Georgianna Lane provides the photographs for this celebration of what is a sometimes maligned flower.
The book is perfectly timed for autumn publication as chrysanthemums come into their own.
Often cited as a plant that is becoming more fashionable, the fussy flowers of the 1970s now appeal because of their size and blousiness to the Instagram generation, moving beyond the petrol station and cemetery reputation.
Slade gives us 30+ pages of history, with the AYR rise of the seventies production noted. There are lots of classifications and shapes, from pompon to sprays, Shoesmiths to Seatons, and an array of colours, which is one of their biggest appeals.
After almost 200 pages on different types, you will have enough options to grow different chrysanths for the rest of your life.
Slade, who has made an impressive move from writer to designer (Chelsea 2024 Flood Resilient Garden - not chrysanths in that) and is an assured guide through a genus that you can love or loathe.
