In My Vicarage Garden 



flies and moths ; this year it was crowded with 

 Red Admirals and occasional Humming Bird 

 moths. Most of the other Michaelmas daisies 

 come from America, and the proper determination 

 of the many different species has been a sore 

 puzzle to all American botanists ; but they were 

 taken in hand by the late Asa Gray, who brought 

 them into good order ; yet even he, though so 

 great a botanist, hesitated for some time to under- 

 take to clear up the confusion, and when he did 

 so he has left a record. " Never was there so 

 rascally a genus ; they reduce me to despair." 

 The difficulty has arisen from the fact that they 

 hybridise very easily, and there are, besides the 

 garden hybrids, many natural ones. Of these 

 garden hybrids many are very beautiful, but I 

 really think that none are better, or even so good, 

 as the types ; and in most small gardens it would 

 be well for the gardener to confine himself to a 

 dozen or, perhaps, even half a dozen. These if 

 grown well, i.e. well fed and looked after, would 

 give all he would want. There are some which I 

 should on no account leave out, such as A. amellus, 

 A. ericcefolius, A. Novos Anglice (blue and red), A. 

 longif alius ramosus, A. versicolor, A. turbinellus, 

 and A. grandiflorus. This last one is a most 

 desirable plant ; in colour it is even a deeper blue 

 than A. atncllus, and it has the great advantage 

 of flowering so late that in mild seasons it will 

 give good flowers in December and even at 

 Christmas ; and the older gardeners recommend 

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