New York Botanical Garden: Kiku in the Japanese Autumn Garden

Today Mom and I went to the New York Botanical Garden. The fall exhibition is "Kiku in the Japanese Autumn Garden," so of course I couldn't miss it! The photos in the slideshow below best speak for the beauty of the gardens, but I'll just tell you a little about what we saw. The courtyard of the main conservatory was full of kiku (chrysanthemums) of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Underneath these Japanese-style awnings they had gorgeous arrangements of kiku trained to grow along wire structures that shaped the plants into works of garden art. They also had some beautiful bonsai trees, some of which were shedding their leaves for fall. The ponds in the courtyard had koi fish swimming about. I loved the zen feeling of it all, and the colors of the fall leaves and the kiku were just stunning.

After spending some time taking photos of the kiku, we went out and took a tour of the rest of the garden grounds on a tram ride. I couldn't get over how beautiful the trees are in the fall. Then, we checked out the gift shop, which was awesome because they had all sorts of Japanese stuff (books, dishes, knick-knacks) to go with the Japanese theme. I wanted to buy all the books with photos of spectacular Japanese gardens. But I didn't end up getting anything this time.

Moving on, there was a group of Taiko drummers (also in keeping with the Japanese awesomeness) that performed at intervals on the lawn outside the conservatory. I'm so glad we caught their performance because they were brilliant! It was a group comprised of all ages, and the little kids were very impressive. They gots rhythm! I wish I was that cool when I was a kid. Anyhow, the drums were just exhilarating to listen to. What is it about the pounding of Asian drums that gets me emotional? I think I was Japanese in a past life.

Mom and I proceeded to walk around the grounds admiring nature's beauty and taking photos. I think that about sums up the day. Take a look:

A video clip of our tour:

Taiko Drummers: