Chrysanthemum
Autumn Glory
“The most underrated flower in the country. Two weeks of warm, golden glow for less than your morning coffee. Put them in a stoneware jug and thank me later.”
— ROSIE
Rosie's Take
I know. Chrysanthemums. They've got an image problem. People think of sad petrol station bunches wrapped in cellophane, or those tight, ball-shaped things in motorway service station cafés. But I'm asking you to look past all that, because a good chrysanthemum — a proper, shaggy, warm-toned autumn chrysanthemum — is a genuinely wonderful thing.
Autumn Glory is the variety that changed my mind. Those loose, slightly untidy, rust-and-gold heads that look like someone gathered a handful of autumn itself and arranged it in a vase. There's nothing prim about them. They're generous, they're warm, and they last an absurd amount of time — two weeks in a vase if you keep the water fresh. Two weeks.
I love them for the same reason I love autumn — there's a depth to the colours that summer doesn't have. Burnt orange, amber, deep russet, sometimes a dusty pink variety creeping in. They glow in lamplight in a way that makes every November evening feel slightly more bearable.
They're also incredibly affordable. You can walk into practically any supermarket in October and walk out with an armful for under a fiver. Put them in a stoneware jug, stick them on the mantelpiece, and you've done more for your room than any candle ever could.
I pair them with dried grasses, seed heads, a few stems of rosehips — anything that says the year is winding down but isn't quite done yet. That bittersweet, golden-hour-of-the-year feeling. That's what chrysanthemums are for.
Where to Buy
If you want to try chrysanthemum for yourself, here's where I'd point you:
“Honestly, your nearest supermarket will have these. But if you want them delivered, 123 Flowers do solid autumn bunches that won't break the bank.”
Order This Flower →“Clare Florist do a lovely autumn mix that usually includes a good handful of chrysanthemums — it's the bunch I send to people who need cheering up in November.”
Order This Flower →✿ From the folklore cabinet
In Japan, chrysanthemums are so revered there's a Festival of Happiness dedicated to them every September. The imperial seal of Japan is a sixteen-petalled chrysanthemum. Somewhere between the Japanese reverence and the British petrol station bunch, there's a flower worth paying attention to.
