492 THE GARDENER. [Nov. 



many splendid hardy flowers which abound amongst the tribes which 

 make up the great class of herbaceous plants, is being borne in on 

 the minds of all who are interested in flower-gardening. 



It is notable that a very large number of the autumn - flowering 

 herbaceous plants, especially those that flower very late, are members 

 of the very extensive natural order Composite?. One genus alone — the 

 Asters or Starworts — furnishes over a hundred species or so-called 

 species, many of them very beautiful, but many also quite unfit for the 

 purposes of decoration, or so little distinct one from another that the 

 cream of the group may be comprised in a very brief list. But a 

 selection of the best of these should be considered indispensable in 

 every garden which it is desired should be replete with flowers to 

 as late a period of the year as it is possible to obtain them in this 

 country. The following are a few of the best of this genus : — 



A. amellus. — Pale blue, about 2 feet high, flowering in ordinary 

 seasons from the middle of August to the middle of October. 



A. discolor. — White and reddish purple, 18 inches to 2 feet high, 

 neat and compact, and very floriferous ; flowering in August and 

 September. 



A. Jem's.— Bright blue, about 2 feet high; flowering in September 

 and October. 



A. novce-anglice. — One of the finest and most floriferous; but being 

 a tall grower (4 to 5 feet), it is somewhat troublesome in the matter of 

 staking, yet the immense showy clustered corymbs of large purplish 

 red flowers, lasting for a couple of months on end, render it a most 

 desirable plant for shrubbery or other mixed borders. It begins to 

 flower in September. 



A. novi-belgii. — This is similar in stature and general character to 

 the last, and equally desirable. The flowers are deep brilliant blue, 

 and appear in September and October. 



A. patens. — This species grows to the height of about 18 inches or 2 

 feet. The flowers are deep purple, — deeper than those of any other 

 species with which I am acquainted. 



A. turbinellus. — Dark purplish blue ; flowers very large, in great 

 many-branched corymbs. It has the same objectionable habit as the 

 fourth and fifth named species, being tail and somewhat weak-kneed. 

 Among the Achilleas, A. ageratum is a very fine and showy autumn- 

 flowering species. The flowers are golden yellow, and appear from 

 July to October, according to the nature of the local climate. 



A. eupatorium, which usually flowers in July and August, becoming 

 spent generally before September is far advanced, is this year bloom- 

 ing bravely now. By cutting over the stems of A. Ptarmica about 

 the end of June, a very late bloom of this most useful and desirable 

 species may be obtained. The small white flowers are indispensable for 

 making up bouquets. 



fiuphthalmum salicifolium is a very showy autumn flower, not often 



