Mums the Word: NYBG Kiku Chrysanthemum Art Celebrates Japanese Royalty; Kiku Cocktail Garden-to-Glass Garnish!

 

Don’t you love Kiku?  It’s even fun to just say it: Kiku, Kiku, Kiku! 

Kiku is, in fact, the Japanese word for “chrysanthemum” ~ the most celebrated of all Japanese fall-flowering plants. 

For me? I so often “rescue” chrysanthemums from suburban cast-offs left on the street for pick up near our country house and guess what? They rebloom gloriously.  The variety of colors and bloom types are a perfect way to mark the season.

I also feature the blossoms as a pretty Garden-to-Glass, Kiku Cocktail Garnish! 

But for the real chrysanthemum art, running now, is The New York Botanical Garden’s unforgettable presentation of Kiku, painstakingly trained to grow in a mesmerizing variety of forms and sizes, that pays homage to hanami, the traditional Japanese custom of enjoying the ephemeral beauty of flowers.

Decorate Your Garden: Antique Garden Furniture Fair at The New York Botanical Garden

Two of the Four Seasons - Winter & Autumn - purchased at The NYBG Antique Garden Furniture Fair 

The air Thursday evening at The New York Botanical Garden was filled with more than just a rainbow of sensuous spring blossoms. Looking oh-so-glamorous on such a sterling night were the shimmering Chihuly artworks that delight the landscape and the Conservatory. Don’t miss this exhibit -- it’s brilliantly curated: the glass art works and the plant art works are displayed in a potent and rare appearance.

The display gardens are redolent and as captivating as a dream…

Me and my plus + one, Maria, had to focus on the signature event we were there to see!

The New York Botanical Garden’s 2017 Antique Garden Furniture Fair: Antiques for the Garden and the Garden Room opened with a Benefit Preview Party and Collectors’ Plant Sale May 4th. NYBG’s Fair is America’s only show for authentic garden antiques and rarities for the garden and the garden room.

Internationally renowned event designer Bronson van Wyck is the Designer Chairman for this year’s Antique Garden Furniture Fair. He created a design based on Édouard Manet’s painting Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe (Luncheon on the Grass). It’s a whimsical delight - you want to curl up with that picnic basket and just sip some champagne and nibble on the grapes and cheese.

Bronson van Wyck's entry design inspired by Manet's "Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe"

Amid 600 guests from the philanthropic, interior and landscape design, architecture, and art worlds, Preview Party attendees indulge in an exclusive Silent Auction and NYBG’s renowned Collectors’ Plant Sale, which features hard-to-find beauties, beloved varieties, and horticultural treasures propagated from NYBG collections, all chosen for their rarity and charm. Striking tree specimens that create year-round living sculptures and exciting new horticultural introductions of timeless garden favorites, such as dogwoods, magnolias, hydrangeas, peonies, and hellebores, are among the unique offerings that will be available exclusively to Preview Party guests.

The Preview Party presents enthusiasts and collectors the opportunity to examine the plants, to peruse thousands of garden antiques from leading exhibitors from across the United States offering their finest pieces for sale, and to make early purchases, while enjoying cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, in advance of the Fair’s opening to the general public.



Plus, there’s always the added excitement of meeting and seeing fellow garden and horticulture enthusiasts. Throwing off winter’s hibernation and/or travels, guests catch up on the garden season’s promise and -- each other.



Two of my garden “she-roes” Martha Stewart and Lynden Miller.




Sigourney Weaver is a great supporter of NYBG. Love her!



Martha was sourcing the show with Kevin Sharkey. Here with Garden friends.





Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran was not shopping for anything aquatic!




Me (center) with garden friends: Stephen Orr, Editor in Chief, Better Homes and Gardens and Francisca Coelho, NYBG.



Marc Hachadourian, Director of the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections, NYBG -- and the Orchid Whisperer, (L) and Stephen Orr, Better Homes & Gardens



The Illustrated Book of Edible Plants author Jack Staub.



Gregory Long,  Chief Executive Officer and The William C. Steere Sr. President of NYBG, (second from L) with Preview Party Chairs

The Antique Garden Furniture Fair continues at NYBG from Friday, May 5 through Sunday, May 7, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The Fair is a must for leading collectors and designers, as well as purchasers seeking advice from professionals. Included are outdoor sculpture, fountains, sundials, bird baths, gates, garden benches, antique wicker, urns and planters, botanical prints, and architectural ornament, displaying centuries of classic design inspiration gathered from America, Europe, and Asia. These antiques are not only great for the garden, but also for the garden room.

And the BEST part is that Maria’s keen eye for art and antiques and all things beautiful -- snagged the incredible Four Seasons statues! Maria was engaged with the vendor from Milne’s At Home Antiques and asked what I thought… Be still my heart. Those cunning faces and and sweet expressions makes you deliriously happy just looking at them.                                    



Winter and Autumn

That they are in near-perfect condition made the purchase all the more garden kismet.  



Maria with Spring and Summer

We learned the Season sculptures are aggregate stone; their provenance is most likely the 1940’s, “born” in Surrey, England (where Judy Milne often travels for her acquisitions, she told us). Having all four pedestals is very rare. Often owners break them up and use and/or sell separately. And more likely than not, the Seasons have had but one or two owners which is why they look so pristine. But of course -- seeing these magical creatures it’s no wonder owners do not want to part with them…

So just like that, Maria was making arrangements to bring her brood to where else? The Garden State, where they will be ensconced in her magical garden for another generation - or two.

Summer in her new home in the Garden State! Welcome precious beauty...


Throughout the evening, I led friends to admire Maria’s purchase.

Admiring the Seasons: Maria with Winter & Autumn -- and NYBG’s Charles Yurgalevitch, Ph.D., Director of the Garden’s School of Professional Horticulture

And near the end of the evening, I noticed two ladies coveting the Seasons so I asked if they’d like to meet their new owner. We had a lovely chat -- but they couldn’t help conceal they were pea-green with envy!

Satisfied with the coup and good fortune of the Seasons acquisition, we were able to scout the rest of the show.

We admired Barbara Israel Garden Antiques display. I enjoy catching up with Barbara and seeing her latest discoveries. Turned out that many years ago, Barbara had visited Maria’s former home in Rumson to acquire some pieces. Love the “Six Degrees” in the garden world!

Barbara Israel with the Blanchard sculpture art

Barbara had a lovely Blashfield statue - Diana de Gabii - representing the goddess Artemis. Another statue put the lovely lady on pedestal - where she no doubt belongs! The original pedestal base is again, a rarity. Plus it boasts a lovely laurel wreath on the base. This English piece is a Blanchard, from 1815.                                                                                    

Two lions -- from the Medicis were powerfully pretty.

Loved these 1735 botanical prints and their pedigree - and the union of botanical art with science.

The coasters here were charming. I learned that the cut fruit art was rare and difficult to produce at that time -- which explains their cost.                                            

Weekend visitors to the Antique Garden Furniture Fair can browse and purchase unique items of the highest quality and provenance and enjoy a program lineup that includes tours, talks, and eclectic live musical sets.

There will be exhibitors offering an array of interesting ways to bring the outdoors inside by creating garden rooms in your home.                                       

Experts will be on hand to answer questions on current decorating styles. They will also discuss trends in the acquisition and appreciation of garden ornament, as well as assist buyers looking for the perfect piece to complement a garden, landscape, or interior.        

I loved this glamorous flower petal table at the Preview party. And was reminded of the table we saw earlier in the day.



The Kips Bay Decorator House showed its own petal blossom, glamourous cocktail table. Plants inspire...



On-site shippers are available to facilitate Tri-State New York and New England deliveries during the Fair and other shipping needs in the weeks following.

Plus you can view all that Chihuly art!

Chihuly glass art at night!

One of my favorite displays -- glass art mimics the plants - like yucca and iris



All proceeds benefit NYBG’s Fund for Horticulture, directly supporting the work of the curators and gardeners who are responsible for making The New York Botanical Garden one of the most important horticultural showplaces in the world.

The Antique Garden Furniture Fair takes place in a tent amid flowering trees, plants, and shrubs, with The New York Botanical Garden’s landmark Enid A. Haupt Conservatory as its glorious backdrop. It is the ideal venue for learning about garden antiques and building personal collections. Admission to the Fair on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, May 5 through 7, is included with the All-Garden Pass, which also provides access to the Botanical Garden grounds, seasonal gardens, attractions such as the Haupt Conservatory, and Tram Tour. Advance tickets for the Fair are available for purchase online at nybg.org

Seibert & Rice Premiere New Planter Line Collaboration with Oehme, van Sweden Today at National Building Museum in Washington, DC

OvS Organics from Seibert &; Rice premieres today, photo courtesy of Seibert & Rice 

Seibert & Rice, the leading importer of Fine Italian Terra Cotta from Impruneta, is proud to announce its collaboration with the internationally renowned landscape architecture firm, Oehme, van Sweden & Associates, Inc. (OvS) recipient of the 2014 Landscape Architecture Firm Award of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)

OvS has designed a line of historically-inspired terra cotta vessels for Seibert & Rice’s American Collection. The line is called OvS Organics.

OvS Organics will make its debut at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC today, October 15, 2015, where the pots will be included in the exhibition, The New American Garden: The Landscape Architecture of Oehme, van Sweden, which runs through April 2016. The exhibition is organized by The Cultural Landscape Foundation


Photo courtesy of the Cultural Landscape Foundation

Seibert & Rice noted, "The product line adds drama to the garden, while reinforcing the time-honored craftsmanship of Italian pottery. Buyers can chose from a set of three pots of varying sizes, equally dramatic whether used individually or coupled in the classic OvS grouping of three."

According to Eric Groft, one of the principals of Oehme, van Sweden, “Inspiration for these vessels was drawn from the beauty and vitality of nature as represented classically through the ages, but infused with a modern and fresh look, indicative of OvS’ garden style made famous by the founders Wolfgang Oehme and Jim van Sweden.” Imagery of the calla lily, the cardoon thistle and the hellebore or Lenten rose enliven these boutique garden accessories. Garden Glamour reported on Groft's landscape lecture at NYBG last year: goo.gl/jjQviJ


Oehme van Sweden design, photo courtesy of OvS

The vessels were fashioned by the artisans of the small, Tuscan town of Impruneta outside of Florence, Italy. In an effort to preserve the ‘hand-of-man’ quality of terra-cotta pottery, the artisans used the ancient coil and slab methods of pot construction. The thickness of the terra-cotta and the skilled workmanship is evident in each shape.

The OvS Organics collection includes the Calla, which measures 35” H x 33 W, $2,050; the Hellebore, 12” H x 32” W, $980; and the Cardoon Thistle, 19” H x 31” W, $1,700. They are available from Seibert & Rice, P.O. Box 365, Short Hills, NJ 07078, (973) 467-8266,

www.seibert-ri ce.com, terracotta@seibert-rice.com.

And if you are looking for a vertical look to add drama - hanging planters offer a design option that is all too often overlooked.  I had a line of lightweight hanging pots 

However, if you have your favorite, high-quality planters and are looking for a hanging solution, then you'll be delighted to discover Design Rulz macrame that add sleek glamour to your home: inside or out.  The 20 DIY Macrame Hanger Patterns recently came to my attention.  So I'm passing on the good news.  The company writes: "Macrame, the art of knotting cords and rope together, was a huge hit back in the ’70s with DIY-ers. Now, modern macrame is sleek, chic and way cooler than its hippie counterpart. We’ve gathered 20 projects for you to try your hand at, and we know that you’ll love getting knotty with some rope and cords when you tackle these tutorials."  

Good looking and fun!  A home decor partnership that is irresistible.  And your design options are limitless.  

photo courtesy of Design Rulz

OvS Organics, photo courtesy of Seiebert & Rice

Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life at NYBG: Brimming with Inmate Discoveries

Frida Kahlo is a very special kind of enigma -- in a transcendent way.  Kahlo is, after all, one of the most popular artists ever -- male or female. Nevertheless, she is heralded as a groundbreaking feminist artist.  It was after a Kahlo painting sold in 1990 at Sotheby’s for nearly $2 million -- the most ever paid for a Latin American artist -- that the cinema’s brightest stars clamored to play her on the big screen, especially Madonna.

Ultimately it was the glamorous and accomplished actress, Salma Hayek who won the battle to ultimately -- and appropriately --  portray her fellow Mexican national artist.  Hayek earned an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Frida - a role that probably help secure our image and persona of the the iconoclastic artist.

Kahlo supersedes her artistic achievements - and her signature style has become readily recognizable to all generations; bordering on a parody of the independent, liberated, headstrong artist.  So, one might be tempted to think we know everything there is to know about Frida.  And yet, here’s the thing, New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) has curated and produced a compelling installation where you learn a lot about this enduring, fascinating icon. The show, “Frida Kahlo Art . Garden . Life runs through November 1st. (fittingly, the Mexican holiday, “Dia de Muertos” or Day of the Dead.)  

The show is described “as the first to examine Frida Kahlo’s keen appreciation for the beauty and variety of the natural world, as evidenced by her home and garden as well as the complex use of plant imagery in her artwork.”  All of the multiple program celebrate “the vibrant culture and style of Frida Kahlo’s life in Mexico, highlighting the influences behind her work, including dance, music, food, and film.”

Indeed, NYBG has done a masterful job of bringing together heretofore undiscovered elements of Kahlo; her art and her life -- including her on-again/off again, enduring love, Diego Rivera - Painter   

The show offers a very intimate look into Frida Kahlo - after all, you’re viewing her home and garden, as well as her public art.  Many of her art pieces can be seen the Art Gallery at the Garden in its jewel-box of a show space.

You’ll want to visit the Garden show several times because there’s that much to take in -- and it’s a joyful, happy exhibit.  You can also enhance your tour of the exhibit via an App delivered via your smartphone.  On-site or off Garden grounds, the App offers a biography, lots of archival photos, and it claims to provide contemporary photos and a video of present day Casa Azul - but my Frida App did not include these features...

First off, there is the star of the show: the almost in-situ replication of Kahlo’s Mexico City home: Casa Azul and its lush gardens, rendered throughout much of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.  

Meandering throughout the exhibit you will experience equal parts serenity: fountains, intoxicating, gentle, Mexican guitar music; along with bright, sherbet-colored walls, and exotic and curious plants boasting all manner of texture and shape.  

This show is almost a remarkable departure of sorts for the Garden’s signature feature blockbusters.

Besides the collection of succulents to be found in the Conservatory’s desert house, I’ve never seen these plants featured as part of a major exhibit, nor such bright colors; or the sheer variety of plants the Garden has brought together for Kahlo.  

I was most fortunate to have had a personal, one-on-one tour of the Kahlo exhibit from the celebrated curator, Fran Coelho, NYBG’s Vivian and Edward Merrin Vice President for Glasshouses and Exhibitions, (wow - that’s a title and a half to fit on a business card!), who leads the teams who create the Conservatory exhibitions. Coelho is an accomplished and creative plantswoman and horticulturist.  

Fran Coehlo, VP NYBG (L) & Green Industry Interns

I learn so much from Coehlo every time I’ve been privileged enough to receive a hands-on tour with her.  But really, everyone benefits from Coelho’s expertise and passion - her exhibits have her fingerprints all over them!  Plus she’s on-site, in the Conservatory pretty much all the time - looking after and caring for the plants - and the visitors who walk the shows with heads up, or peering down at the plant labels or who are taking scads and scads of photos, selfies with the exuberant plants or taking videos of the sensual delights discovered in the designed garden displays.  

Coelho explained how the show probably came about at the suggestion of Barbara Corcoran, the Garden’s Vice President for Continuing and Public Education.  Corcoran, Coelho noted is also of Latino ancestry, first raised the idea that Kalho would be a compelling focus for a Garden feature exhibit.

Soon, the Garden’s top brass, including Coehlo and Karen Daubmann, Associate Vice President of Exhibitions and Public Engagement,  were researching Kahlo and visiting Casa Azul in Mexico - as she explained to an audience of horticulture interns and the Students of Professional Horticulture at a lecture earlier in the day at the annual Green Industry Intern Field Day III, at The New York ...

Coehlo explained to me how the Garden team took lots of pictures of Casa Azul.  The pyramid garden featured in the exhibit was recreated to allow for a very robust display of garden pots and containers - mainly terra cotta.  

The Pyramid display garden: Casa Azul, NYBG

Cactus is the plant of choice in the show, however with more than 2,000 different kinds of cactus - and seemingly that many pots: some Italian, most Mexican, some from the Garden’s collection and many that were replicated from Casa Azul collection by the Garden’s Vice President for Retail and Business Development, Richard Pickett and are now offered for sale at the Garden -- it’s not likely that you’ll think you’re seeing double.

Quite the contrary. In fact, as we toured, talking about what a unique opportunity it is to showcase the plants in the containers so visitors can really get to see the plants and be inspired by them.  

Some plants they know, she said, some are new introductions.  The exhibit also offers the opportunity to show visitors how they might display the architectural beauties at home.  We agreed how much we love potted plants.

We both “oohed” a delighted exclamation when we turned the corner of the pyramid garden and saw a curious-looking tube-like bloom on the Rathbunia sonorensis cactus!  

Plants never fail to excite…

Fran Coelho, VP NYBG explains Kahlo exhibit

Coelho pointed out the Echeveria, Calla Lily (that we found rooted in a snap while gardening in Ecuador earlier this year), the national flower of Mexico: the Dahlia,  

the tidy Stenocereus marginatus, and other favorites as she described the challenges of not only getting the soils right for the containers -- sand perlite mix, and because these plants are difficult to root, she brought in bone root from California nurseries.

The pots or containers are more difficult to maintain -- need more water.  

After the show closes, most of the plants in the exhibit will become part of the NYBG permanent exhibit.  

Turning to the outdoor display behind the Conservatory - surrounding the Lily Pool Terraces, is a key part of the Frida exhibit - and as Coelho noted as part of our July tour - “This will be in in its glory in the fall.”  Now!  

The gardens here feature all kinds of Mexican species and cultivars that Coelho and her team were eager to showcase.  There’s Lantana, Asclepia, French Marigolds (I love to pair these with purple Heliotrope with its vanilla-scented blooms), Mexican Salvia (Salvia is the largest genus of plants in the mint family and I love growing and enjoying these low to no-maintenance work horses of the garden. Ditto for the candy-colored Agastaches - from which I also make a delicious tea to delight my house guests.) Who doesn’t love the glory of the Passionflower and its fascinating uses and lore?  It’s on display here and just crazy complex and glamorous.  

(She's also tucked in some ornamental edibles out here. Shhhh. See if you can locate them while touring the show.)

Coelho pointed out this garden is kinetic gallery of nature - with butterfly and hummingbird pollinators darting and zooming about creating more aerial beauty in motion.  

I looked over to the far side and saw what I thought were just about the loveliest yuccas or agaves ever - except for maybe the Century Plant  a favorite succulent of mine.  Turns out, Coelho introduced me to the Yucca Furcraea an agave, yucca relative. She’d had a few but added to the collection for the show. Stunning bluish/greenish and yellow color, the big baby is zone 4 so my crush has to reserved for a container planting next spring.

I asked Coelho what does success look like to her for a blockbuster show like this?  She said it’s the “Wow factor.”  When she sees the show clearly puts visitors in a good mood.   

Programs

The Garden has produced an immersive “edtu-tainment” suite of program elements that are engaging, fun, and provide a kind of Meetup sense of community, too.

In addition to the Conservatory exhibit, there is series of Kahlo’s painting and works on paper art in in the Gallery - and a fashion display of sorts in the Britton Rotunda of the Library,  inspired by Kahlo’s double self-portrait The Two Fridas with two paper mache “dresses” on mannequins, as rendered by Artist in Residence, Humberto Spíndola.

No story about Mexico is complete without a feature on the country’s homegrown tequila; especially because this favorite spirit is made from a plant: the beautiful agave. Sponsored by Jose Cuervo, the story of Mexican tequila is told through botany and craftsmanship.

A chance to win a trip to Mexico City is sponsored by AeroMexico, Condesa df   

Just text to 56512 - “NYBG FridaRetreat”

The Evening Programs (6:30-11 pm) remaining are October 1, 9, 16, 22 (which is also LGBT Night) and the 30th. I was told these are really fun evenings -- with many of the visitors dressing up as Kahlo.  

The Garden positively glows at night - so don’t miss this chance to be a true New Yorker - enjoying the evening out at one of the Frida al Fresco Evenings. These special evenings of live music, dining, and shopping now last until 11 p.m.

The evenings offer food, drink, dancing, and art in the Garden. What else is important to life?!

There’s something to fit every schedule, including:  

• Live Music and Dance on Saturdays and Sundays at 1 pm
• a Film Series every weekend and holiday Mondays at 3 pm (you can view the Julie Taymor - directed film, Frida, starring Salma Hayek, in case you missed it at the cinema.)
• Hands-on Craft Classes with artisanal, Mexican instructors

Visitors on Saturday, September 19, had the opportunity to attend a very special live poetry reading by Rachel Eliza Griffiths who read her own work as well as select pieces by Nobel Prize winner Octavio Paz - Author, Poet, whose verse adorns the Poetry Walk. Remember, t

Plus the Garden is open until 8 p.m. on Saturdays, so visitors can enjoy the cultural festivities until past sunset.

Check the NYBG web site at: Frida Kahlo for a complete listing things to see and do at the exhibit.

Enjoy this glamorous, visually stunning exhibit now through November 1.  

(And don’t you just love those Sigourney Weaver radio spots promoting the Frida Kahlo show?  She is a wonderful advocate for the Garden. Cheers!)

Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek images, video and tour -- so glamorous...