Every time I hear the word Chrysanthemum I think of the Monty Python sketch, Flower arranging, with DP Gumby. When I went to my friend Lila das Gupta’s allotment yesterday, to photograph a few varieties of Chrysanthemum, the picture of Michael Palin standing in front of a table with a knotted handkerchief on his head was never far away. Chrysanth’s have had bad press over the years, which has not been helped by the cliched petrol station flower. I don’t hate them. I might even be persuaded there are some nice ones. Some. Lila’s plants were willing subjects for portraits. […]
