Chrysanthemums (also known as Chrysanths or Mums) are one of the most controversial choices of flowers for most florists and flower delivery companies in Singapore. This is because white incurve Chrysanthemums are commonly used for funerals and as condolence flowers in Chinese Singaporean culture, leaving it to be associated with inauspiciousness and seen as an unsuitable choice for happy gifting occasions.
White Chrysanthemums by Gughwa Dongwon
While it’s true that white incurve-shaped Chrysanthemums should be used with caution, to avoid upsetting intended recipients unintentionally on happy occasions, we think that avoiding the use of beautiful Chrysanthemums completely would be a pity. Upon further browsing through websites and social media accounts, it seems that we aren’t alone on this sentiment. Many leading local florists and flower delivery companies commonly use Chrysanthemums in their flower designs, and have proven how Chrysanthemums can be incorporated nicely for happy celebrations.
Chinese New Year installation with Chrysanthemum by This Humid House
TOP 5 REASONS TO FEATURE CHRYSANTHEMUMS IN FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS
While there are many reasons to love Chrysanthemums, here’s a list of our top 5 reasons why we enjoy featuring them in our flower arrangements.
1. Chrysanthemums come in an abundance of variety
Chrysanthemums come in an amazinglywide range of shapes, sizes and colours, allowing them to play many roles in an arrangement—be it as the star of the show, or as the perfect accompaniment to other star flowers. It’s no wonder they are thesecond most popular cut flowers, just after roses.
Chrysanthemum Fuego in a past DIY Flowers by Happy Bunch
2. Chrysanthemums are sturdy
Chrysanthemums are pretty hardy, thus it makes arranging and handling them simpler and easier. This means you can worry less about breaking the stems, or bruising the flower petals as you arrange them in a vase! In addition, Chrysanthemums have a generally decent vase life, which means you can enjoy them longer—making them a value-for-money flower choice to brighten up your loved ones’ spaces. If you need more tips, Happy DIY Home has an amazing guide here!
Adorable Chrysanthemum Ping Pong in a past Happy Bunch
3. Chrysanthemums have a pleasant scent
While not all fresh flowers have scents and while some of them have an unpleasant fragrance, Chrysanthemums are part of the group of fresh flowers that have a pleasant and delightful scent. Chrysanthemums usually exude a soft and calming fragrance (think of the much-loved Chrysanthemum tea—how wonderful!). This makes having Chrysanthemums at your workstation or at your bedside table, a good choice to uplift your mood all day and night.
A sweet arrangement with Spray Chrysanthemum, Baby’s Breath, Olive Lead and Wheat by Bloombox Co
4. Chrysanthemums are easily accessible
As Chrysanthemums can be sourced from neighbouring countries like Malaysia and Vietnam, they are available year-round at an affordable price point. Plus, Chrysanthemums help to add volume, texture and contrast into floral arrangements, hence it is a great option not to be missed for affordable flower delivery companies like ourselves.
Spray Chrysanthemum by Happy Bunch
5. Chrysanthemums have a positive meaning
While we don’t focus too much on flower meanings ourselves (we believe they are nice to know, however should be taken with a grain of salt), many others see an importance in flower symbolism, and it doesn’t hurt to know that Chrysanthemums generally carry positive meanings!
Chrysanthemums symbolise friendship, trust, longevity, fidelity, joy and optimism (thank you, Google!). White Chrysanthemums also mean well, and are known to represent sympathy, remembrance, purity, innocence, spirituality, loyalty, and honesty.
Bonus: Chrysanthemums are good alternatives to seasonal flowers like Dahlia
A fun fact we’ve learnt is that Chrysanthemums are part of theAsteraceae family – commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family. It’s no wonder that their look bears the resemblance of other premium flowers under the same family—such as dahlia, marigold, and tanacetum (chamomile)—which are often a lot more short-lived and fragile due to the hot and humid weather in Singapore. In this case, Chrysanthemums often pose as a great alternative to more premium seasonal flowers, as they provide the same look and feel, while foregoing fragility and a shorter vase-life.
Dahlias by Farmgirl Flowers
Chrysanthemums—see the resemblance?
ARRANGING CHRYSANTHEMUMS IN 3 EASY WAYS
There are many ways to incorporate Chrysanthemums in flower arrangements. At Happy Bunch, we always encourage you to have fun and arrange it your way—it’s all about getting your hands dirty and experimenting with different varieties and styles. While there are no strict rules when it comes to flower arrangement, here are 3 flower design inspirations to help get you started.
Chrysanthemums as the star flower
Some varieties of Chrysanthemums are showy—making them the perfect star of the show. Here we showcase aDIY Flowers curation from the past, that features Spider Chrysanthemums and Lilies. Don’t they resemble gorgeous fireworks in a vase?
Spider Chrysanthemum in a past DIY Flowers by Happy Bunch
Chrysanthemums as supporting flowers
Decorative Spray Chrysanthemums are usually a good choice to add texture, colour and volume to your arrangements. Here’s a sweet pastel arrangement with peach Spray Chrysanthemums. Totally a sweetheart!
Spray Chrysanthemum in a bouquet by Bloom & Wild
Chrysanthemums on its own
For those who prefer understated beauty, nothing’s stopping you from just going all-Chrysanthemums. They look absolutely gorgeous, smell great, and last long. We don’t see why not! 🙂
Chrysanthemums by The Little Posy Co.
Bonus: Chrysanthemums in an elevated & premium look
Just because Chrysanthemums are understated and affordable doesn’t mean that they can’t look elevated and expensive! If you prefer extravagant flower arrangements, here’s one inspiration on how you can elevate your Chrysanthemum game and make them look luxurious.
Chrysanthemums in a lush arrangement by Fox and Rabbit
CHRYSANTHEMUMS: TO GIFT OR NOT TO GIFT?
At the end of the day, it really depends on you and who you are sending the flowers to! Think about your recipient and their preferences before placing your order. Chrysanthemums may be someone’s favourite flower, yet may not be someone else’s cup of tea (pun intended!), and thoughtful gifting is about putting your recipients first and selecting a gift with their happiness in mind.
No matter where you stand on Chrysanthemums, we hope this article inspires you and your loved ones to get to know this beautiful flower better and to consider giving Chrysanthemums a fair chance to shine. For us, flowers of all shapes and sizes are beautiful in their own ways, and appreciating them for their unique qualities is what makes life more enjoyable.
As for Happy Bunch’s flower designs, if you’ve read this far (thank you for sticking till the end), you’ll know that we are all for using Chrysanthemums. We avoid using incurved White Chrysanthemums as they are commonly associated with condolence flowers (as mentioned at the beginning of this article), however we love including other Chrysanthemum varieties in our flower bunches. Chrysanthemums will make their appearance from time to time in ourSignature Surprise Bunch andDIY Flowers (the curations of these two bunches are fully up to our flower team and we don’t guarantee specific flower choices). We also feature Chrysanthemums in selected Petite Bunches—like the Chrysanthemum Ping Pong inPetite Candy Bunch and Spray Chrysanthemum Pom Pom inPetite Sangria Bunch.
Now that you’ve reached the end of the article, how do you feel about Chrysanthemums? We’d love to know! 🙂
