Parking Update

Due to necessary adjustments to the scope of the geothermal work that is occurring in front of Lyman there will be NO accessible parking in front of Lyman for approximately the next two weeks. The closest handicap accessible parking space on College Lane is about 200 yards south of Lyman (just north of the Smith Conference Center). If Lyman guests need this space and assistance getting closer to Lyman there is a number posted on an adjacent sign where guests can call for a ride that will get them to within 30 yards of Lyman. Please call 413-585-2742 for more information if needed.

 

Parking Update

Due to necessary adjustments to the scope of the geothermal work that is occurring in front of Lyman there will be NO accessible parking in front of Lyman for approximately the next two weeks. The closest handicap accessible parking space on College Lane is about 200 yards south of Lyman (just north of the Smith Conference Center). If Lyman guests need this space and assistance getting closer to Lyman there is a number posted on an adjacent sign where guests can call for a ride that will get them to within 30 yards of Lyman. Please call 413-585-2742 for more information if needed.

 

Visit smith.edu

Fall Chrysanthemum Show

mums

The Fall Chrysanthemum Show begins November 2 and runs through November 17, 2024. The show is open from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm daily, with extended hours on Fridays (11/8 and 11/15) until 8:00 pm and members-only hours from 9:00 am - 10:00 am daily (a benefit of our Friends of the Botanic Garden membership).

mum show

About the show

Botanic garden staff and horticulture students begin preparing for the chrysanthemum show months ahead to ensure that everything is ready on opening night. 

Oversized blooms, known as standards, grow atop stems that can reach seven feet, with flowers in various shapes and colors. Cascades, pot mums, and home-grown hybrids created by Smith horticulture students fill every possible space in the show houses. 

Standards produce a singular enormous flower by a process of continuously removing all the axillary flower buds and branches as the plant grows. This technique also results in very tall plants, which can stretch to heights as great as seven feet. The mum varieties grown as standards are chosen for their unexpected and dramatic shapes and colors.

 

mums

Cascades are a striking feature of the show where certain varieties are trained up walls, or into downward flowing displays. This method requires a ten-month training period during which the stems are pinned to wire frames. The buds are pinched periodically to encourage branching and to increase the number of flower buds.

 

cascading mum

Hybrid propagation has been a student tradition at Smith since the early 1900s. Today, students in Experiential Learning Specialist Gaby Immerman's course, BIO 125: Plants in the Landscape, learn hybridization techniques, producing new crosses which are grown out and exhibited in the following year’s show. Students gather pollen from the show, clip off petals to expose reproductive structures, and create hybrids for next year's show. In so doing, they demonstrate their understanding of plant anatomy and physiology while breeding their own hybrid chrysanthemums. These hybrids are then exhibited for Fall Mum Show attendees, who are invited to vote for their favorite student hybrid. 

mum