The Fall Flower Show in the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory of Como Park Zoo & Conservatory, 1225 Estabrook Drive, Saint Paul, Minnesota, opens October 9, 2017.

The annual show will feature hundreds of chrysanthemums of many different cultivars with colors of yellow, orange, red, gold, highlighted with Chilly Chili ornamental peppers and ornamental grasses. The tradition of the Fall Flower Show began in 1915 when the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory first opened.

The chrysanthemum flower has been known in a small yellow form since before 5000 BCE. Ancient China and Japan both have tales explaining how the chrysanthemum originated. The Chinese who considered them the highest of flowers, and named their royal throne after the flower.

Chrysanthemum flowers have traditionally been boiled in China to make “chrysanthemum tea,” used in folk medicine for influenza patients. In landscaping, chrysanthemums are valued for the fact that they bloom in fall. Chrysanthemum flowers are also a favorite of florists for arrangements, due to the longevity of their blooms.

The Fall Flower Show at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory is open October 9 through November 29, 2017, from 10 a.m. through 4 p.m. There will be a show change November 1 through 5 in which the Sunken Garden will be closed, but all other rooms of the Conservatory will remain open to the public.

Here’s a video about the Fall Show in 2015:


(Video courtesy of Marjorie McNeely Conservatory)