These are the days when skies put on 

 The old, old sophistries of June — 

 A blue and gold mistake. 



Emily Dickenson. 



'HERE is no season of the year so full of charm — 

 tender and wistful though it be — as that period of 

 November known as Indian Summer, when the 

 sword of the frost is miraculously stayed, lashing 

 winds and low-hanging clouds disappear over night, and 

 the world awakes to find itself bathed in mellow golden light, 

 warm and beneficent. How grateful are we always for this 

 " backward look" of the year before winter shuts down upon 

 us. In the garden it is to me the very best time of all the 

 year, not even excepting those first spring days when green 

 things begin to venture tentative noses above the blanket. 

 All necessity for effort is past; one may seek out a warm 

 corner and bask in the sun, absorbing the very essence of 

 the garden's sweetness. 



THROUGH THE 



GARDEN GATE 



*3fc £cyise milder 



eAutfibr of'Myffarcfeifand '<3o£ut in Jfy garden " 



A bouquet of little brown Chrysanthemums seems a finer 

 gift than a basket of June Roses and how we treasure them 

 until they are quite withered and dry! Aconitum autumnale 

 is a good plant on account of its late flowering, as is Chrysan- 

 themum nipponicum with its great white Daisy-like blooms. 

 The Japanese anemone where it will thrive — it will not for 

 me — is invaluable and such Michaelmas Daisies as Novelty 

 and Aster grandiflorus may be counted upon late into the 

 autumn. Autumn Crocuses are ever a surprise and an espe- 

 cial happiness to me. So frail and exquisite they seem to 

 be out at such an uncertain season. 



Flowers that 

 Brave the 

 Frost 



TH1 

 c 



E flowers, the gay, steadfast 

 creatures that have braved frost 

 and storm to say farewell at the very 

 gate of winter, I love. Nor are 

 these so few. Always there are blue and white Carpathian 

 Hairbells in plenty, and Tunica saxifraga from chinks in 

 the steps is a haze of pink bloom. Horned Pansies are 

 enchanted at the opportunity to show themselves again 

 and little sprightly gatherings of them are to be found in 

 almost every sheltered corner. Campanula muralis bavar- 

 ica, one of the most delightful of the small Hairbells, always 

 shakes out a few bells at this season and Nepeta flowers 

 freely. Johnny-jump-ups and Mr. Bowles little Black 

 Pansy disport themselves anew and the little Yellow Fuma- 

 tory (Corydalis lutea) bristles with yellow flower spikes. 

 Sweet Marjoram is a plant good to have particularly at this 

 season; its flat spreads of pink bloom endure many degrees 

 of hard frost. It is often the very last blossom in the garden. 

 Seldom is it that one may not gather a handful of China 

 Roses at this season with sprays of Honeysuckle, and not 

 infrequently a great white Rugosa or two; and 1 should be 

 disappointed indeed could I not gather a few buds of the 

 Gloire de Dijon for a last nosegay upon my writing table. 

 Many annuals survive the first frosts with fortitude. Sweet 

 Alyssum, Stocks, Verbenas, Snapdragons, California Pop- 

 pies, Annual Anchusa laugh back at it gaily, and even French 

 Marigolds and Petunias, in corners where they may crouch 

 and hide a bit, are to be found bright and defiant. 



Zinnia Strains 

 that Glorify 

 this Flower 



W H1 



VV M 



[EN the Zinnia came out of 

 Mexico late in the last century, 

 it was acclaimed an important acqui- 

 sition by the gardening world. Origin- 

 ally reddish purple or lilac in color with a yellow centre, 

 it was soon to be had in almost every color save blue, and 

 the central disc had disappeaerd in the multiplicity of tightly 

 set petals. Soon there were mammoth forms, intermediate 

 forms, and Liliputs, and every garden shone with borders of 

 Zinnias that would have made a Joseph's coat look dull. 

 More than this, it was given a friendly, vernacular name, 

 Youth-and-Old-Age, which seldom happens to a new flower, 

 but shows more clearly than anything else the warm esteem 

 in which it is held. Of late years, however, this bright flower 

 has lost ground. Gardeners have moved on since the days 

 when any flower in any position pleased them so long as 

 it grew robustly; sensitive folk are as offended by garish 

 mixtures of flower colors as they are at other manifestations 

 of poor taste, and the "mixed" packet of seed has small 

 favor. Many strains of separate color are not to be depended 

 upon to come true however. Few annuals are so entirely 

 satisfactory as Zinnias — their sturdy form, clean foliage, 

 unceasing bloom and hardy disposition place them in the 

 front ranks of the indispensables. And moreover they may 

 be transplanted easily even in full flower. Farquhar's Rose- 

 Pink strain I have found to be satisfactory among Sea 

 Hollies and Globe Thistles or about the clumps of gray Lyme 

 Grass. Another strain safe to trust is Sutton's Primrose 

 Yellow, a fine double answering to deep chrome in the 

 Ridgeway color chart. It makes a handsome picture 

 against the russet Heleniums (H. autumnale rubrum). 

 The Zinnia known as Jacqueminot has always come true in 

 my experience but its bright red hue is a little difficult to 

 place in the garden. With the addition of a lilac strain 

 and a good pale yellow we should be satisfied. Perhaps 

 some reader can give the necessary information. 



i43 



