46 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



September, 1912 



shouting, in effect, that the old weeds his 

 hens ate weren't worth anything, and no- 

 body but a couple of rattle-headed "bugs'' 

 would plant weeds anyhow! 



In the first place, a weed is not an entity 

 but a state of mind. "The weed" is 

 tobacco and "weeds" means the sable 

 garb of woe of a widow. Otherwise, there 

 is no such thing as a weed per se. If there 

 is any doubt about the matter an un- 

 abridged dictionary will dispel it speedily, 

 it intimates plainly concerning the state 

 of mind which creates a weed, and the 

 simplest way of defining a weed is that it is 

 something which grows where something 

 else is expected and desired to be. An 

 auratum lily springing unbidden in a 

 potato patch is a weed if anybody so wishes 

 to call it. 



Therefore, the perennial aster is not a 

 weed when it is planted with a definite 

 purpose, no matter if it has been dug up 

 from the roadside. Perhaps it was a weed 

 along the roadside. It all depends upon 

 who owned the roadside. 



The aster is a perennial for everybody, 

 for it will grow anywhere except on the 

 top of a hot stove — and I am not sure 

 of this last statement for I never tried it. 

 However, I do know that it will grow on 

 the summit of dry cliffs in the blazing sun 

 of August and September and flourish 

 when the temperature is so high that it 

 puts human beings to flight. 



It may be had in some species or other 

 in bloom from early spring until killing 

 frost, starting with the tiny two-inch 

 Aster alpinus, var. Himalaicus to Aster 

 trinervis. It will grow in any size and any 

 shape, in sun or shade, wet or dry, tall or 

 dwarf — it is merely a matter of selecting 



the species and variety. It is a democratic 

 sort of a plant that fits in anywhere. Its 

 colors never are glaring and it has no 

 positive likes and dislikes from a cultural 

 standpoint 



In cultivating perennial asters, the first 

 point to be decided is wherther they are 

 to grow or be grown. This is a paradoxical 

 case where the passive voice means the 

 greatest activity. Either the aster does 

 the work or you do with the aster assisting. 

 If the aster merely grows, the result is a 

 bunch of bloom surmounting ragged and 

 unbeautiful stems. If they are grown, 

 asters provide a solid mound covered from 

 the ground to the summit with bloom. 



Friend Neighbor's initiation into aster 

 growing was accomplished with much 



Among the asters are many forms, sizes and colors 

 of daisy-like flowers for fall bloom 



The alpine asters are only a few inches high and 

 need careful nursing through the summer 



growling. Strolling over to where I was 

 busy preparing the stakes for asters, he 

 was moved to query what I was caging 

 and why I thought such harmless looking 

 plants were likely to escape. I explained 

 to him that it had been my experience that 

 staking was the making or marring of an 

 aster. What the asters were was identified 

 from a memory of the display the season 

 previously. "You mean those daisies," 

 he said. "Yes," I answered. "But why 

 do you call them asters?" he asked. 

 Whereupon I explained, as I often have 

 done before to inquiring friends, that an 

 annual aster isn't an aster at all but a 

 China aster, which is a common name for 

 something which is something else besides 

 an aster. 



Michaelmas daisy is rather a poor name 

 in this part of the country because nobody 

 could be discovered who knew just what or 

 when Michaelmas was. I didn't know the 

 date myself until I consulted an encyclo- 

 pedia and found that it was September 

 29th and that the asters had been so named 



Boltonias are like giant asters and flower in Septem- 

 ber. Excellent for background effect 



because they were supposed to be at their 

 best at this period. 



Having elucidated as well as I could 

 the nature and pedigree of a perennial 

 aster, Friend Neighbor became interested 

 and he too started caging asters. The cage 

 to which he referred was the staking 

 arrangement which I have found most 

 convenient for securing a maximum display 

 of perennial asters. It consists of bamboo 

 stakes which can be secured in various 

 lengths from seed stores at small expense. 

 I have found that a clump of asters is at 

 its best when limited to about half a dozen 

 stems. The stakes are placed in a circle 

 close to the roots of the aster, one for each 

 shoot, and radiating outward so that they 

 form the outline of a funnel with the nar- 

 row opening at the base of the plant. As 

 the aster shoots increase in height they are 

 tied to these stakes, the head of the. plant 

 being thus spread to a considerable distance. 

 Then, when the scores of little flowering 

 branches carrying hundreds of buds break 

 out, the entire space is filled and the plant 

 is concealed by masses of flowers. 



It takes considerable work to train the 

 plants but it is well worth the trouble. 

 Asters are too often seen tied up in a bundle 

 like a shock of oats. Half the bloom is 

 lost by this arrangement, which buries a 

 large proportion of the buds in a mass of 

 foliage. When properly staked a strong 

 plant of the New York aster will cover a 

 space of three feet, and the New England 

 aster will extend over even a greater 

 diameter. The stems of the New England 

 aster are more brittle than those of the 

 New. York aster so it is not so easy to 

 handle. Its bare stems should be masked 

 by lower growing varieties so that the 

 flower mass in the border will be con- 

 tinuous. 



With this staking arrangement, the 

 asters are planted about three feet apart, 

 which gives ample space for earlier crops 

 of perennia.s between them. I have found 



