Popular event begins March 1, with special lecture by head of United States Botanic Garden on Feb. 28.
NORTHAMPTON –Everything—or mostly everything--will be coming up pink, as the popular Spring Bulb Show blooms at the Botanic Garden of Smith College.
“It’s going to be unusual,” said Robert Nicholson, conservatory manager, admitting he his not a fan of the color. “It’s a style that you wouldn’t necessarily use in your own garden.”
Aaron Somoza of Leverett, holds his daughter Claire Somoza, age 3 as they tour the flowers at the annual spring bulb show on the campus of Smith College, in 2010. About 5,000 bulbs will be in bloom for an early glimpse of spring at Lyman Conservatory, from March 1 through 16. Open to the public daily, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the show will have extended hours, from 4 to 8 p.m., on March 7 and March 14.
This is the first time the bulb show will be dominated by one color. “We usually use a diverse pallet of colors or two main colors,” Nicholson said.
Pink has “a lot of gender symbolism” and a history, with connotations from stigmatization to hope, he added.
The color takes its name from a plant, Dianthus or pinks. The name derives from the frilled edge of the flowers, as the verb "to pink" means “to decorate with a perforated or punched pattern.” That meaning continues to be used for the hand tool known as pinking shears.
Though rare as a color in wild bulb species, horticulturists have selected and bred pink-hued bulbs such as tulips, narcissuses and hyacinths.
Madelaine Zadik, manager of education and outreach for The Botanic Garden of Smith College, said the show is a gift to the community; more than 20,000 people usually visit the show each year.
“The first two weeks of March are always a time in New England when people are ready for some color,” she said, and ready to know that spring is on its way.
“This is such a spectacular show,” she said. “If you planted all these bulbs in a garden, they would naturally bloom over two or three months. We get them all to bloom simultaneously. There is a real art and science to this show.”
The suggested donation to attend the show is $2.
There are special members-only hours daily, from 9 a.m.to 10 a.m. that provide a less crowded experience of the show. All groups with more than 10 people must schedule their visit to the show in advance by calling (413) 585-2742.
On Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m., Holly Shimizu, director of the United States Botanic Garden since 2000, will open the show with a lecture, titled “The Best of Flavor and Fragrance” in the Carroll Room of the Campus Center on Elm Street on the Smith College campus.
Her talk will be followed by a reception and preview of the show in the illuminated conservatory.
The bulb show is a Smith tradition that began in the early 1900s.
The Botanic Garden is wheelchair accessible. Parking is available on College Lane for the two weeks of the show.
For more information, call the Botanic Garden of Smith College at (413) 585-2740 or visit www.smith.edu/garden.