CHAPTER XIII 



SOME UNCOMMON AUTUMN FLOWERS 



Is not the gardener's summer often as long-lived as he 

 chooses to make it ? 



THOSE whose happiest moments are spent among the 

 plants and flowers and how many of us gardeners are 

 unashamed to make such confession ! view with keen 

 regret the passing of summer and autumn. It is a sad 

 day when the line is crossed. But do we all make the 

 most of our gardens in autumn, and bid the summer 

 linger ? Is not the gardener's summer often as long- 

 lived as he chooses to make it ? It is true that most 

 gardens contain a few Dahlias, Michaelmas Daisies, 

 Chrysanthemums, Moon Daisies, and Japanese Anemones ; 

 but, beautiful though these are, I think there are many 

 equally as fascinating and unworthily neglected. 



I believe most amateurs know and make use of those 

 two invaluable Sneezeworts with handsome bronze and 

 yellow blooms (Helenium autumnale cupreum, growing 

 only 3 feet high, and the 5-feet high striatum) ; but 

 that beautiful Coneflower (Rudbeckia speciosa), with rich, 

 yellow, black-coned flowers, that are at their best in 

 September, is far too rarely seen. It grows only about 



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