Torch lilies (Longleat). 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



THE FLOWER GARDEN IN AUTUMN. 



Now who hath entered my loved woods, 



And touched their green with sudden change ? 

 Who blanched my Thistle's rosy face, 



And gave the winds her silver hair ?; 

 Set Golden-rod within her place, 



And scattered Asters everywhere ? 

 Lo ! the change reaches high and wide, 



Hath toned the sky .to softer blue ; 

 Hath crept along the river side, 



And trod the valleys through and through ! 



RECENT additions to our garden flora have made such a difference 

 that the flower garden in th^ autumn may be even more beautiful 

 than that of the spring, rich as that is in flowering trees and shrubs. 



The use of half hardy, or bedding plants, which are often showy 

 in autumn, gives a certain amount of colour which is very precious ; 

 and the introduction of many beautiful hardy flowers gives us the 

 means of making the autumnal garden very fine in colour effects. 

 It would be easy to give the names of many things that are to be 

 found in flower in gardens in autumn, but that is not nearly so im- 

 portant as getting an idea of many of the nobler class of plants which 

 may be effectively used at that time, no matter almost what the 

 season may be. Half hardy plants for the garden depend very much 

 on the weather of the summer, and certain seasons are so much 



