{"id":121,"date":"2008-11-03T05:08:11","date_gmt":"2008-11-03T13:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/garden\/?p=121"},"modified":"2015-11-24T07:33:00","modified_gmt":"2015-11-24T15:33:00","slug":"kiku","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/kiku\/","title":{"rendered":"Kiku"},"content":{"rendered":"

KIKU
\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>\u00a0<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In September and October chrysanthemums dot the suburban landscape, and no house, apartment or condo is without at least one pot of mums somewhere on the premises.\u00a0 Gardeners also plug them into the borders to replace the washed-up summer annuals.\u00a0 Generally treated as annuals, millions of mums sacrifice their lives each year so that we can have color until frost.\u00a0 <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As a nation we love the chrysanthemum, but with the exception of small numbers of enthusiasts and breeders, we don’t revere them.\u00a0 The Japanese and Chinese do, however, and have celebrated the flowers in art, poetry and legend for centuries.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Last week I went to see “Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Chrysanthemum,”\u009d an exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden.\u00a0 “Kiku”\u009d means “chrysanthemum”\u009d in Japanese and the exhibit is a celebration of all things Japanese, with an emphasis on artistry.\u00a0 Begun last year, the “Kiku”\u009d show is one of the Garden’s annual blockbuster exhibits and ranks with the holiday train show and the February orchid show as one of the biggest attractions on the NYBG’s annual calendar.\u00a0 This year’s show runs through November 16, 2008.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Unlike the orchid and holiday train shows, “Kiku”\u009d is primarily an outdoor exhibit, staged in the beautiful courtyards enclosed by the amazing Haupt Conservatory. \u00a0The courtyards’ pools are still filled at this time of year, and the occasional blooming water lily or lotus serves as a counterpoint to the array of beautifully displayed and intricately trained chrysanthemums.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Though the chrysanthemum originated in China, it was introduced in Japan in the seventh century and the Japanese gradually took it to their hearts.\u00a0 A sixteen-petaled chrysanthemum is the crest of the Imperial family and the mum is the country’s national flower.\u00a0 Over the centuries the cultivation of chrysanthemums has evolved into a complex art, encompassing highly refined methods of cultivation and display.\u00a0 The “Kiku”\u009d show highlights several varieties of the showy plant, meticulously cultivated and trained for specific artistic impressions.\u00a0 All of the featured specimens were showcased in uwaya, three-sided temporary shelters constructed of bamboo and cedar.\u00a0 Fabric drapes, held in place by intricately knotted cords, decorated the top front of each uwaya.\u00a0 The uwaya reminded me a bit of the much smaller “auricular theaters”\u009d that English auricula primrose enthusiasts construct to shelter and showcase their cosseted spring-blooming plants.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Of the four styles on display, the “ozukuri”\u009d or thousand bloom style, is probably the most accessible to westerners.\u00a0 Over a span of many months a single plant is pinched and trained to produce hundreds of blossoms at the same time.\u00a0 The blossoms form a mound or dome shape that is an extremely refined version of the shape of the cushion mums so often featured in American garden centers.\u00a0 Of course, regular North American cushion mums do not receive anywhere near the level of care and attention as ozukuri plants, but they are also systematically pinched back in greenhouses to produce a uniform, mounded display.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If you like great big chrysanthemums, you will love those trained in the ogiku style.\u00a0 These are large-flowered varieties, with white, yellow or pink flowerheads about six inches across.\u00a0 In contrast to the “thousand bloom”\u009d types, ogiku are plants are systematically disbudded so that each produces only one perfect flowerhead at the top of a tall stalk.\u00a0 The potted plants are then arranged in diagonal rows, decreasing in height from back to front. <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The kengai-style chrysanthemums reminded me a bit of topiary, as they are trained on special frames to produce a dramatic cascade effect.\u00a0 Because the overall shape of the display is the most important consideration, kengai uses small-flowered varieties.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Shino-tsukuri or “driving rain”\u009d style plants are clipped and trained to produce twenty-seven blooming stems apiece, each topped by a single flower..\u00a0 The flowers feature petals that start out flat and then curl into quill shapes as they age.\u00a0 This process makes each flowerhead look a bit storm-tossed, hence the “driving rain”\u009d description.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Kiku show also incorporates bonsai and garden plants of Japanese origin, all of which are interspersed between the uwaya.\u00a0 I especially liked the Japanese pained fern, fall-blooming Anemone japonica, Tricyrtis hirta or toad lily and the beautiful, purple-berried callicarpa shrubs.\u00a0 The bonsai were absolutely amazing, featuring some plants that had been trained and tended for decades.\u00a0 There are many styles of bonsai, but I was particularly taken with the “forest”\u009d style, where one miniaturized specimen is systematically trained so that its growth resembles that of a stand of forest trees. <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So much of traditional Japanese horticulture requires discipline, patience, planning and attention to detail.\u00a0 If you take the time to let the “Kiku”\u009d displays sink into your consciousness, you come away feeling very peaceful.\u00a0 Given the current disordered state of the world and the economy, that is not such a bad thing.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Kiku show runs through November 16, 2008.\u00a0 The New York Botanical Garden is located at Bronx River Parkway (Exit 7W) and Fordham Road.\u00a0 For further information call the NYBG at (718) 817-8700 or go to www.nybg.org. <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KIKU \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In September and October chrysanthemums dot the suburban landscape, and no house, apartment or condo is without at least one pot of mums somewhere on the premises.\u00a0 Gardeners also plug them into the borders to replace the washed-up summer annuals.\u00a0 Generally treated as annuals, millions of mums sacrifice their lives each year … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1663,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121\/revisions\/1663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}