This time last year, The Mum Project was just an idea — a hope to bring back the beauty of heirloom chrysanthemums to our corner of South Carolina. We’d seen the incredible work of other local flower farms reviving these lost varieties and knew we wanted to be part of it.

With the help of the ACRE grant, that vision took shape. In early spring, we began construction on our new hoop house, designed specifically to extend our growing season and give these mums the conditions they love best — cool nights, steady moisture, and protection from our unpredictable fall weather.

Next came the growing beds — carefully built, amended, and mapped for 18 varieties of heirloom mum varieties passed down through dedicated chrysanthemum societies and small farms. These aren’t your typical potted mums. They’re true heirlooms — varieties once treasured for their elegance, fragrance, and sculptural petals, now making a comeback thanks to local flower growers.

The 18 varieties we selected are divided into 6 varieties each from the early, mid-season and late-season categories. These classifications are assigned by the National Chrysanthemum Society. We do this so we don’t have the entire hoop house blooming at the same time.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing photos and stories as each variety comes into bloom. It’s been a journey of learning, growth, and joy — and we can’t wait for you to see what’s next.

Here are the first three:

Thank you for following along, for cheering us on through every stage of this project, and for believing in the power of local flowers. Send us your questions, and we will do our best to answer them in the coming updates.

Happy Fall,

Linda