Celebrate “shape & form” at “Chrysanthemums and More!“, on display at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, 1000 East Beltline Ave NE, Grand Rapids, Michigan, September 15 through October 29, 2017..

This exhibition is centered on expansive displays of chrysanthemums plus fall foliage and family-friendly activities. The focus, “Shape & Form”, highlights 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.

Visitors will be greeted by chrysanthemums in the Grand Entry Garden and Cook Entry Arbor, and find 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, beds of chrysanthemums will be arranged in large sweeps of color and will be balanced by ornamental cabbage, kale and asters.

[*Disbud – one single large flower per stem produced by removing all side buds when plant was young. There are two types of Disbuds: Spiders and Cremons. A Spider is distinguished by its tubular petals. Any disbud without this characteristic is a Cremon. Disbuds are used as a focal flowers in arrangements and bouquets.]

An “Herb & Gourd Fest” takes place September 9 and 10, 2017. The “Fall Bonsai Show” is set for September 30 and October 1, 2017. On “Mum Day”, October 15, 2017, there will be walking tours of the exhibit led by members of the horticulture staff.

The 158-acre main campus of the Meijer Gardens 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, and outdoor gardens.

(Photo courtesy of Meijer Gardens)