Phipps Fall Flower Show designer explains inspirations
The Phipps Fall Flower Show, featuring thousands of chrysanthemums in brilliant colors, is always among the biggest draws at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Oakland. For the last 10 years, Phipps display horticulturist Laura Schoch of Penn Hills has been responsible for designing the fall show. Her 11th in a row opens Saturday and runs through Nov. 10 at the Victorian glasshouse. Its theme, “Japanese Inspirations,” honors the role that flowers play in Asian culture and celebrations. Highlights include a moon garden with hand-painted calligraphy panels, a 117foot long golden dragon and floating lanterns like those found at one of Japan’s largest lantern festivals.
Of course the fall show spotlights chrysanthemums — nearly 3,000 of them in 100 varieties. Though mums are indigenous to Asia and northeastern Europe, the Chinese were the first to cultivate and hybridize them. “China is where they started, but Japan took it to an art form,” Ms. Schoch said in a telephone interview last week while taking a break from installing the show.
Here’s what she had to say about making this blockbuster bloom.
Whose idea was the theme “Japanese Inspirations”?
It was mine. The theme of our 2015 fall show was kiku-no-hana, the Japanese name for chrysanthemums. It was really well-received so we decided to go more in depth with that. … Everyone knows mums. To see them in a setting that also has a theme is a lot of fun.
Have you ever been to Japan?
No, I’ve never been but I have plans to go next year. Fall would be my favorite time to go. The temperature would be like our temperatures here.
Do you speak Japanese?
I’m learning a little with help from the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania. Their members painted the calligraphy panels and helped me with origami and kusudama. It takes an expert to fold paper into peace cranes and balls.
What are some of your favorite mums?
Our specialty is the cascade mums. They grow 2-3 feet long, cascading down from hanging baskets. People always say, “I want to grow those!” But it’s a long process that starts in late May. We have to pin them down and train them on a wooden frame so they cascade down. In the wild, they grow in every direction.
Disbud mums are another favorite. If you go to Japan this time of year, you’ll see them everywhere. Disbud means you take off the side buds so you have a single flower on one stem. The disbud is the Japanese idea of perfection, not a blemish on them.
Are there other Asian plants in the show?
We have Japanese forest grass and some unusual Asian vegetables — peppers and garlic. We have a hot pepper called ‘Red Thai.’ One in 10 is super hot!
Tell me about how the various rooms at Phipps represent Japanese festivals.
The Palm Court, the first room people will see, has a moon gate. Some people think moon gates are Chinese but you’ll see them in modern Japanese gardens, too. The hand-painted calligraphy panels were done on site by members of the JapanAmerica Society. Suzuka Omizo-Tobe, a Pitt student, did some and is really proud of her work. The panels have eight words or phrases, like “autumn wind,” “full moon,” “changing colors,” “peace” and “harvest.” One says, “Autumn is a cool and nice season.” We want people to slow down and enjoy the season.
The Serpentine Room has the 117-foot ryu or dragon. Each year in Tokyo, they hold a festival at Asakusa Temple. They bring out this red and gold dragon, dance around him and rub him for a little bit of good luck. I was emulating that. Part of the room is a dry garden — no water feature and very few plants. Some people would call it a zen garden. The other side is the festival area. The dragon’s head greets you and his body undulates through the flowers, over your head and back down.
In the Victoria Room, we’ll have lanterns floating in a pond like the ones at a lantern festival in Japan. At our Nov. 7 gala and on Friday evenings, when we’re open till 11, we’ll also have large LED lanterns.
The Sunken Garden will have 170 silk koi hanging over your head. There’s also a 17-foot antique koi, which is a very expensive carp. The Japanese use koi for Children’s Day, a national holiday to celebrate the health and happiness of children. This show is a yearlong representation of festivals in Japan. They have even more than we do!