8,000 mums and a new weekend lineup fill Meijer Gardens through October

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The color at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park this month is coming from the ground up. More than 8,000 chrysanthemums are planted across the grounds for Mums at Meijer Gardens, which the garden bills as the largest mum display in Michigan. It runs through Oct. 31.

The mums share space with pumpkins, gourds and a pumpkin patch set up for photos. Inside the barn at Michigan’s Farm Garden, a display of carved pumpkins is part of the season too.

This year the garden is also trying something new. Autumn Weekends, which WGHN reported is an expanded version of the old Autumn Nights evenings, fills Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in October with daytime activities. At the farm garden, kids can run a Harvest Relay and play at a pretend produce stand from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays. A food truck parks there too, with straw bales for seats.

On Saturdays and Sundays from 2 to 4 p.m., the amphitheater turns into a Harvest Beer Garden with live music. The Oct. 10–11 weekend’s lineup listed Whorled, with bagpiper Paul Greinke, on Saturday and Peter & the Wee Beasties on Sunday. Lawn games are set up on the piazza by The American Horse, and snack and drink bikes roll around the grounds from noon to 5 p.m. on weekend days.

Families with small children can plan around the Hallowee-Ones days on Oct. 24 and 31. Kids in costume can join a short parade from The American Horse at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., with story time and play in the Lena Meijer Children’s Garden from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Before you go: Meijer Gardens is at 1000 E. Beltline Ave. NE and is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $25 for adults, $20 for seniors 65 and older, $19 for students and $14 for children 3 to 13. Children 2 and under and active military get in free, and EBT and WIC cardholders pay $2 through Museums for All. The garden does not take cash. The indoor show CHIHULY: Radiant Forms is also on view.

Updated Oct. 13, 2026: The Oct. 10–11 Harvest Beer Garden acts named here have passed, and that line has been changed to the past tense. Mums at Meijer Gardens and Autumn Weekends continue through Oct. 31.

Sources:
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, “Autumn at Meijer Gardens” (Mums at Meijer Gardens, Autumn Weekends schedule, hours and rates), https://www.meijergardens.org/mums/
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Autumn Weekends event page, https://www.meijergardens.org/events/autumn-weekends-at-meijer-gardens/
WGHN, Meijer Gardens announcement of its chrysanthemum display and Autumn Weekends, Oct. 5, 2026, https://wghn.com/2026/10/05/10762125/
Photo: MSwierenga, “Meijer Gardens sculpture park in autumn,” Oct. 19, 2024, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), cropped and color-corrected, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meijer_Gardens_sculpture_park_in_autumn.jpg

Grand Rapids

Tags: Grand Rapids · Michigan Travel · Things To Do · Parks and Recreation · Pumpkins and Corn Mazes · Arts and Culture