I recently had a chance to check out the Chrysanthemum Festival at Longwood Gardens. The show was up for just over a month in October and November. In addition to all sorts of wonderful varieties of chrysanthemum plants in around the Conservatory, there were some absolutely spectacular chrysanthemum displays.

First was the 1000 Bloom Chrysanthemum. With over 700 blossoms growing on one stem, this year’s 1000 bloom chrystanthemum is the largest ever grown at Longwood Gardens and is the largest in the United States.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

There were also two smaller 1000 Bloom Chrysantemums on display this year – each with over 500 blossoms growing on one stem.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

There was also a Chrysanthemum Shield with 172 blossoms growing from one stalk. Longwood’s garden staff learned the technique for growing the shield chrysanthemum a Japanese chrysanthemum grower – Mr. Tadashi Imafuku.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

And then there were the Chrysanthemum Trees in front of the Music Room. Longwood’s Garden staff designed this display using Cherry Trees that were scheduled to be composted and chrysanthemums grown in a curtain style.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

The final set of decorations that I just had to photograph were the giant bees suspended around the main part of the Conservatory. Throughout 2009, Longwood Gardens has been running an educational program on The Buds and the Bees, Pollination and Secret Lives of Plants. The giant bees in the Conservatory were a great reminder of how important bees and pollination are in nature.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

]]> http://dicharachera.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/why-not-start-with-you-for-a-change/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:04:14 +0000 qristinan http://dicharachera.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/why-not-start-with-you-for-a-change/

Encouraged by my host Suzuki Makoto sensei at Tokyo University of Agriculture, I recently visited the Edo Gardening Flowers exhibit being held at the Ukiyo-e Ota Memorial Museum of Art until November 26,2009. The exhibit has spectacular colorful wood block prints showing flowers and plants in a variety of urban settings including kimonos, at festivals, commercials nurseries, educational materials, Kabuki actors, and Noh dramas.

The exhibit theme is that the Edo period experienced a “gardening culture” in which a passion for gardens and flowers permeated all social classes, including court nobles, shoguns, feudal lords and the common people. According to the catalogue, “the Japanese people’s passion to flowers surprised the American botanist Robert Fortune as seen in his diary upon his visit to Japan in the late Edo period.”

An interesting comparison is also made between between the widespread practice of Edo gardening and also the interest of common people in wood block prints. It is wonderful to see the use of flowers and plants in both high culture realms and in depictions of everyday life during the Edo period.

Two of my favorite prints are collections of plants used by children to learn the names of flowers. The one below, from the back cover of the exhibit catalog, has the names in hiragana. The exhibit also includes Edo era ceramic plant pots.

Some more images after the jump, and also a list of plants seen in the wood block prints.

Plants and flowers I noted from the November exhibit included “Adonis flower” (fukujuso), potted plum tree, narcissus, Chinese lantern, cherry blossoms, pine bonsai, morning glory, chrysanthemum, clematis, hydrangea, iris, peony, azalea, and rose.

Sa ne imaginam, asadar, ca disparitia lui a fost doar un vis urat, cinic, care si-a incetat tortura si nebuloasa. Despre Gheorghe Dinica vorbim nu pentru ca asa ne prilejuieste aceasta disparitie absurda, ci pentru ca asa se cuvine a fi elogiat un artist deasupra caruia a cazut cortina si care se indreapta discret inspre culise. El nu pleaca, pentru ca e nedemn sa dezamagesti publicul care te aclama si te pretuieste, ci intocmai acelui actor grabit din amintirile Laurei, isi aduna toata forta sugestiva si vana artistica pentru actul de dupa pauza, mai memorabil si mai ravnit. Fii rabdator si iti va aparea inaintea ochilor – acest om-orchestra, “maturator de praf de stele”, care isi dezvaluie firea de artist in numele progresului cultural, al devenirii omului.
Nu trebuie sa fii connaisseur al lumii teatrului ca sa vorbesti despre Gheorghe Dinica. Chiar “civila” fiind (cum sunt numiti in argoul artistilor cei neinitiati, non-actorii), nu pot sa nu recurg la paronimia virtuos/virtuoz, fara a gresi catusi de putin. Intai, pentru ca OMUL din spatele cortinei, boem si placid, adesea jovial, inofensiv, a strans in acesti ani virtuti nenumarate, imbracate toate in hainele intelepciunii. Doi, pentru ca ARTISTUL din spatele cortinei si-a capatat o stea proprie prin faptul ca a cultivat gustul pentru frumos al zecilor de generatii care i-au devenit discipoli ori spectatori. De fapt, cred ca spiritul virtuosului care salasuieste laolalta cu spiritul virtuozului in acelasi trup sunt expresia cea mai pura a omului complet, evoluat.
Imi place Gheorghe Dinica, imi place vocea lui inconfundabila, timbrul cald, cadenta vorbei lui, imi place cantecul si jocul de scena, imi place ca ramane imperturbabil, impasibil la previziunile amenintatoare privind indobitocirea omului modern si ruinarea culturii, si continua sa joace – un spirit morometian (ca si colegii lui), care isi marturiseste profesiunea de credinta : teatrul, caruia ii e vesnic devotat. Imi place ca spirala deliranta a lumii de sub reflectoare nu l-a transfigurat, ci parca timpul l-a aratat si mai modest, mai umil. Imi place mandria si daruirea de/pentru ce face.
El a fost turcul Kadir, alaturi de Beligan si Moraru, acum 4 ani, intr-o seara de noiembrie. Eram o adolescenta simpla, la inceput de liceu, care se minuna inca de grandoarea Teatrului National. El, cu priceperea artisului suprem, dobandite fiindu-i miscarea, replica, limbajul paraverbal, a adus aeca seara sub semnul hohotelor si al destinderii.
Acum, el se pregateste pentru revenirea pe scena, publicul este intr-o incordare muta, tacita, dar reverentioasa. Luminile se sting, una cate una in sala; se aseamana cu niste opaite ori niste lumanari care palpaie molcom. Faldurile cortinei sunt inselator de negre, poate prea negre pentru asteptarile tuturor.. emit o greutate de plumb si o textura de giulgiu. Si totul miroase usor intepator, iarasi inexplicabil de intepator. Asteptarea asta muta e mai tiuitoare si mai deranjanta ca oricand..
….
A fost doar o senzatie bizara, de moment, caci IATA-L! In podoabe de scena, iarasi vesel, iarasi iubitor si ocrotitor fata de publicul sau. Oameni creduli si prosti ce suntem.. Maestrul nu a plecat nicaieri, el doar a zabovit in culise pentru o ultima mica repetitie.
Ia-ne suflarea, Maestre, asa cum faci de fiecare data, iar noi iti vom fi alaturi chiar si la ultima ta suflare.. si vom lacrima, te voi plange indelung atunci. Dar ziua aceea e departe, Maestre, talentul te-a facut etern..

“M-am suit pe scenă şi parcă eram acolo de când lumea”

GHEORGHE DINICA (1934-2009)

Once in many moons, I find something so intriguing that I must share it with the only ones that care for me, that’s you my dear readers and masters.

To cut to the chase, here is what I have to share.  I found this folded up tea instruction thingy in a bag of dried Chrysanthemum used for tea.  I do not know how the bag of tea came about.  Perhaps, it “folded” here during a trans-dimensional shift that happened to occur precisely at the time when the earth’s moon aligned with a certain polarity pole that I grafted into the middle of a tachyon-rich field here in marshy Floridian paradise.  Or perhaps, it got here by a custom order made by a certain individual desiring to read something really funny because there was just not enough Engrish in this world.

The so-called instruction manual were printed in four languages: Korean, English, Japanese, and Chinese (PRC, I think,) respectively.

To introduce this lame yet sincere posting, I start with a perfectly transcribed version below.  Here it goes:

———-

The methods of tea drinking

1. 10 circle degree(for 5 persons) is put in numerous work.

2. Over 100 temperature of hot water and wait for about 1 minute.

3. When the yellow colour comes out, and a flower blooms, I drink by a mug.

* For 5-6 times to drink The fragrance cuts it and goes out.

* Take the one flower and put in into the cup or tea caddy and can see a flower blooms

* The cool place where air connects well may be kept in a freezer.

———-

[Note: All capitalization, spelling, punctuation, spacing, etc. were kept as they were printed.]

A picture of the original “manual” in question and the correct translation will soon flow.  Stay tuned my dear readers and masters.

Or shall I say, “Sit down reading peoples coming.”

———-

[Addendum Maximum]

Here is a poem I wrote based on the text of the instructions on how to brew tea:

Title: “I drank by a mug”

By: {possibly google translate of babblefish}

Ten circles.

Degree for five persons

I’s put in numerous work over hundred.

Of hot water and wait.

For about one minute

When the yellow colour comes out

A flower blooms,

I drank by a mug.

For five to six times

To drink the fragrance

Cuts it, and goes out.

Take the one flower

And put in…

Into the cup

Or tea caddy and can see.

A flower blooms.

The cool place where air connects well.

May be kept in a freezer.

Lately I’ve been noticing media showcasing tea. As some of you may know, when I’m not making a cup of tea I’m often watching one of my favourite shows – a TV (and tea) junkie at heart.

Last night I was watching NCIS: LA, a great new series. The opening scene featured tea! Chrysanthemum loose leaf tea was being made, while a “regular” tea bag was also being made by a separate character. A debate occurred where tea bags were said to make the tea taste like paper. Wolfberries (aka goji berries) were then added to the chrysanthemum tea.

References to the calming effects of tea, and the benefits to the cardiovascular system were also made. At the end, the character using the tea bag makes the switch to loose leaf, admitting he was tasting the paper!

Just something fun I thought I would share

Mums are flourishing in the Labyrinth Garden

My neighbor Dan clipped a few sprigs from his mums last year and told me if I would just stick them in the ground, they would grow.  What an understatement!  Those mum sprigs grew into mum bushes during the spring.  Over summer, they spilt out across the labyrinth paths on either side of the bed.  Then last week, they FINALLY bloomed!

The 2009 Miaoli Tongluo Chrysanthemum & Taro Festival [2009苗栗銅鑼杭菊芋頭節] kicked off on Saturday, November 7 at Jiuhu Leisure Farm.   We checked out the festival yesterday and had learned that we were still a little early for the total bloom.  After walking a little further from the main festival area that had a stage and various tents selling crafts and taro and chrysanthemum based goods, we found an area with a pretty high percentage already blooming.


Besides white, there were also a lot of yellow chrysanthemums.  There was also a small patch of a light purple variety, but I didn’t grab any shots of those.

For more information on the event, check out TTNews.

Pictures by; bryanilona and tengtan and RitaK.

At the moment I’m currently scouring the net (in particular Flickr <3) for inspiration to create some beautiful pieces of artwork to go in a selection of old picture frames found on a roadside. I’m thinking orchids, chrysanthemums (my favourites), and pansies. So I’m going to be taking a trip to the florists this week for more inspiration and digging out the pencils and paper.

Why flowers? Well they’ve always been my favourite thing to draw and I loved working with them for a short stint in a local florist. Also I’ve just been accepted to start wekkend classes in floral arrangement in the New Year. Yay!

Pictures from my Higher Art project. Fashion based on floristry.

These were some of the prize winning flowers on show at the 61st exhibition organised by the Hedon and District Chrysanthemum Society yesterday.

The vegetable section was also impressive – just look at the size of the leeks and onions pictured here!

Do you know of any vegetables that are larger than these? Let the Hedon Blog know!

www.longwoodgardens.org is no ordinary garden.

900,000 people visit every year.  1,000 acres, 20 gardens outdoors, and 20 gardens indoors.   It’s open every day.   They do world class horticulture research, and have developed some extraordinary technology in everything from fragrance to color.  Everyone from the Nikki to the Financial Times says they are the best display garden in the world.  Aside from all of this, it’s really exciting see what a $2B endowment with some great leadership can do.

I’m lucky enough to be a director of Longwood and thought I’d share the results of some great research (and Open Innovation) done there – that is on display now.  The Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum (known in Japan as Ozukuri) refers to a technique, originating in China and expanding to Japan several hundred years ago, for growing an extremely large Chrysanthem.  Longwood is working hard at setting a world record.  Take a look at this Video:

What’s really impressive?  They have a backup plant, in case there is an issue with this one. Wow.

Ohno Bakufu.
“Chrysanthemum (Yellow and White)”, (1950).
Woodblock.
10 1/4″x 15 1/4″

In floriography, the Chinese Chrysanthemum stands for cheerfulness under adversity. I’m trying to take this to heart right now.

        Talisker nudged his hand and leaned against his leg as Rennie stood looking at the front of the house, thinking about how he had tentatively touched the newly painted deck, just as his father had gently tested the surface of the boat, to be sure it was dry.  If he hurried, he had calculated, it would be possible, before Arden and the girls arrived home from the cottage, to purchase and lay down some sisal carpet. Leaving a crestfallen dog at home (it was too hot to let her stay in the car), he had dashed out to the hardware store and had returned with a large roll of the carpeting and a basket of bronze chrysanthemums, harbingers of autumn.

        After quickly laying the sisal and placing the mums at the edge of the porch, he had sat on the front stoop and had taken a sip of Kilkenny.  ”Well,” he had thought,  ”if it’s not exactly yare, it certainly is shipshape.”  He had felt a welling of excitement when he saw Arden’s Audi pulling into a parking spot down the street.  Carrying baskets of produce from the country, she, Skye and Aran had been greeted by Talisker, who had bounded down the steps to welcome them.

        ”Oh, you stink!” Skye had exclaimed.

        Arden had come up the pathway, had stopped to consider Rennie’s handiwork and, with a look on her face of resigned disapproval, had sighed, “Well, you just couldn’t resist being ‘creative,’ could you?   Can you at least manage to get the things from the car?  I need a bath. And a glass of wine.  That is,” she had added, eyeing his bottle of ale, “if you’ve left anything to drink in the house.”

I personally think that Justchrys has a good Marketing strategy, at least a new and daring one. Nevertheless, I don’t always appreciate their artistic photo creations. The world they build throughout their communication images is so artificial and distant that I think consumers wouldn’t easily be able to identify with this lifestyle and atmosphere.

Courtesy Justchrys

Above is the Autumn picture on the front page of Justchrys‘ website. Well, I understand they wanted to associate the Chrysanthemum image to a more luxury and sensorial positioning, but the execution, in my opinion, is not at the height of the project.

I have done a little research in my image archives and have found two photos that I would use to represent the Chrysanthemum. The image of Chrysanthemums here is glamour and aspirational but remains natural and accessible.

  Courtesy Elle Magazine and Numero Magazine

Or All Hallows.  Or Samhain or Beltane, depending on which hemisphere you’re in and which holiday you celebrate, if at all.

I don’t go for all the ghoulish stuff myself.  But F. and I carved one mean jack-o-lantern.  I’d been meaning to do that with him since we first started dating, and every year something kept getting in the way.  But this year, we went to a “pumpkin patch” at the local elementary school, manned by the cheerful grandparents of one of the students, and picked out not only our pumpkin for the main event, but also a greyish blue, scalloped pumpkin that F. swears is the European standard for eating (we shall see) and which I honestly wouldn’t mind growing, it’s so pretty.

F. managed to balance it on his head for about 10 seconds, which should tell you the kind of relaxed, playful mood the mellow gold autumn sunshine was inspiring in the pumpkin patch.  Wish I could grow some in the Victory Garden next year.  I’ll have to see if we could expand our own “patch” a little, to give the vines room to run.

This was F.’s first experience of the jack-o-lantern carving ritual.  I think he secretly wonders now if we’re all nuts.  But he didn’t object to the roasted pumpkin seeds in the least!

The photo is of some lovely quilled mums my mom and dad gave me, with a background of American standard orange pumpkin, taken just before we lobotomized Jack.

Everybody have fun and stay safe out there tonight!

The Hedon and District Chrysanthemum Society holds its annual show on Saturday November 7th at the Alexandra Hall in the centre of Hedon.

This is the 61st show that the Society has staged. As well as the popular flower contests there are competitions for vegetables, crafts and cookery.

This year under 16s are encouraged to take part in special categories for that age group.

The event is open to the public from 2pm – 4:30pm.

Translated from original blog post at http://www.LiYeSen.com

“九月九日憶山東兄弟” jiǔ yuè jiǔ rì yì shān dōng xiōng dì

by 王維 wáng wéi

獨在異鄉為異客， dú zài yì xiāng wéi yì kè

每逢佳節倍思親。 měi féng jiā jié bèi sī qīn

遙知兄弟登高處， yáo zhī xiōng dì dēng gāo chù

遍插茱萸少一人。 biàn chā zhū yú shǎo yī rén

“Double Ninth, Missing My Shandong Brothers” — Wang Wei (Tang Dynasty)

Translated into English version poem:

As a lonely stranger in the strange land,

Every holiday the homesickness amplifies.

Knowing that my brothers have reached the peak,

All but one is present at the planting of zhuyu.

Double Ninth Festival

This Monday, with date of 26th of October 2009 on the  calendar, was also the ninth day of the ninth lunar month of lunisolar calendar. This was the Chung Yeung Festival “重阳节”, or also known as the Double Ninth Festival, Festival for Elderly “老人节”,  or Ascend Festival “登高节”. My earliest understanding of this poem, “Double Ninth, Missing My Shandong Brothers” by Wang Wei, is from my primary school’s text-book.

Chinese culture has been around for years. Each poems, each sentences, each phrases, even each words bare and carry with human cultures, scientific and technological knowledge. Let us learn from this poem about Chinese cultures… The ninth day of the ninth lunar month of every year is the Chung Yeung Festival, Double Ninth Festival or also known as “Festival for the Elderly”.

The name –  Chung Yeung “重阳” originated from the book of I-Ching. In I-Ching, the number “six” is a Yin Number, i.e. even number. While the number “nine” is a Yang Number, i.e., odd number. For ninth day of ninth lunar month, both day and month are Yang numbers, having double “nine”. Thus, it is called Chung Yeung, “duplicate Yang” “重阳” and also “duplicate nine” “重九”. This showed that Chinese people had always emphasized on Yang Numbers, Yang Qi.

In the history of China, Double Ninth Festival had been around since the Warring States Period. But only until Tang dynasty, then this festival became folks festival. This festival has been pass down for few dynasties until now modern days. In folk concepts, two ‘nine’ is double Yang. The pronunciation of  ”nine” 九 in Mandarin is Jiu which same as “long” 久. Thus, “nine nine” shows the meaning of long life, and healthy longevity.

In China, this day had been marked as “Festival for the Elderly”, as to promote the ethos and morale of respecting, caring, loving and helping the elderly. Therefore, this day, Double Ninth Festival has an additional new meaning. Many companies and communities organize trips, gatherings, performances, concerts and so on, as to celebrate this significant festival.

The first sentence of this poem, let us feel and understand how Chinese people pay attention to family and affection. It has exactly the same meaning as in another poem of a famous  Chinese poet, Li Bai 李白《静夜思》.

“举头望明月，低头思故乡”

“Raising my head, I see the moon so bright; withdrawing my eyes, my nostalgia comes around. I am being homesick.”

There are many customary activities on this day, such as climbing high mountain, enjoy flower (especially chrysanthemum) drinking chrysanthemum wine, and wearing ZhuYu 茱萸 plant, Cornus officinalis. (Both chrysanthemum and ZhuYu are considered to have cleansing qualities and are used on other occasions to air out houses and cure illnesses.) Ascending a mountain is one of the most important activities of Double Ninth Festival, also known as Ascend Festival. According to historic records, climbing a mountain is a consuetude of this festival since the Han Dynasty. Nowadays, this has been a great healthy lifestyle for relaxing,  regulating mood and exercising.

The poem has also recorded about ZhuYu 茱萸 plant, a type of Chinese herbs. It has a nickname of “Master of exorcising evil spirits”, according to FengTu Ji《风土记》:

“九月九日折茱萸以插头上，辟除恶气而御初寒。”

“By wearing a ZhuYu plant on head on ninth day of ninth month, it can help to cleanse and exorcise evils, cum keep out coldness”

This practice of wearing ZhuYu plant was very popular during Tang Dynasty. People believed that wearing a ZhuYu plant on this day, can help to avoid and evacuate disaster. It can be worn on arm, or carried along in a sachet (named as ZhuYu sachet). The characteristics and the functions of ZhuYu plant are clearly recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica《本草纲目》<<Bencao GangMu>> .

A special day of festival… A special day for festival… Randomly thinking about Double Ninth Festival…

There is only one place in Japan, according to legend, where the chrysanthemum is not grown. Long ago in the city of Himeji, a nobleman lived in a large castle with many treasures.

Trusting no one, he allowed only his serving maid O-kiku, whose name means chrysanthemum, to handle and dust his possessions. One day she discovered one of his ten precious plates was missing. Not being able to find it, and fearing she would be blamed, she drowned herself in the well.

Every night her ghost would come up to count the plates. Her repeated screeching upon finding one missing drove the nobleman out of the castle, which then fell into ruin. The people of Himeji, delighted by his departure, thereafter refused to grow the chrysanthemum in honor of O-kiku.

The word “chrysanthemum” comes from the Greek words meaning “golden flower,” but a German legend refers to another of the many colors of chrysanthemums.

One cold, snowy Christmas Eve in Germany’s Black Forest, a peasant family was sitting down to a meager supper when they heard a wailing. At first they thought it was the wind. But upon hearing the sound repeatedly, they opened the door and found a beggar.

They ushered in the poor man who was blue with cold, wrapped him in blankets, and shared their food. Instantly, the blankets were shed, revealing a man in shining white clothing with a halo around his head. Proclaiming himself the Christ Child he fled. The next morning, outside the door where he had stood, were two white chrysanthemums.

Today, many Germans bring white chrysanthemums into their homes on Christmas Eve, believing that by doing so they are sheltering the Christ Child. So when you see chrysanthemums in gardens this fall, think of these rich legends from other cultures. And mark your calendar now to remind yourself to buy some white chrysanthemum cut flowers or a potted plant this Christmas season.

Seems like everywhere I look this year, there are beautiful Mum plants.  Lots of my neighbors have them, and many businesses.  I’m amazed at how huge they are, and how they are smothered with blossoms.  In my own yard, I have two Mums, but they are more modest size.  They were on sale at the end of the season a year or two ago and I planted them outside late in the fall.  I learned later that you should plant them early in the year, so they have time to establish themselves before winter.  Mums are so abundant in the fall, I never really think to plant them in the spring.  That’s probably why they are not as enormous as they could be, but they’re still very pretty.

Chrysanthemum is a herbaceous perennial which blooms late in the season, up until the first hard frost.  The name comes from the Greek, chrysos (gold) and anthos (flower).  Mums come in almost every color except blue, and in many different forms such as pompon, button, spider, cushion, daisy-like and spoon-petal.  They can be divided into two groups, hardy and exhibition.  Hardy is just what you’d think, they live through the winter, don’t need staking and aren’t bothered by the weather. Exhibition Mums are more high maintenance.  They need a lot more care, and can’t just be left outside, they have to be pampered.

Most people know that Mum is the common name for Chrysanthemum.  Less common knowledge is the fact that Chrysanthemums were cultivated in China as long ago as the 15th century BC.  Or that in Asia, the yellow and white Mum flowers are boiled to make a sweet drink, which is given to people recovering from the flu.  The leaves can be steamed or boiled, as they do in China.  One species, Pyrethrum, is a source of natural insectide that stops mosquitoes from biting.

I don’t eat my Mums, or use them for medicine, but it sure is nice to see that spot of color in my mostly brown yard right now.

At the Kawagoe festival, or omatsuri, last weekend, there was a small street full of plant sellers, including this one focused on succulents and cactuses. Other featured plants included chrysanthemums, many of them sold without plastic pots. Many neighborhood festivals include a group of plant sellers, in addition to portable shrines, street food and other activities.