mums

fall arrived over night here and it. is. COLD. and suddenly i find myself wishing i had a mum plant on my front stoop and leaves underfoot on my driveway. i guess old habits of fall in the countryside die hard even when fall is exciting in the city. every fall, like clock work, my mother gives me a "festive fall mum plant" and instructs me to care for it and keep it on my porch. and every fall, my roommates and i somehow get too busy to take care of the little visitor and it inevitably withers and dies. but now that i live way up on the fourth floor in an apartment and no longer have a front porch or even a tiny little bit of yard, i suddenly wish i had a festive mum to keep alive! is it illegal to put mums on the fire escape??