Oh, how I love my mums! Every year they come back, brighter and bigger than ever. I know people love their yellow and purple mums, but we keep bright orange, Halloween-y and sexy burgundy mums (my favorite) in our garden. It’s always a surprise, too, isn’t it? One day, you’re noticing how barren the yard is with all of the summer blooms dead, and the next, poof—pretty little buds are on display for all to see!

One thing that’s really fun to do in the fall is to bring some planters inside and place mums around the house—on the kitchen table, in the living room, wherever you like. You can enjoy them for a few weeks, then transplant them in the ground for another few weeks. Then, when they die, you will be rewarded with their gorgeous colors once again next year in your garden. If you repeat this tradition every year, you will end up with a yard full of mums every fall (and then you won’t have to admonish your children not to pick them every day like I do!). Another benefit of having mums in your home is that they reduce air pollution. So when you put mums around the house, you’re not only crafting a lovely fall space, you’re also helping to protect your family’s health.

Did you know that there are over 30 species of mums available to choose from? They’re native to Asia and northeastern Europe. If you Google “chrysanthemums” and click photos, you will be amazed at the wide variety of characteristics and colors that most mums have. Although I am a lover of the common poofy-like “hardy mums,” or garden mums, there are so many other gorgeous mums around that choosing a favorite would prove to be difficult. There are some mums that look like many-petaled daisies, and Japanese mums that have petals that curve beneath their blooms, creating an elegant, almost fairytale-like appearance.

Mums aren’t popular just for their looks, either. Both white and yellow mums can be used in cooking, and are often used in Asia as a base for special sweet drinks known as chrysanthemum tea. Their leaves and stems are also used in cooking, normally as a substitute for greens. Chicken soup, cupcakes, tea jelly, and Wha Jeon, or pan-fried rice cakes, can all be made with chrysanthemums. Mums are also popularly used in some traditional medicines.