82 BRITISH FLORAL DECORATION 



But I am wandering from my subject, the 

 beautiful and robust Child of the East, which fills 

 such a great niche in the Temple of Flora during the 

 long dreary winter months. As the rose is called 

 the Queen of Flowers, so should the Chrysanthemum 

 be called the Floral Queen of Winter. 



Just try and imagine what an English winter 

 would be, from a floral point of view, without 

 Chrysanthemums. They first brighten our gardens 

 and herbaceous borders in early autumn, but I for 

 one, and I am not alone, do not love them at this 

 time of the year, as there are many dear old garden 

 friends which are neglected, if not altogether ousted 

 by them ; moreover the glut of these early flowering 

 varieties tends to lessen our true appreciation 

 of the real winter crop and lengthens the season, 

 not only unnecessarily, but at the wrong end. It 

 is to the January and February flowering varieties 

 that all Chrysanthemum growers should turn 

 their attention, as in these months there is real 

 need of them, whereas in August we have in great 

 abundance flowers too numerous to name. 



Next come the late autumn varieties, which 

 are more acceptable and seasonable, as in a mild 

 autumn they give much joy well into November 

 to those who have no greenhouse ; and then when 



