CHAPTER XV 



Hardy Chrysanthemums* 



The history of the Chrysanthemum in America 

 shows thfct many years before the flower attained its 

 present popularity it was known and grown and ap- 

 preciated as a humble outdoor garden flower. It? 

 merit and adaptability along these lines are quite over- 

 shadowed by the large exhibition types, yet this should 

 not be so. Although all are the progeny of one 

 common ancestor, in no sense do they come into con- 

 flict, each fills its own separate niche in Flora's temple, 

 and the hardy types should certainly hold the largest 

 part in popular estimation, since they come within the 

 means of all who have a small area of ground that 

 may be cultivated about the home. 



The hardy Chrysanthemums give us gay colors and 

 lavish beauty at a season and time when nothing else is 

 to be had. Even though frost withholds its chilly grip, 

 the best of summer and autumn gardens are in the 

 sere and yellow leaf by the middle of October; but the 

 floral cycle of the year need not end before another 

 month or more. Another chapter remains, one that, 

 as yet, is as a sealed book to many. Those who have 

 opened its pages willingly admit that the hardy Chrys- 

 anthemum brings forth a most captivating climax and 

 a fitting conclusion to the year of flowers in the out- 

 door garden. 



At present we see too few of them, and these in 

 unfrequented places. In some country cottage gardens 



*By R. A. Vincent, Whitmarsh, Md. 



