CHAPTER XLI 



FIRST WEEK IN NOVEMBER 



AMONGST the brightest of our garden flowers in the 

 late autumn is the Kaffir lily (Schyzostylis coccinea), 

 a South African irid in rich scarlet-crimson, which 

 begins to blossom about the end of October, and continues 

 to throw up its graceful spikes of bloom until severe frost 

 intervenes. 



The borders are now brilliant with these winter gladioles, 

 for they multiply themselves in a delightful way if left alone 

 for two or three years, appearing in numbers where only a few 

 roots were originally put in ; but it is advisable to plant 

 them in a somewhat sheltered position, with deep, yet 

 rather light, well-drained soil, for they do not enjoy a water- 

 logged border, nor yet one which is fully open to the gales 

 of autumn. They flourish well, however, on a raised border 

 of gravel soil a few feet from a south-east wall or hedge, for 

 the storms of this season usually come from the west, and in 

 this way the slender stems, heavy with blossoms, obtain the 

 necessary shelter. Nearly allied to the ixias as well as the 

 gladioli, this plant is different from either, yet resembles 

 both. Most valuable for cutting, they may be also raised in 

 clumps for the conservatory, potting them as far as possible 

 without much disturbance of their roots, and supplying them 

 with plenty of tepid water. 



Cosmea bipinnata, too, is now in full bloom in the garden. 

 These Mexican asters are of such slow growth that the seed 

 (for the plant is an annual) should be sown as early as 

 possible in the year, to give them time to open their flowers 

 in October and November ; but then they take possession of 



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