Welcome, November, and your birth flower, the Chrysanthemum.
Chrysanthemums (sometimes called "Mums") are associated with the Autumn, when the perennial typically blooms. There are tens of thousands of varieties, cultivars and hybrids—and they have been developed by mankind for thousands of years.
The flower originates in East Asia and it was the Chinese who began cultivating them (circa 1500 BC). They made their way to Japan in the Fifth Century AD, and it was here that their intense cultivation reached the greatest heights. Japanese art and culture frequently reflects nature which has been "perfected" through careful and thoughtful adaptation, editing, rearrangement or human manipulation. Think of zen gardens, koi fish, bonsai, or ikebana. The same is true of chrysanthemums, which have been intensely bred and modified by Japanese horticulturists (for centuries). November finds many annual flower festivals, shows and contests in Japan (and elsewhere in Asia).
Chrysanthemums are the national flower of Japan. They long have been associated with the royal family. In fact, the Japanese imperial seat is called the "Chrysanthemum Throne." The imperial crest features a stylized chrysanthemum and is embossed upon the cover of the Japanese passport. But chrysanthemums are important throughout Asia—and throughout the world.
Chrysanthemums are used in teas, rice wines, soups and stir fries. The greens are used in Chinese cooking and small blossoms are used to garnish Japanese food. In the West, some countries associate the chrysanthemum (especially the ball-form, "incurve" variety) with death and mourning (France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Croatia and Hungary). In Poland, the flowers are featured on All Saints' Day (1 November) and All Souls' Day (2 November). In Asian cultures, white chrysanthemums are associated with grief and mourning—and such wreaths are used at funerals.
The Phipps Conservatory, in Pittsburgh, devotes its Autumn Show to the chrysanthemum. Its first such show was in 1894. While the theme of the Autumn Show changes annually, mums are always the focus. This year's show was titled "Visions of Japan." The Phipps horticulturists spent months preparing and cultivating their chrysanthemums to be ready for this three week exhibit. Highly-developed plants were shown as single specimens, in "trained arrangements" (like fans or cascades), as bonsai "trees," and in larger, dramatic settings—like the Japanese river garden, shown above. The Phipps horticulturists had the additional challenge of timing the flowers to bloom within the narrow window of a three week show.
"Disbud" chrysanthemums undergo a method of cultivation which (over many months) removes any secondary or competing buds or branches—resulting in one large, single flower at the top of a long, straight stalk. All the energy of the plant is channeled into that sensational, single flower which grows bigger and more beautiful than it otherwise would.
Happy Autumn!
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
To arrange a visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only), please call 917-446-4248.