For many years, I’ve told anyone who would listen that I thought chrysanthemums were going to be the next big thing in flowers. Reading Naomi Slade’s new book, it seems I’m not the only one who thinks they’ve been unfairly overlooked.
Ridiculed for their place in garage forecourt bouquets and often associated with the prize-winning blooms in aged relative’s gardens, they are a mainstay of the cut flower industry. Yet there’s so much more to them than merely a flower that will last long in a vase or something that attracts fanatical exhibition growers.
(I was given a review copy of the book in return for a fair review.)
The colours are sumptuous ranging from pure white and pale pink to deep red and shimmering bronze, while the flowers can be demure or extravagant and eye-catching.
Chrysanthemums flower as the days get shorter, making them an ideal gap filler between the last of the summer blooms and midwinter. While the showy, exhibition-worthy varieties are at best half-hardy and generally tender, requiring space in a greenhouse or similar, there are tough chrysanthemums that are perfect for adding late colour to borders.
Their classification is, we’re told, complicated by the different systems used by commercial, horticultural and exhibition growers. For the average gardener, it’s enough to know whether the plant will need winter protection and whether you like the blooms.
When it comes to the latter, the choice is wide with everything from the buttonhole size pompon flowers of ‘Code Green’ to the “loose and distinctive curls” of ‘Vienna Copper’.
‘Seatons Ashleigh’ has quill-like purple petals that radiate out from the centre, ‘Gertrude’ has a frosted appearance thanks to tiny spikes on the blooms, while ‘Breitner’s Supreme’ is a simple, white, daisy-like flower.
Then there are fragrant varieties, such as the lemony ‘Citronella’ and honey-scented ‘Syllabub’.
Divided into Chic, Graceful, Timeless and Wild, the overview of just some of the vast array of available blooms is an inspiring read, enlivened by Naomi’s trademark style. The petals on brush varieties, we’re told, are “just like a charmingly raggedy paintbrush”; the flowers of ‘Purple Light’ are “super-funky flying saucers”; ‘Saffina Dark’ looks like “a charmingly dishevelled floral hedgehog that has just arisen from its slumbers”.
Alongside these plant portraits, there’s a little on the history of chrysanthemums and their importance in art and culture, advice on growing from propagation to pests, and how to use them as cut flowers.
As ever, it’s all brought alive by the beautiful photographs of Georgianna Lane.
We’re told the book is not an encyclopaedia but aims rather to “lift the heart and delight the eye; to inspire, intrigue and whet the appetite. It aspires to turn heads and change minds”. If anything can finally rehabilitate chrysanthemums in the eyes of gardeners, this can.
Chrysanthemums by Naomi Slade with photography by Georgianna Lane is published by Pavilion Books with an RRP of £25. You can buy it here for £20.53. (If you buy via this link, I receive a small commission. The price you pay is not affected.) Alternatively, you may wish to buy from an independent bookseller here. All prices correct at time of publication of this post.
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