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| Mixed bouquet of mums. The seemingly uptight fall flower can be loose, lush and sultry. Photo by Don Freeman. |
It's time for the chrysanthemum to shake off its reputation
as a stiff, kitschy flower that returns each fall as predictably as Halloween.
For those in the know, the mum is a horticultural star with more personalities
than the clones in "Orphan Black." The Chinese, who discovered the flower around
500 B.C., quickly figured that out, worshiping it for its decorative beauty and
extensive culinary and medicinal uses. The Japanese later elevated it to
official status on their emperor's seal. But the plant crossed over into an
all-out cult object in the 17th century, when England succumbed to a mad,
mums-breeding frenzy.
But that was then and this is now. It's hard to really grasp this flower's
exquisiteness if all you've seen of it are the sad bunches of rigid, garish,
daisy-shaped blooms wrapped in plastic at the supermarket. You probably don't
know that its shape ranges so widely that the National Chrysanthemum Society has
designated 13 classifications, from the wispy spider to the bodacious pompon.
And few people realize that it lasts and lasts as a cut flower (especially if
you change the water regularly and give the stems a fresh cut).
"The spiders are the most popular and probably the most otherworldly, with their sea-creature-like form," said Ray Gray, owner of King's Mums in Oregon City, Ore. (kingsmums.com), who's cultivated chrysanthemums since 2008 (including those featured at right). To grow your own, purchase small plants from King's Mums in the spring (the online catalog is a dangerously seductive time-suck) and reap the benefits in fall.
Florist Lewis Miller of LMD New York, who created these surprisingly sensual arrangements, has long been a fan. "I love mums for so many reasons. They come in infinite color combinations and flower-head sizes, from the giant cushy football mums in shades of rust and burnt yellow to the lacy spiders in the most delicate mauve," said Mr. Miller. "They add fabulous texture to floral arrangements or look great en masse alone. What's not to love?"
By Lindsey Taylor
WSJ - Sept. 13, 2013
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A form known as 'Irregular Incurve'.
Photo by Don Freeman.
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"The spiders are the most popular and probably the most otherworldly, with their sea-creature-like form," said Ray Gray, owner of King's Mums in Oregon City, Ore. (kingsmums.com), who's cultivated chrysanthemums since 2008 (including those featured at right). To grow your own, purchase small plants from King's Mums in the spring (the online catalog is a dangerously seductive time-suck) and reap the benefits in fall.
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Examples of spider mums
(all from King's Mums in Oregon City, Ore.)
Photo by Don Freeman
|
Florist Lewis Miller of LMD New York, who created these surprisingly sensual arrangements, has long been a fan. "I love mums for so many reasons. They come in infinite color combinations and flower-head sizes, from the giant cushy football mums in shades of rust and burnt yellow to the lacy spiders in the most delicate mauve," said Mr. Miller. "They add fabulous texture to floral arrangements or look great en masse alone. What's not to love?"
By Lindsey Taylor
WSJ - Sept. 13, 2013
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