November, 1911 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



161 



The asters in great variety of color and form are 

 among the latest of flowers (A. Sibiricus) 



There is one among the native gentians 

 which flourishes in cultivation — the closed 

 gentian (G. Andrewsii) . The matchless 

 fringed gentian is not happy in the garden, 

 but a fair substitute is the barrel or soap- 

 wort gentian (G. Saponaria), a thorough- 

 going garden plant of rajje beauty and 

 autumnal disposition. Like most gentians, 

 it loves moist, sandy places. 



A SYMPHONY IN SAFFRON AND YELLOW 



The only noteworthy yellow gentian is 

 a European sort {G. lutea) from which the 

 liqueur "Gentiane" is made. Yellow is 

 a rare color in the gentian tribe, which 

 makes this plant especially interesting. 

 All the gentians are worth growing for their 

 charming foliage effects and if the different 

 kinds are grouped the yellow color of this 

 affords some welcome relief from the or- 

 thodox blues and purples. It propagates 

 most successfully from roots, which are 

 easily divided in fall or spring. 



A lemon-yellow sunflower {Helianthus 

 orgy alls), wand-like and slender, is the 

 antithesis of the Philistine giant sort, and 

 a welcome border plant in the last days 

 of fall. It is useful for tall effects. Its 

 stem (eight to ten feet) is clothed with a 

 profusion of tiny narrow leaves, giving a 

 feathery beauty to the whole plant. It 

 is a prolific bloomer, and may be grown 

 from seed sown in ordinary garden soil in 

 the spring. 



First cousin to the common golden glow 

 is Autumn Glory. This more recently 

 introduced plant has a longer blooming 

 period and seems to be related to R. nitida, 

 and is, perhaps, a hybrid species. Its 

 tall leafy stem and wealth of golden balls 

 of flowers make it the show plant par 

 excellence. It maintains its brilliance very 

 late and is only put to sleep when the 



weather is too cold for comfortable gar- 

 dening 



The beautiful blanket flowers or gail- 

 lardias (G. perennis and grandiflora) have 

 achieved a niche in the temple of floral 

 fame. "The grandest, most glorious, gor- 

 geous plants" they have been called and 

 truly they are resplendent in red and 

 yellow right into the days of winter. They 

 are useful garden plants some two to 

 three feet tall, with thick, hairy leaves. 

 Their beautiful daisy-like flowers (two 

 to three inches across), yellow or deep 

 saffron, are good also as cut flowers. 

 Culturally they are rather fond of the 

 creature comforts, which means that they 

 repay good soil and cultivation. 



THREE FOREIGNERS AND A NATIVE 



As fall-flowering herbs enduring till 

 well after the early frosts, scarcely anything 

 equals the asters. Nothing excels them. 

 These are hardy, offer every gradation 

 of usefulness and adaptability to special 

 needs; and they resist insects and diseases 

 with truly Spartan fortitude. All have 

 daisy-like flowers. Showy and attractive, 

 with lilac flowers two to three inches in 

 diameter, the Himalayan aster (A . diphos- 

 tephioides) is well suited for borders or as an 

 individual plant in the flower garden. Its 

 habit is slender and bushy. Division of the 

 roots is the easiest way to propagate the 

 plant, but it may also be grown from seed. 



The pert little Siberian aster (A. 

 Sibiricus), scarcely a foot high, is well 

 suited for rockeries and dry situations 

 generally. A solitary flower, usually a 

 delicate lilac or violet, terminates a some- 

 what stiff stem. Much more graceful 

 is our native New England aster (A. 

 Nova- A nglicE) , common all over the eastern 

 states but well worth shifting into garden 

 quarters. Its rich violet color and wonder- 

 ful profusion of bloom proclaim it one of 

 the best of its family. Wild plants dug 

 from the fields improve wonderfully with 



care, but seeds may be purchased from most 

 of the dealers. It can be had in a number of 

 varieties, with colors ranging through blue 

 and deep lilac. 



The annual China or branching asters 

 are to be found in immense variety. For 

 late flowering they are best grown from 

 seed planted not earlier than the first 

 week in June. 



A TRI-COLORED TRIO OF SHRUBS 



There are only three late fall -flowering 

 shrubs really worth while — that can 

 be easily grown and are not subject to 

 disease or insect attacks. The Chinese 

 clerodendron (C. serotinum) is one of the 

 finest. Its gracefully hanging clusters of 

 flowers with exquisite tints of old rose and 

 pinkish white, give it a distinction all its 

 own. It is, too, a thoroughly useful shrub 

 in grouping, being of medium height and 

 having elegant glossy leaves and a graceful 

 spreading habit. Less showy, and of a 

 distinctly more retiring disposition, is the 

 groundsel shrub {Baccharis halimifolia). Its 

 small oblong leaves and bushy habit make 

 it an effective filler-in between more showy 

 neighbors, and its fleecy white flowers and 

 fruits are as the driven snow. It may be 

 used to advantage in dry and unlikely 

 places. But the most interesting, always, 

 is our old friend, the witch hazel {llama- 

 melis Virginiana). "When the oldest colors 

 have faded" there is still this one plant 

 left to delight the heart of the gardener 

 with its rusty colored buds and dark, dull 

 green leaves. Well toward the end of our 

 Indian summer, a wonderful transformation 

 begins as the shrub loses its leaves. Almost 

 surreptitiously, the branches are covered 

 with a profusion of delicate star-like yellow 

 flowers. When everything else is going 

 to winter rest this shrub is surely without 

 price. Yet how few plant it! If you 

 perchance have a low situation and plenty 

 cf water try it; if not don't be surprised 

 if you lose out. 



The one sure flower in tne depth of winter, even under the snow, is the Christmas rose 



