It is the beginning of winter here in China and at the college where I am an English teacher, the gardeners have been busy and are now populating the university grounds with hundreds of pots of Chryanthemums.

There are huge pots with a tall grafted plant that has several different colour flowers on the plant. They are tiered with the use of bamboo frames and each bloom is carefully held in place on the frame making it an excellent picture.

There are hundeds of pot of these flowers around the university - at the entrances, at the canteens, at the library and around the most important buildings in the university. There is an amazing display in a car park and we are not sure why.

Each day they are lovingly tended by the gardeners who water them as necessry with a wheel barrow of water and a bucket with a long handle - like a ladle. It water is tipped into each pot. Dead leaves and petals are removed and where necessary the stems are tied in place.

One of the local cities is called the Chrystanthemum City and it is here that there are really major displays of these flowers.