One of the biggest markers of the seasons are the flowers that we associate with them. Just as one of the first signs of spring is when daffodils begin to break the surface of the ground, walking past front steps with rows of brilliantly colored mums overflowing their containers lets me know that fall is beginning to usher summer out.
Mums are abundant and inexpensive this time of year and can be picked up at your local nursery, hardware store, grocer or, better yet, farmers market. Look for a plant with plentiful, firm buds that haven't gone into full bloom yet. The flowering display is seasonal and you want to make the most of the plant when you get it home.
(Image via: Shutterstock)
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I love mums. I know they are cheap and common but they tell me Fall is here and I love Fall.
If you are lucky and the plants are hardy enough, they come back next year. Mums are perennials, but sometimes the nursery growing for seasonal use undermines their ability to properly root for that...
Aw shucks, that is cute! :D
My partner's late mom always put out mums, and we've carried on the tradition on our porch steps. We have a girl scarecrow just like that too.
Every year I do a big thing on my porch with mums and pumpkins/gourds (the chipmunks stole all of my Indian corn, so they're not getting any more of that) I usually drop the mums into the ground afterwards but I've foudn that they don't come back for me - probably too late for them to put down enough roots to survive winter.