Pity the poor mum. Once the symbol of Chinese royal houses, it has been reduced to a spot in the parking lot of big box stores.
There is a place where chrysanthemums get the respect they deserve - the Baltimore Conservatory in Druid Hill Park where, until Nov. 15, mums will be the center of attention.
All kinds of mums, from the giant football mums to the delicate spider mums to the humble garden mums.
"Mums don't have the same status in the garden," agreed Kathryn Blom, who supervises the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory and the Botanic Gardens.
While the rose, the peony, the tulip or the dahlia have their own devoted following among gardeners, the mum is often an afterthought. Something to liven up the porch for a week or two in the fall.
"Most people only see the typical garden mum," said Blom. "They don't see the range of color and petal type. And you are not going to see it in the grocery store parking lot."
During the conservatory's fall flower show, there are thousands of mums - in 30 different varieties - on display in an event that is often the poor relation of the splashy spring flower show, and even the Christmas holiday show.
"It is traditional for conservatories to do chrysanthemum shows," said Blom, who oversees a conservatory opened in 1888 and beautifully refurbished in 2002 and 2004.
She expects about 2,000 visitors this year and, in a nod to the resurgent interest in vegetable gardening, has themed the show around the farm, calling it "Homegrown Harvest." There are educational displays on growing vegetables, harvesting honey, composting with worms and the fuel required to get food from the farm to the table. There is even a small fall vegetable garden planted among the mums.
But most of all, there are mums. From the exotic maroon and silver Lili Gallon to the giant, bright white football mum, White Toulose, to the golden spider mum, Symphony, to the mums with petals shaped like little spoons, such as Houla Hoop Bronze.
While you are there, look above you and see hanging, ball-shape baskets planted in July with more than 200 seedlings and grown now to a diameter of more than two feet - all mums.
And there will be different mums every week, as some varieties fade and are replaced by other varieties just coming into bloom. Mums have been called the "queen of fall flowers." The conservatory's fall show is a fitting tribute.
If you go
Chrysanthemum Show: "Homegrown Harvest"
Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory, Swan Drive, Druid Hill Park. Admission is free, but a $2 donation is appreciated. Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., through Nov. 15
