Flowers of Autumn 



that it should not be allowed to flower out of 

 doors, but that it should be picked in bud and 

 brought indoors, when the flowers would gradually 

 open and remain in full beauty for many weeks. 

 But it is a little tender, for it is a native of the 

 Southern United States, and in a severe winter 

 it is apt to disappear. But among autumn 

 herbaceous plants, I think none surpass the 

 autumn crocuses. There are many species 

 mostly from Eastern Europe, and all are beauti- 

 ful ; but all are not very easily grown, for they 

 are capricious, and in many gardens the only 

 ones that can be grown easily are C. speciosus and 

 C. nudiflorus, and these are really the handsomest, 

 and when they are once established they increase 

 rapidly. In my garden the one that has made 

 itself most at home is C. pulchellus^ a lovely pale 

 blue with white anthers this sows itself, not only 

 where it was planted, but in the turf near it. 



Autumnal flowering shrubs are a great feature 

 in the garden, but I can only mention a few. 

 The autumn roses are in many cases, especially 

 among the hybrid teas and Chinas, superior to 

 those in summer ; certainly they have been so 

 this autumn, and where roses are grown in large 

 quantities, I think it a good thing to sacrifice the 

 summer blooms for the sake of the increased 

 beauty in the autumn flowers. A very pretty 

 autumn shrub is the Abelia Chinensis ; it seldom 

 flowers before the middle of September, but it 

 lasts in flower six weeks or more ; and the com- 



