What are you buying your Mum this weekend? If you want your mother to be happy for the rest of her life, then, according to an old Chinese philosopher you should give her chrysanthemums.

First cultivated in China as a flowering herb and described in writings as early as the 15th century BC, early Chinese pottery depicts the chrysanthemum much as we see it in today’s in flower shops. As a herb, it was believed to have the power of life. Legend has it that the boiled roots were used as a headache remedy; young sprouts and petals were eaten in salads; and leaves were brewed for a festive drink.

The chrysanthemum in Japan is seen as a royal symbol and a sign of long life and happiness. Each year, the Japanese celebrate the ‘Festival of Happiness’ when they honour these special flowers. Seats for Japanese emperors were covered with them, which is why the Japanese throne is also known as the chrysanthemum throne. The ‘Rising Sun’ on Japanese postage stamps is actually a chrysanthemum flower.

There’s a lovely legend associated with the chrysanthemum, which originated in China. A girl asked a spirit how long her forthcoming marriage would last and was told they would remain together for as many years as there were petals on the flower she would wear on her wedding dress. She searched everywhere but could only find one with seventeen petals. With her hairpin she divided each petal into two then four - the first chrysanthemum.

For 68 years she lived in blissful happiness with her husband. Since then the flower has been revered in the East as a symbol of purity and long life. Given the nature of the story I wonder if it should also be a symbol of female ingenuity?

Rather surprisingly, given its popularity in Far Eastern counties, the chrysanthemum wasn’t introduced into the Western world until the 17th Century. In 1753 Karl Linnaeus, the renowned Swedish botanist, took the Greek word chrysos, meaning gold, and combined it with anthemon, meaning flower.

These early chrysanthemums only flowered in the autumn but through technological developments, growers in the 1960s discovered how they could get chrysanthemums to flower all year round. Cut-flower production, under glass, uses curtains and lights to mimic the correct season. As a result for over 50 years now, the chrysanthemum has been available in all seasons, in a whole range of beautiful types and colours.

If you do buy your mum chrysanthemums for Mother’s Day this year, you’re making a great choice for a cut flower. Second only to the rose in popularity, the flowers will last for a long time, given fresh water and flower food. As their foliage deteriorates more quickly than the flowers themselves, if you remove the leaves as soon as they begin to droop, the flowers last longer.

Confucius once suggested chrysanthemums be used as an object of meditation and it is said that a single petal of this celebrated flower placed at the bottom of a wine glass will encourage a long and healthy life.

It doesn’t say if the wine glass should be full or empty so that will be the focus of my meditation this evening. Given that my glass is alway half full anyway, it’s a certainty that I’m always happy.