Chrysanthemums for Mother’s Day

Did you buy your mother flowers for Mother’s Day? Crysanths for mum, or ‘mums for mom, as the Americans would say?

Mother’s Day in New Zealand and Australia (and many other parts of the world, but not all) is celebrated on the second Sunday in May, so today’s the day. And just as the red rose is the iconic bloom for Valentine’s Day so the chrysanthemum is the quintessential floral tribute for Mother’s Day. Perhaps it’s because the plant blooms in May (at least, in the southern hemisphere) or maybe it's because its name co-incidentally ends in the letters M U M.

This lovely plant, from the family Asteraceae, originated in Asia and north-eastern Europe but is now cultivated by gardeners around the world. Though most loved for the variety of the size, texture and colour of its flowers, the chrysanthemum also has medicinal, insecticidal and culinary uses.

Not only that but this wonder plant is even good for the environment. The Clean Air Study undertaken by NASA examined which common indoor plants could provide a natural way of reducing toxic agents in the air and showed that the Chrysanthemum morifolium can eliminate benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene, toluene and ammonia from the atmosphere. So, when you buy your mother a chrysanthemum this Mother’s Day, you’ll also be benefitting her health.

Such a gorgeous flower has, naturally, been the inspiration for writers and poets throughout history so I thought I would include here some quotations to accompany my images. My photographs were taken at The Wintergarden at Auckland Domain which currently has a very splendid display of chrysanthemums in celebration of Mother’s Day. If you are in Auckland, I would definitely recommend a visit – the blooms are simply glorious. And here’s wishing a very happy Mother’s Day to mums all around the world!

'When, lo! I mark a little way apart / The sovereign glory of this waning year / That now, alone, unheralded hath come, / In gorgeous robes - alas, my fickle heart / Forgets the dead, and laughs that she is here, / The royal queen of fall, Chrysanthemum.' ~ Albert Bigelow Paine, ‘Chrysanthemum’, from Rhymes by Two Friends, Albert Bigelow Paine & William Allen White, M. L. Izor and Son, Fort Scott, 1893, p.26.

'As we watch the summer days depart / And the painted leaves in silence fall, / And the vines are dead upon the wall; / A dreamy sadness fills each heart, / Our garden seems a dreary place, / No brilliant flowers its borders grace, / Save in a sheltered nook apart, / Where gay beneath the autumn sun / Blooms our own Chrysanthemum. ' ~ Hattie L. Knapp, ‘Chrysanthemum’, from Poets and Poetry of Kansas, edited by Thomas W. Herringshaw, American Publishers' Association, Chicago, 1894, p.116.

'Too late its beauty, lonely thing, / The season's shine is spent, / Nothing remains for it but shivering / In tempests turbulent. /  Had it a reason for delay, / Dreaming in witlessness / That for a bloom so delicately gay / Winter would stay its stress?' ~ Thomas Hardy, ‘The Last Chrysanthemum’, Poems of the Past and Present.

‘It was a day as different from others days as dogs are from cats and both of them from chrysanthemums or tidal waves or scarlet fever.’ ~ John Steinbeck, ‘The Crysanthemums’, a short story from his collection The Long Valley.

Fair gift of Friendship! and her ever bright / And faultless image! welcome now them art, / In thy pure loveliness—thy robes of white, / Speaking a moral to the feeling heart; / Unscattered by heats—by wintry blasts unmoved— / Thy strength thus tested—and thy charms improved. ~ Anna Peyre Dinnies, ‘To a White Chrysanthemum’, reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations, 1922, p.117.

Chrysanthemums from gilded argosy / Unload their gaudy scentless merchandise. ~ Oscar Wilde, ‘Humanitad’, Stanza 11, reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations, 1922, p.117.

‘Why don’t you get a haircut? You look like a chrysanthemum.’ ~ P. G. Woodhouse.

Inspiration for 2014

I’ve spent some time over the past week adding inspirational quotes to some of my favourite photographs to make myself a new set of desktop wallpapers for 2014 and I thought I’d share them with you all.

If anyone wants hi-res versions of these, just get in touch.

Ancient volcanoes, Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa, Bolivia

 

Red deer on bank of Madre de Dios River, Manu National Park, Peru

Confluence of the Waipa and Waikato Rivers, Ngaruawahia, New Zealand (the town where I was born)

 

Waterlily, Wat Damnak pagoda, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Convent of Santa Catalina, Arequipa, Peru

Street art, Santiago, Chile

Hoatzin, Manu National Park, Peru

Banteay Kdei, Angkor World Heritage Site, Cambodia

Laguna and flamingos, Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa, Bolivia

Wintergardens, Auckland Domain, New Zealand

 

Zhouzhuang water town, near Shanghai, China

Mt Eden, Auckland, New Zealand

Auckland walks: The Domain

Auckland Domain is the city's oldest park (established in 1845) and one of my favourite places. Its 80-odd hectares are where I walk most days and they are never boring. The atmosphere of the grounds changes with the weather – it can be quite eerie under a layer of fog in the winter and it can be swelteringly hot for a game of cricket in the summer.

The grandstand was built in 1898 and is still well used today.

It actually sits right on top of one of Auckland’s older volcanoes – the Auckland War Memorial Museum is built on one side of the crater rim, Auckland Hospital is on the opposite side. The duck ponds are one of the products of the volcano – they are natural freshwater springs, from groundwater that pools in the lava fractures and the scoria that fills the ancient crater. More information about the geology of the area can be found in Auckland University Press’s publication Volcanoes of Auckland.

Maori named the scoria cone of the volcano Pukekaroro or Pukekaroa (‘hill of the black-backed gull’) and the remnants of a former Maori pa can be seen on its flanks. It is topped by a totara tree planted by Princess Te Puea Herangi, which is surrounded by a manuka palisade with traditional Maori carvings. The remains of an early scoria quarry on the north side of the cone are now a lush fernery garden, behind the massive glasshouses of the Wintergardens.

Pukekaroro (or Pukekaroa) hill

But enough from me … you can read more about the diverse facilities of the Domain on the Auckland City Council website or, even better, explore the extensive grounds for yourself. Take a stroll along the bush walks and lanes or enjoy one of the many festivals held in the natural amphi-theatre of the volcanic crater (like ‘Christmas in the Park’), take advantage of the high location to fly a kite or relax to the sounds of a jazz band in the band rotunda on a summer Sunday afternoon, be delighted by the splendid displays of the colourful garden beds or take tea in the Kiosk alongside the duck ponds. 

During my many wanderings, I have photographed some of the places marked on this map from one of the park’s signboards. I hope they tempt you to enjoy the Domain for yourself.

#1 this athletic-looking bronze, by New Zealand sculptor Richard Goss, adorns
one of the Elliot Memorial entrance gates to the Auckland Domain 

#2 the fernery in the old scoria quarry

#4 the cool glasshouse at the Wintergardens

Left, #5 the flock of geese who live in the duck ponds and, right, #7 the band rotunda

#8 the Auckland War Memorial Museum beneath this morning's stormy skies

#9 the Cenotaph sits in an area of consecrated ground in front of the museum

#11 the formal gardens are colourful year round, with permanent beds and seasonal plantings

#15 the totara grove

Left, #16 the Valkyrie Fountain and, right, #17 the Robert Burns Memorial

#19 the Cain and Abel statue

#20 the three bronze figures representing wisdom, fertility and strength