Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Chrysanthemum

NYBG’s Former Kiku Expert Takes Top Billing as Shinjuku Gyoen’s Chrysanthemum Chief

Posted in People on January 11 2016, by Matt Newman

Kodai Nakazawa
Kodai Nakazawa

The New York Botanical Garden‘s Kiku exhibition, our semi-annual display of meticulously trained Japanese chrysanthemums, has earned a devoted following among Garden visitors over the years. And behind the serene beauty of the exhibition and its astonishing display of skill is the legacy of Kodai Nakazawa, a kiku prodigy who for several years oversaw the demanding work that went into each and every bloom in our show. His expertise influenced the exhibition’s entire team, and it shows month after month, year after year, as they continue to work these simple flowers into stunning botanical sculptures.

Today, Nakazawa is back in Japan, raising a family and enjoying success as one of the country’s greatest chrysanthemum masters.

He was recently rewarded for his years of discipline and artistry with the honor of being promoted to kiku chief at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in Shinjuku and Shibuya, Tokyo—his alma mater, so to speak. As one of the premier destinations for chrysanthemum-lovers the world over, it’s quite the recognition. We’re all beyond proud of Kodai, and grateful for the years that we spent with him here at NYBG!

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Morning Eye Candy: Juxtaposed

Posted in Photography on November 11 2015, by Matt Newman

With the unseasonably warm fall we’ve been having, the Japanese chrysanthemums on display in the Bourke-Sullivan Display House of the Nolen Greenhouses are content to stretch out their bloom schedule. Naturally, we’re all for it—Kiku: Spotlight on Tradition has been extended through November 29!

Kiku

Cascade-style kiku in the Bourke-Sullivan Display House – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Morning Eye Candy: Spotlight on Tradition

Posted in Photography on November 9 2015, by Matt Newman

This year’s Japanese chrysanthemum exhibition takes place in the Bourke-Sullivan Display House of our famed Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections. And after so many months of effort on the part of our horticulturists to bring this incredible display to life, it’s worth visiting!

Kiku: Spotlight on Tradition

Kiku: Spotlight on Tradition in the Bourke-Sullivan Display House – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Mum’s The Word

Posted in Horticulture on October 21 2014, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Sonia Uyterhoeven is NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.


Chrysanthemum rubellum 'Sheffield'
Chrysanthemum rubellum ‘Sheffield’

We are heading into the final weekend of Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Garden. The show is awash with vivid autumnal color and exotic chrysanthemum blooms in every shape and size imaginable.

For those curious, there are 13 different classes of chrysanthemums. Some of my favorites are the Edo varieties which fall into the last class of mums—Class 13: Unclassified or Exotic. These are the chrysanthemum flower shapes that do not fit into any established category. They often have twisted, bi-color florets that change their shape as they open.

Beyond these, there are many fun and fanciful chrysanthemum flower forms to cover. Chrysanthemums from the Brush and Thistle class look like an artist’s paint brush. Spider mums look like fireworks exploding in the sky. They have long, tubular ray florets that hook or coil at the end. Anemone-type mums have centers that are raised up like a pincushion, and chrysanthemums from the Spoon class have long ray florets with tips that are shaped as their name suggests.

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This Saturday: Kiku 2013

Posted in Kiku on September 30 2013, by Matt Newman

KikuA couple of us hopped a golf cart over to the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections last Friday, hoping to catch a peek at Kodai Nakazawa’s chrysanthemum sculptures before horticulture carefully moved them off to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. I use the word “sculptures” because it’s the most accurate way to explain Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Garden—a simple “flower” designation doesn’t do the plants justice in the context of this exhibition.

Each mountain, or waterfall, or burst of fireworks begins as a single young chrysanthemum, tediously cared for and trained into myriad forms by Nakazawa. Some designs are original, some informed by centuries of tradition. But each one is the end result of one of horticulture’s highest arts, a discipline our visiting gardener learned from experts at Tokyo’s Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden.

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Morning Eye Candy: Specialized

Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on August 6 2013, by Matt Newman

Kodai Nakazawa’s tools are as integral to his work as the know-how he puts behind them. Last week, I teased his efforts in the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections as the return of a Garden favorite. And those who chimed in were right—Kiku is coming! We’ll have more for you in the coming weeks as we draw nearer to this meticulously prepared Japanese chrysanthemum exhibition.

If you appreciate the implements of a specialized artform as much as I do, you’ll understand why these leaf cutters—with their subtle dimensional differences—are so fascinating.

Tools of the Trade

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen