i64 



IRISH UARDEXINO 



Of the pinks. A..MK-k\ Adams aii.l A. Katlil.-m 

 Luke arc relial)k\ it luMug a ]H'ciiliaiit y •>! pink 

 Asters not to hist well in water. 



Of the light feathery kinds, theokl A. ('(M.ml.c 

 Fishaere. reniiniseent of that good gaidciu r tlic 

 Rev. Archer Hinde, who did ninch for tlu- Aster 

 family, has never been snrjjassed. Its pale blue 

 flowers, with ]>itd< si aniens. LM-owinir in masses. 

 make it distinct and uiiconinKi'i. hotli in llie 

 border and when tut . 



A. the Hon. Kdith Oibbs is a graceful variety 

 with ])ale blue flowers very suitable for small 

 gla.sses and tlinner table decoration. 



Among the white varieties. A. AUie, standiiii: 

 about .") feet high, very free flowcrinu. willi a 

 cliNin yellow '" I'ye."' and the smaller llowcted 

 " C'li«»." are the best for cutting. 



A list of those that are not good includes A. 

 hvsso])ifolius. A. Xaiuy iiallard. mauxc : 

 A. Ju])iter. pale niau\c; .\. (iiaee .Mai'\' L(iwis. 

 semi-double, dark bine ; A. Lil Fanlell. bright 

 piidv : A. liyecroft Pink, very biiglit pink : A. 

 Ryeci-oft Puiple. bright purple : .\. h'leedom. 

 small, wliite : .\. Sensation, small, white : A. 

 Delight, which is oiu- of the most gi'acctul of 

 all tile whites. 



Tt is disajipointing that the Ryecroft varieties 

 do iu)t stay open in water as tlieir colours are so 

 distinct and uncommon. 



Asters, like most flowers, look best when 

 arranged in vases by themselves. Sjmxys of 

 coloured foliage, however, may be introduced 

 with advantage, such as Spiraa prunifolia, 

 Spira?a Schinabecki, Berberis Tlumbergii, Ribes 

 aureum. Viburnum opulus. V. ]irunifolium, 

 Lonicera Morrowi, Prunus Pissardi, Ocranium 

 ibericum. Geranium angulatum, G. Pratense. G. 

 armenum, Vitis purpurea. 



Where a bold decoration is required for large 

 rooms and halls, branches of Medlar, Parrotia, 

 beech, horse-chestnut with their golden tints, the 

 dark-coloured leaves of Pseonies and purj^le 

 hazels make a fine background, which throws 

 up the blues and purples of Asters. The bark 

 of hard-wooded foliage should be well scra])ed 

 and the steins split before putting them into 

 water. 



Cut flowers are often treated with cruelty and 

 indifference. One sees vases half full of water, 

 the poor flowers, with their stems, like Tantalus, 

 just out of drinking reach, tlie vases choked 

 with leaves, and altogether what might have 

 been a pleasure to the eye for days becomes a 

 collection of unhappy, jaded looking flowers, 

 withering for want of a little attention. Flowers 

 keep fresh longer, I find, in glass vases than 

 silver or other opaque vessels. If their stems 

 are split up two or three inches, or the outer 



skin I ice led nil. t he e.\t la time taken in doing so 

 i> well repaid by the dilTerenee it makes in tlie 

 a|i|iearaiice and duiation (if the llowers. Tliey 

 iln mil lli|-i\c in an at nmspjiriv of lie;t and L^as. 

 II the \ases aiv tilled \n \\u- i,iim and left in a 

 cool hall or passage at night t heir contents will 

 look fresh and crisp the lu-.xt morning: a little 

 warm watei- added to tliem has a \-ei'y reviving 

 elTect. W'lieii ivnewni- tile water a small piece 

 cut oil' the end of the stems op.'us the clogged 

 nu)Uths of the vessels through which the water 

 is absorbed. When cutting flowcis it is well to 

 remember that tlie\- will last lon,i:<'i' if ent before 

 the anthers (lehise('' their pollen Once llie\- are 

 fertili/.ed their business is to set their seed as 

 (|niekly as possible, i-egai'dless of the fact that 

 we wish to enjo\- their britdil eolouis and not 

 tlu-ir seed pods.' 



There are neaily 2(MI species of .\steis. They 

 occur in great abundance in North .\meiiea. 

 where tlu'cc-foui'ths of them are indigenous. 

 Tliey are distributed sparingly onci' l<]uidpe, 

 .\sia and South Amei'ica. 



Theic is oidy one Rj'itish species. Aslei- 

 Tril)oIium. the seaside Aster 



The Italian Starwort, Aster amellus, was 

 introduced to Great Britain as early as JolKi. 

 Aster Linosyris, better known as "' Goldylocks." 

 is the only yellow-flowered s))ecics. It is a 

 jiative of Eurojie. 



The following is a list of some of the species 

 from which the large number of garden varieties 

 and hybrids have been derived : — A. acris, 

 S. Furope : A. Alpin^is, Alps of Europe : A. 

 amelloides, Poland ; A. Ibericus, Iberia : A. 

 Tartaricus, Siberia ; A. diffuses, N. America, 

 and its variety A. diffuses horizontalis, from 

 which the race of small feathery whites have 

 sprung ; A. carolinus, Carolina ; A. nova; anglise, 

 N. America, and its good varieties, A. pracox, 

 A. rosea, A. rubra ; A. Novi Belgii, another N. 

 American ])arent of "" Purity,"' "" Harper 

 Crewe." " Daisy Hill." and la^vigatus : A. 

 cordifolius. N. America, plume-like masses of 

 delicately tinted flowers ; A. incanus, (California ; 

 A. Trinervis, Himalayas, distinct, with its leaves 

 marked with three veins instead of the usual one ; 

 A. serotinus, N. America. 



Of later years there have been species intro- 

 duced from Western China, of which A. \'il- 

 morini is the most distinct. 



Mention must be made of the July flowering 

 Aster Thompsoni, which is followed by the 

 densely-flowered A. Acris in August, which gives 

 the first hint of approaching autumn to the 

 herbacecuis border. W. P. ?J. 



