Flowers of Autumn 



with the flowers of midsummer. Putting aside 

 such flowers as dahlias, China asters, chrysanthe- 

 mums, and other tender plants which yet add 

 much to the gaiety of the garden in autumn, 

 there are good hardy herbaceous plants and 

 shrubs which give brightness to the garden till 

 the frost comes. Chief among these are the 

 different species of perennial sunflowers (helian- 

 thus) and the asters or Michaelmas daisies. 

 Asters are found in almost all cold and tem- 

 perate countries ; one species, the Marsh Aster 

 (A. tripolium] being found in England all round 

 the coast, but delighting chiefly in the salt- 

 marshes of the estuaries : the flower is a poor one, 

 and the plants scarcely deserve being brought into 

 the garden. But there are two in Europe which 

 may be reckoned among the best of the family, 

 the dwarf A. Alpinus, so well known to all 

 travellers in Switzerland, and the A. amellus, a 

 native of many parts of Southern Europe, in- 

 cluding Switzerland. There seems no reason to 

 doubt that this is the Amellus minutely described 

 by Virgil : 



Aureus ipse ; sed in foliis quae plarima circum 

 Funduntur, violae sublucet purpura nigrae. 



GEORG. IV. 271. 



where the ipse is the central disk, and foliis the 

 petals or ray. This aster is with me the earliest 

 to flower, and the most beautiful, and more than 

 any other flower it is a great attraction to butter- 



29 



