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Meijer Gardens to provide a flora feast for autumn eyes with fall mum (and more) exhibition

Entertainment, Environment, Food, Kids Activities, Local Entertainment, Recreation, Upcoming Events, WKTV Projects, ,
The beauty of fall is on display with Chrysanthemums & More! at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. (Supplied/by Johnny Quirin)

By D.A. Reed

WKTV Contributing Writer

As West Michigan enters the fall season, the local community can enjoy an annual floral feast — an exhibition that literally spans thousands of blossoms across 158 sprawling acres.

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is presenting its fall horticulture exhibition, Chrysanthemums & More!, opening to the public Sept. 17 and on display through Oct.31. The largest of its kind in Michigan, the exhibition not only features expansive displays of chrysanthemums and fall foliage, it also offers family-friendly activities.

“This year’s theme for Chrysanthemums & More! is Autumn Glow,” Steve LaWarre, Vice President of Horticulture, said in supplied material. “We hope that guests will notice how the low light of autumn softens textures and cast long shadows and see how some leaves and plants appear as if they are glowing from within, illuminating fall’s beauty.”

Chrysanthemums & More! at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is a flower show and so much more. (Supplied/by Johnny Quirin)

Outdoor pathways offer a treat for your senses, allowing you to peruse various gardens aglow with vibrant fall plantings while breathing the crisp fall air. Be sure to pay attention to changes in texture, hue, and mood as you move from the intensity of sun-filled spaces to the understated low light of autumn afternoons.

Stunning displays are also available for viewing indoors, with a notable and exciting weekly change in the BISSELL Corridor as different local floral designers create a singular arrangement highlighting the chrysanthemum as its primary element.

Other activities offered during the horticulture exhibition include local gourd art, The Fall Bonsai Show, music and dancing, and Hallowee-ones.

Chrysanthemums & More! at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is a flower show and so much more. (Supplied/by Johnny Quirin)

Starting off will be the Herb & Gourd Fest on Sept. 18-19. Participants will discover many ways to use herbs and gourds at this event, including how to create gourd art using locally available supplies.

Tuesdays at the Farm will occur Sept. 28 and Oct. 5 and feature the James & Shirley Balk Café pop-up with fresh local fare, West Michigan beer, and an adult cocktail. Dance to local music in the barn and enjoy an Autumn Glow display featured at Michigan’s Farm Garden.

For young visitors, Oct. 22 boasts Hallowee-ones, a special event designed for your “wee ones” from 10 a.m. to noon, with a parade at 10:15 a.m. Children are encouraged to be creative and dress as a sculpture, fish or flower, or in any other way that highlights the Children’s Garden. No tricks. No treats. Just fun!

All exhibition programming activities are included with admission. For a full listing of events visit https://www.meijergardens.org/.

Mums — and more — on exhibition as fall flowers, colors come to Meijer Gardens

Community Health, Entertainment, Going Local, Health, Holidays, Kids Activities, Local Entertainment, Recreation, Upcoming Events,
Mums and more (like giant pumpkins) are now on view at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. (Meijer Gardens/Peter McDaniel)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

The first day of fall is here, on Sept. 22, and Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park has opened its annual fall horticulture exhibition, Chrysanthemums & More!

The exhibition, which opened Sept. 18, reportedly 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 Nov. 1.

“This year’s theme for Chrysanthemums & More! is ‘Naturally’,” Steve LaWarre, Meijer gardens director of horticulture, said in supplied material. “Our goal is that guests can experience the more natural and untamed side of the autumn season through the various displays of color, texture and patterns that are carefully designed to play upon the natural beauty of the changing fall landscape.”

Aware of the need for social distancing, even outdoors, plant displays throughout Meijer Gardens will intentionally be open and airy, “highlighting movement in contrast to a more traditional tight and manicured aesthetic of years past.”

The tower of mums at Meijer Gardens. (Supplied/Peter McDaniel)

The focal point of the inside display will be entering the Grace Jarecki Seasonal Display Greenhouse and witnessing a floor-to-ceiling chrysanthemum display. Presentations of 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 stunning sweeps of color and will be balanced by a variety of ornamental plantings that highlight nature’s beauty.

Other activities coming this fall at Meijer Gardens include the Fall Bonsai Show, giant pumpkins and “Hallowee-Ones”.

Fall Bonsai Show, sponsored by the West Michigan Bonsai Club, will take place Oct. 3–4, and is open with regular admission. A variety of bonsai will be on display, from trees in early stages of training to lovely older trees. Also, visitors can watch bonsai artists at work and shop for bonsai trees as well as bonsai tools and supplies.

Dress up is encouraged but there will be no tricks or treats. (Supplied)

Also on that weekend will be Fall Family Day, on Oct. 3, 1-4 p.m., which will be focused on the Lena Meijer Children’s Garden. Activities include fall-inspired tunes and autumn-themed stories, a fiber arts demonstration and a naturalist walk.

Finally, Hallowee-Ones, for the “wee ones,” will occur Oct. 23, from 10 a.m. to noon, with parades at 10:15 and 11:15 a.m. This special event is designed for the youngest visitors, and children are encouraged to dress as a sculpture, mammal, fish, insect, bird, tree, flower, geologist or in any other way that highlights something about the Lena Meijer Children’s Garden. “No tricks, no treats, just fun!” according to supplied material.

For more information visit MeijerGardens.org.

Meijer Gardens’ Chrysanthemums and More! offers mums and much more

3-bottom, Food, Holidays, Kids Activities, Local Entertainment, Local History, Recreation, Upcoming Events

The giant pumpkins at the Farm Garden. (Supplied/Peter McDaniel)

 

By 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 today, on Sept. 21. 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 Oct. 28.

 

The annual towers of mums at Meijer Gardens. (Supplied/Peter McDaniel)


This year’s focus will be on “Growing Local”, highlighting the local growers, farms, food and drink featured at Meijer Gardens. Guests will enjoy a wide variety of locally grown elements, including decorative, spoon, cushion, and quill chrysanthemums, with “pompon” blooms as small as a nickel 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.

 

“Our theme this year is ‘Growing Local’,” explained Steve LaWarre, Director of Horticulture. “This is a remarkable way to showcase many of the local suppliers that we work with throughout the year who provide us with thousands of colorful chrysanthemums, gourds, pumpkins and other ornamental items. With this focus on all things local, we have an chance to highlight the wide variety of chrysanthemums and other items grown locally in an exhibition that has become a wonderful fall tradition for our guests.”

 

Visitors will be greeted with vibrant displays of chrysanthemums from the moment that they arrive 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 display will unfold as a 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 a variety of ornamental plantings.

 

Activities such as the Fall Bonsai Show, Giant Pumpkins and Hallowee-Ones are full of family fun throughout the exhibition. Mum Day on October 14 will give visitors a chance to take a walking tour led by horticulture staff, enjoy informational demonstrations and learn more about the chrysanthemum.

 

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

 

Exhibition Programming

 

Fall Family Day, Saturday, Oct. 6, 1–4 p.m., included with admission.

 

Visit the Children’s Garden for lots of fall family fun. Activities include something for all your senses— Press and Pound Color Banners, Autumn-themed Stories, Tree Vest Craft and an “I-Spy” Naturalist Walk about trees.

 

Herb & Gourd Fest, Midwest Michigan Herb Association and Michigan Gourd Society, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 13-14, included with admission.

 

Discover a variety of ways to use herbs and gourds in this annual fall event. A variety of culinary herbs will be featured including hops, the 2018 “Herb of the Year.” Discover the benefits that herbs provide and experience their wonderful fragrances. Kids can participate in a fun art activity with herbs and make their own seed tape to plant in a pot or in the garden next spring. Visit the touchable gourds section and try playing a gourd instrument. Purchase decorated gourds or buy an unfinished gourd and create your own art at home.

 

Giant Pumpkins at Michigan’s Farm Garden, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 13-14, included with admission

 

Enjoy giant pumpkins on display at Michigan’s Farm Garden. Weighing in at hundreds of pounds, these pumpkins will amaze kids and adults alike. Learn all about pumpkins as you sort varieties and answer quiz questions at the Pumpkin Discovery cart. Or try your hand at a pumpkin bean bag toss and play a unique pumpkin game “Which Vine is Mine?” to learn about how pumpkins grow.

 

Mum Day, Sunday, Oct. 14, 1-4 p.m., included with admission

 

Enjoy tours and demonstrations led by members of the horticulture department.

 

Tuesdays at the Farm, Tuesday, Oct.r 16 and 23 , 5-8:30 p.m., included with admission

 

Eat, drink, and dance in the crisp autumn air. A food truck and the Balk Café will be serving up local fresh fare along with West Michigan beers, hot cider, and adult cocktails. Dance to a string band with accompanying square dance caller.