Chrysanthemum Savvy

A beautiful spring day in May. Temperatures expected to reach the high 70s in the Washington D.C. area. Today simply cried out for a fluttery, feminine confection… and I had the perfect solution. Never mind that chrysanthemums are a fall flower.

Despite originating in China, the name "chrysanthemum" is derived from the Greek words chrysos (gold) and anthemon (flower), according to Wikipedia. First cultivated by the Chinese in 15^th Century BC, chrysanthemums were brought to Europe in the 1600s and to North America in 1798 when ship captain John Stevens imported a dark purple variety as an attraction for the Elysian Fields of Hoboken, New Jersey.

Painting of chrysanthemums
from 1902

Besides their incredible beauty and myriad varieties, powdered chrysanthemum is a natural insecticide and a potent mosquito repellent. The corolla makes fragrant tea and a single petal at the bottom of a wine glass is thought to encourage a long and healthy life. In Japan a "Festival of Happiness" is held to honor the chrysanthemum each year. Long a symbol of optimism and joy, the chrysanthemum is November’s birth flower. This fabled blossom is revered for its culinary qualities in China. Indeed, I was treated to an digestif of simmered chrysanthemum greens at the home of friends this past January (see Hot Pot Dinner).

Today was all about the chrysanthemums on my dress, a vintage one-piece in sheerest polyester by Nostalgia, which I purchased in the 1970s when I worked for JCPenney in northern California. I was reading an article just yesterday about a woman who had owned a favorite garment for so long that she had repaired it twice over the years, yet it remained a cherished staple in her closet. I feel the same way about this old but much beloved rag, which eventually became so frayed at the neckline that several years ago I had black bias tape sewn around the collar to create a protective (and flaw-disguising) new trim.



Today’s balmy weather was ideal for strappy heels -- I pulled on black platform sandals by City Streets. Having played up the luscious pinks and golds in the floral pattern the last time I wore this dress, today I decided to highlight the green in the chrysanthemum leaves. So I dug around in my jewelry box until I found a delicate necklace of pearls and sea-glass from Fire & Ice Jewelers of Baltimore (www.fireandice.com), which I paired with vintage carved Chrysanthemum earrings that belonged to my grandmother. I finished my look with an antique Native American bracelet of rustic stones set in etched silver that my mother found in California in the 1930s, a bracelet-watch of iridescent abalone that I bought from Potpourri.com about five years ago, and a fun headband sporting a feathery black fabric blossom which fit perfectly beneath a wide-brimmed straw sunhat that I purchased last year at the Maryland Spring Home & Garden Show at the state fairgrounds.

The bold blooms on my filmy dress garnered plenty of approving glances as I strode past politicians kibitzing outside the Capitol Hill Club on my way to the Library of Congress for a day of research on behalf of my employer. I believe all observers would agree that these gentle blossoms are as appropriate in spring as they are in the brisk days of autumn.

Cheers,

Lynell

"Flowers… are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities of the world."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson