318 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



Flowers of Autumn and Spring 



WILLARD N. CLUTE 



I 



T seems never to have been definiteh- settled whether 

 Summer or \\'inter is to be credited with the greater 

 influence on the production of flowers. Summer, it is 

 true, is regarded as the height of the blooming season, but 

 it requires only a cursor}- examination to perceive that 

 flowers have a marked tendency to cluster aliout the 

 colder parts of the year. The expression "leafy June" 

 rather aptly describes, not onl\- the period when the sun 

 is highest in the heavens, but several weeks thereafter. 

 At this time, flowers are undoubtedly scarce in comparison 

 with the number at other seasons of the year. But as the 

 days grow shorter and a certain crispness in the air 

 speaks of frosts soon to come, a rising tide of bloom 

 submerges the Summer's leafiness and spreads in a riot 

 of color over the countryside, being especially noticeable 

 in the cool lowlands. 



It is commonly imagined that the flowers of Autumn 

 are belated species which have neglected to bloom at a 

 more propitious season and are caught by the cold as a 

 just penalty for their slothfulness, but this is far from 

 being the truth. The .\utumn-flo\vering species are 

 adapted to the season ; indeed they appear particularly 

 designed for it and are at no disadvantage because they 

 bloom so late. In ordinary years they finish their bloom- 

 ing and ripen their seeds before Winter has had a chance 

 to interrupt the orderly working out of their life jirocesses. 

 Thev anticipate the season, prepare for the cold, and are 

 ready for it when it comes. 



Again, as Winter wanes, a new wave of color sweeps 

 over" the landscape, but though it reflects the tints and 

 hues of the Autumn season it is in no sense a continuation 

 of it. The component sjjecies are very dififerent plants 

 and not the older species whose blooming period has been 

 slackened by the icy hand of the frost. They are sturdy 

 plants which have learned to capitalize the inhospitable 

 conditions and bloom when other kinds are unable to do 

 so. The Spring flowers are largely buttercups, violets, 

 legumes, roseworts and the like — simple plants with large, 

 open, regular flowers. The blossoms of .\utumn are pro- 

 duced bv the highly developed composites and their allies 

 such as asters, goldenrods. sunflowers, gentians, and bell- 

 worts, with specialized, irregular flowers, usually small 

 as to size but great as to numbers. 



The Spring flowers are further distinguished frcuii those 

 that bliissom later by their fondness for woodlands, copses 

 and other sheltered jjlaces, and by the rapidity with which 

 they spring up in the wake of retreating snowdrifts. The 

 Summer and Autunm flowers are more deliberate species 

 that favor the oj^en places such as roadsides, river-banks, 

 meadows and swamps, where they spread a multitude 

 of broad leaves to the sunlight and bur}' the earth in 

 vegetation. In the most leisurely manner they build up 

 the structures that are to provide the material for the 

 flowers and fruits later in the season. The vernal flora 

 is composed r)f those more ])rovidcnt plants whose hal)it 

 it is, in late Spring, to store up underground in tub-r 

 and bulb and rhizome, a sup()!y of ])lant food against 

 another blooming season. Thus e(|ui])ped they are able 

 In spring almost instantly into bloom when a few mild 

 days betoken the end of Winter. 



Tn the warmer parts of the world, this vernal .season 

 is inconspicuous or absent altogether. Spring in such 

 regions is chiefly marked by a fresher color in the foliage. 

 The flowers come out one by one nuich as the stars appear 

 in the sky at the close of da v. Our soutliern Stales though 

 boa-ting of a niagniflccnt flora l;i1er in the year, have no 



such burst of bloom as characterizes the early Spring in 

 the States along our northern border. This particular 

 flora is in a real sense the gift of the cold ; a sort of 

 recompense, possibly for the privations endured during 

 the more inclement season. 



Thus it happens that in the northern States, at least, 

 there are two rather distinct floras, intermingled but 

 rarelv mixed, for each has its own time of blooming, its 

 favorite form of blossom, its particular method of growth 

 and its own selection of places in which to grow. There 

 is some overlapping, to be sure, during that part of the 

 year when one group is finishing its blossoming and the 

 other just beginning, but in the main, they are fairly dis- 

 tinct. The fondness of the bulbous plants for the wood- 

 lands, is in all probability due to the fact that they possess 

 reserve supplies of food. For a short time in early Spring 

 the forests provide ideal ]>laces for the growth of these 

 plants unhampered by the crowding Summer flowers. 

 Here they can spring up and complete the cycle of their 

 lives before they are lost in the dee[)ening shadows. 

 After the leaves are spread so much light is cut off that 

 onl\- a small number of shade plants can thrive in such 

 places. The fine flowers of late Summer and Autunm 

 are not found in the woodlands. Nor can we discover 

 at this season any trace of many of the plants whose 

 blossoms made the .Spring woods gay with color. Long 

 before mid-Summer they have thrown oflf their leaves and 

 often their roots, but deep in the soil a new set of flower 

 buds, surrounded by sufficient stores of food wait for 

 the coming of a new Spring. 



WORK FOR THE MONTH IN THE GARDEN 



(Continued from page 31.t) 

 thrown up around the base, it mav prevent possible injury 

 from these pests. 



.Suitable ]>rotection such as canvas, burlap and wind- 

 breaks should be placed around energreens which are 

 liable to suffer from cutting winds and frost. Specimens 

 such as relinosporas and trees of that habit that are likely 

 to be broken down by the weight of snow, should be made 

 secure by poles set around them and tied with stout string. 



Single specimens of box may be entirely enveloped with 

 straw. Give the rhododendron and azalea l>eds a good 

 nuflch of leaves after erecting the wind screens. 



Lay raspberries and blackberries down and cover with 

 soil if the position in which thev are grown is very ex- 

 posed, otherwise they can be tied up and ])rotected with 

 straw. 



.See to it that celerv wintering outside has .ilumdant 

 protection. It nftimes occurs that during a heavy wind- 

 storm much of the covering is blown away. When there 

 is a good covering of snow this is prevented .iiid they are 

 kept secure. 



This is the logicd time to rejilenish all stocks of ])ea 

 l)rush, bean pules and flats for raising the early seedlings, 

 and get under cover a good supplv of comjiost. If the 

 fallen leaves of two seasons ago were collected and placed 

 in a heap the leaf soil would be invaluable now to take 

 under cover for making u]) next .Spring's compost. 



Continue to bring in successful batches of rhubarb, etc., 

 for forcing. Inspect at frequent intervals stocks of fruit, 

 l)otatnes, etc., and remove any that show signs of decav. 



During mild and open weather the pruning and thinning 

 of old fruit trees c;in be done in the on-hnvd and \\'intcr 

 sprays can be ap])lied. 



