Carnations made a such a big comeback in the early 2000s New York flower scene that Vogue ran almost monthly editorials heralding the news, with gorgeous bowls of them priced at $300 and stars in the field bitterly feuding over who was responsible for their redux

Now the show stopping chrysanthemum is officially back. ( Joy! I’ve been waiting since they stole the show in the production design of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, in great porcelain bowls ).  It’s wonderful to look at these flowers with the eyes of a florist in the 1920’s, with amazement at their intricacy, strength and showiness. There is a damn good reason these flowers were in such heavy rotation for half a century.

Like fireworks, these almost embarrassingly beautiful flowers are also native to China and must have inspired their invention.