I'm so not a football fan. I never went to any high school or college games and actually watched them; in fact, I don’t even know the rules of the sport, and it didn't really interest me to learn until it did.

I have twin soon-to-be nine-year-old boys, and one has discovered his absolute love for the game. In all my fear as a parent, I have worked to allow him to grow his love, practice, and knowledge of the sport. I’m learning the language with him, and I get excited right beside him when he snaps the ball successfully to his teammate.

My son Levon loves to toss his football around, talking to me while I tend to my list of to-dos or get lost in the gardens. Lately, we have spent some time together in the heritage mums. Tending to the houses of mother stock, checking on the houses of production cut flowers, and watering the fall potted mum plants, all while he tosses his ball in the air and talks to me about the sport. We find commonalities in my love of the mums and his love of the sport, both of us reveling in our successes and reflecting on what improvements we want to work towards.

He is learning about propagation, pest scouting, water needs, and bloom times. I’m learning about play drills, positions, and iconic football role models. We are both learning our own life lessons but are doing it together. This kindred spark first ignited when I told him these flowers are lovingly referred to as football mums due to the old popularity of wearing elaborate corsages of mums to football games of years past.

While I found no interest in football on my own, it was through the lens of my son that I have, and the same for him with the mums. Maybe these plants haven’t been thought of as the types of flowers to grow for sheer enjoyment in the garden, but I believe that with a different lens, there is so much to appreciate about them. Plants that are as wild and unruly as my young son, bursting with potential to provide the joy my mind needs, will always have a special place in my garden.

Mums have traditionally been used as disposable garden decor. What a pity that we have shrunk our knowledge and availability to the perfect domes of meticulously timed early blooms and gave up on the wild, unruly, but jaw-droppingly magical show of the cottage-style heritage mums.

Left unkempt, they will low-sprawl and bend around other plants, leaving what I view as a mess of beauty. Of course, with some discipline and regular attention, you can force most of these amazing plants into more manicured and rigid growth, but the magic to me is letting them grow wild and unkempt on their own.

There are tons of ways to use these diverse plants, but don’t overlook the benefit of sneaking them into your garden. You might even be proud enough to wear a few to a football game or two.