Annual Chrysanthemum Show Returns to Lyman Plant House
Anna Kastrilevich
Issue date: 11/3/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Smith College's Botanical Garden will be presenting an annual show of chrysanthemums at the Lyman Conservatory starting Nov. 5.
A tradition since the 1900s, the exhibit will feature about 600 pots of colorful chrysanthemums, showcasing up to 100 different varieties.
"It is probably the best show of its kind in New England," said Rob Nicholson, the Conservatory Manager. "This show is a gift from Smith to the surrounding community.
"It is a last burst of color before winter," he said. "The leaves are usually down by the time we have this show, so this is the last bit of horticultural gardening beauty that people can see."
The cascades, which resemble a waterfall of flowers flowing down the conservatory wall, are what consistently impress people, he said.
"The cascades of chrysanthemums are trained to grow on a wall. Using a Japanese technique, we bring them down by pinning them into the wire that we have along the wall."
The cascades are trained for 10 months to grow along the wire frames. The buds are pinched to encourage the plant to branch out and have more buds.
To elaborate on the Japanese theme, there will also be a zen garden modeled after the Ryoanji Temple Garden in Kyoto. Encased by painted panels, a garden of raked pumice will be set on an elevated platform in one of the exhibition rooms.
Some of the chrysanthemums exhibited will be Japanese, and others are American hybrids.
"We also exhibit new hybrids created by the horticultural class," Nicholson said. "The tradition of students making new hybrids goes back centuries at Smith. The public gets to vote and the winning hybrid is put onto our website.
"In making a hybrid, two plants are used to make a new one. You have to have the right fertilizers and light level to produce a plant that is vigorous and full of flowers."
Another focal point of the show is the exhibition of chrysanthemum "standards," which are oversized flowers that grow on stalks that are up to seven feet tall. The height is achieved through the process of disbudding, in which the small flower buds are periodically removed.
In collaboration with the show, Bobby Ward will present a lecture titled "Modern Day Plant Hunters" at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4 in Seelye Hall 106. Ward, author of "The Plant Hunter's Garden: The New Explorers and Their Discoveries," will profile today's plant hunters and review the plants collected in recent plant hunting.
A reception and preview of the chrysanthemum show will follow the lecture. All events are free and open to the public.
Chrysanthemums were first cultivated in China 2500 years ago. They were brought to Japan in the eighth century A.D., where horticulturists made hybrids of different colors and forms. Around the 1700s, it became a popular garden plant in Europe, and then later in America.
The exhibit is open daily from Saturday, Nov. 5, to Sunday, Nov. 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is free.
A tradition since the 1900s, the exhibit will feature about 600 pots of colorful chrysanthemums, showcasing up to 100 different varieties.
"It is probably the best show of its kind in New England," said Rob Nicholson, the Conservatory Manager. "This show is a gift from Smith to the surrounding community.
"It is a last burst of color before winter," he said. "The leaves are usually down by the time we have this show, so this is the last bit of horticultural gardening beauty that people can see."
The cascades, which resemble a waterfall of flowers flowing down the conservatory wall, are what consistently impress people, he said.
"The cascades of chrysanthemums are trained to grow on a wall. Using a Japanese technique, we bring them down by pinning them into the wire that we have along the wall."
The cascades are trained for 10 months to grow along the wire frames. The buds are pinched to encourage the plant to branch out and have more buds.
To elaborate on the Japanese theme, there will also be a zen garden modeled after the Ryoanji Temple Garden in Kyoto. Encased by painted panels, a garden of raked pumice will be set on an elevated platform in one of the exhibition rooms.
Some of the chrysanthemums exhibited will be Japanese, and others are American hybrids.
"We also exhibit new hybrids created by the horticultural class," Nicholson said. "The tradition of students making new hybrids goes back centuries at Smith. The public gets to vote and the winning hybrid is put onto our website.
"In making a hybrid, two plants are used to make a new one. You have to have the right fertilizers and light level to produce a plant that is vigorous and full of flowers."
Another focal point of the show is the exhibition of chrysanthemum "standards," which are oversized flowers that grow on stalks that are up to seven feet tall. The height is achieved through the process of disbudding, in which the small flower buds are periodically removed.
In collaboration with the show, Bobby Ward will present a lecture titled "Modern Day Plant Hunters" at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4 in Seelye Hall 106. Ward, author of "The Plant Hunter's Garden: The New Explorers and Their Discoveries," will profile today's plant hunters and review the plants collected in recent plant hunting.
A reception and preview of the chrysanthemum show will follow the lecture. All events are free and open to the public.
Chrysanthemums were first cultivated in China 2500 years ago. They were brought to Japan in the eighth century A.D., where horticulturists made hybrids of different colors and forms. Around the 1700s, it became a popular garden plant in Europe, and then later in America.
The exhibit is open daily from Saturday, Nov. 5, to Sunday, Nov. 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is free.