Texas High School Students Create Massive, 28-Foot Homecoming Mum

“This took a village.”

That’s a whole lot of mum!

More than 50 floral design students at Dickinson High School in Dickinson, Texas, joined forces to create a colossal 28-foot mum for homecoming last week.

“They say ‘Go Big or Go Home’” Dickinson High School FFA wrote on Facebook ahead of the big game Friday. “The Gator Blooms’ Advanced Floral Design students went BIG. And then they went BIGGER! And now we'll go to HOMEcoming!”

Photos shared to social media show students and faculty bringing the herculean mum to life with tissue paper, particle board, ribbon, aluminum foil, and a whole lot of teamwork.

“This took a village and we're very grateful for everyone who contributed,”the post continued. “52 advanced students, additional student volunteers, 3 Floral teachers, 1 Soil Science teacher, 2 Ag Mech teachers, and even our very own Principal, her Secretary and Assistant Principals had a hand in making this!”

"This is probably the biggest thing that Dickinson has done so far based off of homecoming," floral design teacher Jordan Cook told Houston Chronicle. "This is very big for my kids to do and to get recognition for; they get to walk through the halls and say that they made that."

Size-wise, Dickinson’s creation puts last year’s 15-foot “Mega Mum,” created by students at Stony Point High School in Round Rock, to shame.

Homecoming Mums are a beloved high school tradition in Texas. They started out decades ago as a simple corsage made up of one or two chrysanthemums—the classic flower of fall—and maybe a few ribbons to show school pride at homecoming events. These days, however, mums have little to do with the actual flower. Instead, these elaborate floral arrangements have become a rite of passage for Texas teens, and the bigger the better.

Today's mums are usually made up of some combination of oversized silk flowers, ribbons, bows, feathers, sequins, charms, stuffed animals, photographs, and glittery letters all attached to a backing and hung around the neck. Frequently, they're made in school colors and will display the wearer's interests and personality. Boys wear smaller versions called garters on elastic bands on their arms.

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