When I think of flowers for the Thanksgiving holiday one of the first ones that comes to mind are the Chrysanthemums, commonly referred to as mums, in all it’s various hues of autumn colors. From the tiny button mum to the huge football mum, so many sizes and shapes available for gardeners to grow and for florists to work with.
A well-known flower, I became curious of its long winding history. The Chrysanthemum has been described in writings as early as 15th Century B.C. when it was first cultivated as a flowering herb in China and used for teas. The flower made its way to the Western world in the 17th century and gained its name ‘Chrysanthemum’ when the Swedish Botanist, Karl Linnaeus, combined the Greek words chrysos, meaning gold with anthemon, meaning flower. Chrysanthemums belong to the Asteraceae or daisy family, one of the largest families in the botanical world. Over the centuries the humble daisy mum has been cultivated and hybridized into thousands of new, showy blooms in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors.
Let’s take a look at a few different Chrysanthemums:
As I search and search online for bouquets and floral arrangements that utilize chrysanthemums in a more modern style I am coming up with very few examples. Fascinating, really .. why aren’t these versatile flowers used in more floral arrangements for weddings and special events?
One of the very few that I found happens to belong to flower farmer Floret here in Washington State –
I dare all of us to work with this flower in more interesting ways! Let’s see more of them used in lush garden designs, large scale installations, bouquets, and more!
More information and sources for Chrysanthemums:
National Chrysanthemum Society, USA – Want to get involved in clubs and show your blooms, then check out this website.
Kings Mums – If you are interesting in growing interesting varieties of Chrysanthemums this is the place to pick up some great plants!
Floret visits Kings Mums – a fun read with beautiful images, sure to pique your interest in Mums
