Unlike every other month of the year, November only has one birth flower - but it’s a firm favourite, always popular, available in a variety of colours, and proven by NASA as improving air quality in the home.
The chrysanthemum celebrates longevity, and is said to bring joy and good luck into any home, just like the other flowers in the daisy family, and will look perfect in almost every single bouquet and arrangement.
Just as with roses, a red flower will represent love and white will represent purity, however yellow is sometimes seen as indicative of a wounded heart.
Those born in November are said to possess certain qualities reflected in the chrysanthemum including friendliness and cheeriness, as well as being generous in many ways to those around them.
Originating in China, these flowers have an interesting history including being used in teas and wines, as herbs, for preventing grey hair, and as a symbol of youth. The Japanese also host a festival every year called the Festival of Happiness in their honour (although this is held in September rather than November).
In the US, there are thirteen different categories of chrysanthemum including; anemone, decorative, irregular incurve, intermediate incurve, regular incurve, pompom, quilled, single and semi-double, spider, spoon, reflex, thistle, and unclassified.
The large pompom blooms are often considered as one large flower head, when in fact they are a grouping of many smaller flowers.
Chrysanthemums are also the traditional gift for a 13th wedding anniversary - while some think the number is unlucky, these colourful and often dramatic blooms will aim to bring a bit more luck and wow factor into the relationship!
Our main piece of advice for gifting chrysanthemums as part of an autumnal present? Make sure they’re kept away from any radiators as the extra heat will cause blooms to droop earlier than they would usually.