Mad for Mums

I’m mad for mums, but not just any mums, Sheffield Pink mums to be specific. I don’t have anything against the usual garden mums we see sold alongside pumpkins and gourds each fall. I have fond memories of traditional garden mums being used by John Beauchamp of John’s Four Seasons in Federalsburg to decorate the entry to the church where I was married 36 years ago this October. A few years later, however, in another October, I found a new love after spying some Sheffield mums in terracotta pots on the front porch of an elegant home. This was in the days before the internet, so I’m not sure how I figured out what they were, but eventually I found some and a decades-long affair with these light, airy mums began and continues to this day.

Sheffield mums are herbaceous perennials, commonly known as a “Hillside Sheffield Pink,’ ‘Sheffield Pink,’ or ‘Single Apricot.’ They can grow to a height of two to three feet and can spread two to three feet as well. They have single daisy-like apricot pink flowers with golden yellow centers. Their bloom time is from mid-to-late September until a killing frost. They like sunny locations but can tolerate light shade. Generally considered to be low maintenance, they grow best in fertile, consistently moist, well-drained soil. After flowering, the plants should be cut back to six inches and mulched for the winter.

Over the past ten years I have been growing Sheffield Pink mums under river birch trees in my backyard. As summer wanes and other flowers die back, the Sheffield Pink mums come into bloom, becoming a bright spot to focus on and attracting the last of the bees and butterflies. I can bring their beauty inside by clipping stems and working them into floral arrangements or using them as a stand-alone flower in a bud vase. They look especially pretty when paired with white pumpkins, a softer take on the traditional autumn hues of bright orange and yellow.

There is no right or wrong when it comes to your preference of mum varieties, it’s really just a matter of what speaks to you. Keep your eyes open when you are passing through different neighborhoods, you never know where your next great garden love is waiting to be discovered!

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