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Meijer Gardens celebrates autumn with chrysanthemum exhibition

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
9/01/17 10:48am
culture Nonprofit Dispatches

This dispatch was added by one of our Nonprofit Neighbors. It does not represent the editorial voice of The Rapidian or Community Media Center.

The Chrysanthemums and More! exhibition features a celebration of Shape & Form with vibrant chrysanthemum displays, family-friendly activities and more, September 15 to October 29, 2017
Chrysanthemums and More!

Chrysanthemums and More! /Dean VanDis / Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

Exhibition Programming

  • Herb & Gourd Fest

Saturday, September 9, 10 am-5 pm; Sunday, September 10, 11 am-5 pm

Discover a variety of ways to use herbs and gourds in this popular fall event. Find out why cilantro and coriander, the 2017 Herb of the Year, are really the same plant! See simple techniques for starting herbs from seeds indoors, learn a variety of methods for preserving herbs, make an herbal tea bag to take home and enjoy an herbal beverage and snack. Learn all about gourds, too! View a variety of functional and decorative gourds and play instruments made from gourds. Michigan Gourd Society members even demonstrate a variety of techniques, from painting and chip carving gourds to applying coiling, weaving and more. Purchase locally grown honey, artisan soap, jams, jellies and decorated gourds, from bowls and vases to jewelry. Midwest Michigan Herb Association and Michigan Gourd Society members will answer questions all weekend long. Bring the entire family—we have a special activity just for kids. This event is included with admission to Meijer Gardens.

  • Fall Bonsai Show
    Saturday, September 30, 10 am-5 pm; Sunday, October 1, 11 am-5 pm

See a variety of bonsai—from trees in the early stages of training to lovely older trees—displayed by members of the West Michigan Bonsai Club. Watch bonsai artists at work during ongoing demonstrations and vote for your favorite tree. Shop for bonsai tools, unique pots, wire and bonsai trees. This event is complimentary.

  • Fall Family Day   

Saturday, October 14, 1-4 pm
Visit the Lena Meijer Children’s Garden for lots of fall family fun. Activities include something for all your senses–create press and pound color banners, listen to autumn-themed stories, make terrific tree books and go on an “eye-spy” color hunt naturalist walk. This event is included with admission to Meijer Gardens.

  • Giant Pumpkins at Michigan’s Farm Garden

Saturday and Sunday, October 14 and 15
Discover giant pumpkins on display at Michigan’s Farm Garden. Weighing in at hundreds of pounds, these pumpkins will amaze kids and adults alike. Enjoy a cooking demonstration (1:30 and 3 pm) that will highlight the versatile use of this popular fall gourd. Have fun learning interesting facts about giant pumpkins as you search the farm for answers. This event is included with admission to Meijer Gardens.

  •  Mum Day

Sunday, October 15, 1-4 pm

Enjoy walking tours led by members of the horticulture staff as well as informational demonstrations. This event is included with admission to Meijer Gardens.

  • Hallowee-Ones

Friday, October 20, 10 am-noon (Parades at 10:15 and 11:15 am)
Get creative at this special event designed for our youngest visitors. Dress your child as a sculpture, mammal, fish, insect, bird, tree, flower, geologist or any other way that highlights something about the Lena Meijer Children’s Garden. Participate in a costume parade and listen to Halloween-themed stories. Celebrate Halloween with your wee-ones. No tricks, no treats, just fun! This event is included with admission to Meijer Gardens.

Chrysanthemums and More!

Chrysanthemums and More! /Dean VanDis / Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is pleased to present the annual fall horticulture exhibition, Chrysanthemums and More! opening to the public on September 15. This exhibition, the largest of its kind in Michigan, features expansive displays of chrysanthemums, fall foliage and family-friendly activities. The exhibition will be on display through October 29.  

This year’s focus will be on “Shape & Form”, highlighting the playful round forms, plentiful colors and patterns of the quintessential fall bloom. Guests will enjoy a variety of forms, including a ball, globe, daisy and button shapes, with “pompon” blooms as small as a dime to showy “spider” blooms measuring six inches or more in diameter. This exhibition is a feast for the eyes, displaying the versatility of the magnificent mum and much more.

“Shape & Form is the theme of this year’s Chrysanthemums and More! exhibition,” explained Steve LaWarre, Director of Horticulture. “This celebration of the chrysanthemum and fall plantings at Meijer Gardens showcases thousands of colorful chrysanthemums. With a focus on shape and form, we have an opportunity to highlight the variable chrysanthemum forms in interesting and unique ways, playfully repeating patterns and colors throughout the exhibition, which has become a beloved fall tradition for our visitors.”

Visitors will be greeted with vibrant displays of repeating shapes of chrysanthemums throughout the Grand Entry Garden and Cook Entry Arbor, and delighted by abundant floral arrangements of these bold blooms as they walk through the scenic corridor inside of the main building. Upon entering the Seasonal Display Greenhouse, a floor-to-ceiling chrysanthemum sphere display will unfold as the main focal point. Presentations of a five-sphere topiary, large disbuds and beds of colorful plantings will complement this feature in the nearby Earl and Donnalee Holton Victorian Garden Parlor. Outdoors, expansive beds of lush chrysanthemums will be arranged in large sweeps of color and will be balanced by ornamental cabbage, kale and asters.

Activities such as the Fall Bonsai Show, Giant Pumpkins and Hallowee-Ones are full of family fun throughout the exhibition. Mum Day on October 15 will give visitors a chance to take a walking tour led by horticulture staff, enjoy informational demonstrations and learn more about the chrysanthemum. 

Taste of the Gardens Café will feature seasonal daily dinner specials on Tuesday evenings, with seasonal ingredients coming from Meijer Gardens’ own Michigan’s Farm Garden.

 

The Chrysanthemums and More! exhibition is sponsored by:
The Meijer Foundation
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Foundation
Botanic and Sculpture Societies of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts

 

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About Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
One of the world’s most significant botanic and sculpture experiences, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park serves over 750,000 visitors annually. Meijer Gardens was recently ranked in the top 100 most-visited art museums worldwide by Art Newspaper, the leading publication in global art news. The 158-acre main campus features Michigan’s largest tropical conservatory; one of the largest children’s gardens in the country; arid and Victorian gardens with bronze sculptures by Degas and Rodin; a carnivorous plant house; outdoor gardens; and a 1900-seat outdoor amphitheater, featuring an eclectic mix of world-renowned musicians every summer. The internationally acclaimed Sculpture Park features a permanent collection including works by Oldenburg, Moore, Hepworth, Serra, Bourgeois, Ai Weiwei and Plensa, among others. Indoor galleries host changing sculpture exhibitions with recent exhibitions by Picasso, Degas, di Suvero, Borofsky, Calder and Dine. In June 2015, the eight–acre Richard & Helen DeVos Japanese Garden at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park opened. Created by renowned designer Hoichi Kurisu, the garden features sculpture by Anish Kapoor, Jenny Holzer and Guiseppe Penone, among others.

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