‘Yugiri’ was a triple stem type and the flowers were so huge and perfect. The flowers were totally enchanting and still in great condition well into the show, which opened September 17 and runs through October 30^th.

The fall garden was looking good outside the conservatory. The collection of Korean mums (NYBGs own strain) was in peak bloom and many of the perennials were looking good. I didn’t do the pumpkin maze but did gaze with wonder at the world record pumpkin displayed in the fountain area. It weighed 1,818.5 pounds (824 kg)! I didn’t really have a lens wide enough to take it all in. Among the record holder were several other 1,500+ lb. specimens.

There will be a few more pictures here of the show this upcoming week.

Since it is Sunday come join us at today's flowers. Here is a bonus snapshot for Sunday.

Syrphid fly
(Toxomerus geminatus)

Just when I was thinking I haven’t taken an insect picture in a while this Hoover Fly landed on the mum I was going to take a picture of. These insects do not sting and are beneficial to the garden. The population is way up here and the Asters at work were literally a cloud of Hoovers.

This picture was taken with my back up camera. A d70s with the 105mm Nikon macro lens. Pretty nice to have back up equipment this good.