Not your average Mums: These workhorse perennials perform year after year by Bobbie schwam

摘要

Right on cue in late summer—about the same time we start to see Halloween candy appearing on store shelves—brightly colored, tight spheres of pot or cushion mums (Chrysanthemum cvs.) flood the benches at garden centers. Scooped up by gardeners who are eager to add some sort of color to the fading late-season garden, these seasonal plants are available in autumn reds, yellows, and oranges, as well as shades of pink, purple, and white. While pot mums feed our hunger for a blast of color, I'm more fond of hardy garden mum selections, which, year after year, feature delicious blooms in a 2- to 3-foot-tall, free-form habit.