Classic mother's day flower
My mum has always loved chrysanthemums, especially the variety with shaggy bronze flowers which she used to grow in a flower bed outside her bedroom window.
They were grown from cuttings or divisions from her friends’ plants as Mum rarely bought plants when I was young but had a gorgeous old-fashioned garden created from “slips”, divisions and cuttings.
On the Saturday before Mother’s Day, Dad would take us to the local shops to buy bunches of “mums” or carnations, grown by enterprising Italian ladies who would wrap them up in newspaper for the trip home. They always had lots of buckets full of chrysanthemums as they are exceptionally easy to grow and flower in autumn as their blooms are triggered by shorter days.
Mum would usually remove the side “slips” from the flower stems before putting the blooms in water, and would plant these side shoots in the garden — carnations and chrysanthemums are easy to strike and thrive in improved garden soil.
It’s Mother’s Day soon and I’ve been getting a bit nostalgic, trying to remember the last time I saw chrysanthemums for sale in nurseries. You can often buy scented dianthus, a miniature form of florist’s carnations, but chrysanthemums seem to have fallen from favour.
I’ve decided on the perfect spot for some “mums” in my perennial borders and while you can get forms with daisy, globe, quilled or fringed blooms I’m sticking to the shaggy-flowered forms my mum grew.
If you want to appreciate the diverse range of flowers visit the WA Chrysanthemum Society’s annual show, which starts on Wednesday. See the What’s On section below for details. While you are at the show, you can buy some container-grown cuttings, or buy them online from Garden Express (gardenexpress.com.au).
Deryn Thorpe visits homes for garden consultancies. Phone 0405 473 960 or email dthorpe@amnet.net.au.
