152 MY GROWING GARDEN 



the June berries are not. I am converted; and 

 I'll hope to have more of these delightful fruits 

 another year. Seemingly, as the ripening is suc- 

 cessive, and not in one burst of a crop, it will take 

 more plants to keep the family properly straw- 

 berried in September and later; but that is easy 

 enough ! 



Certainly the growing garden has given us 

 good things to eat this month. It has, as well, 

 many good things to see. The China asters are yet 

 superb, especially the King sorts that reign over 

 the border along the axis walk dividing the vege- 

 table-garden. We cut, and cut, and cut again; 

 always there are plenty of great flowers yet 

 remaining. The "blister beetle" is now but a 

 petroleum memory, for we literally "soaked him" 

 in time. 



The hardy and actual asters are also fine. I 

 find it necessary to be rather cruel to these, for 

 they spread so rapidly that they tend to overrun 

 other equally important flowers; wherefore I 

 annually dig out and dispose of any that are in the 

 way; as they are then weeds in the proper sense. 



The boltonias are akin to the hardy asters, and 

 as likely to be too pervasive. But the pink sort in 

 bloom is lovely, for it seems at a little distance to 

 be covered with a rosy mist. Growing about as 



