2 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
January 7. 1905. 
Hardy Herbaceous Border. 
A Selection of Michaelmas Daisies —In a recent number 
of The Gardening World I proposed giving a descriptive list 
of the best Michaelmas Daisies, and I now do so with the hope 
that it may prove of service to those who have not yet grown 
the newer varieties, or have not had an opportunity of seeing 
them in a well-cultivated state. I know there are some who 
do not care to discard older sorts for newer ones which they 
think may not be so serviceable and answer their purposes as 
well as those they have grown so long, but I can assure the 
readers of this paper that what I give below are really veky 
great improvements and deserve cultivating in every garden 
where these, perhaps the grandest of all autumn flowers, are 
appreciated. The fact that many of them received Awards of 
Merit at the Drill Hall or at the last Chiswick Aster Confer¬ 
ence is a sufficient guarantee for this. 
Enchantress. — This Aster, which was a seedling from the 
next, has, perhaps, the most pleasing habit of any variety in 
cultivation. It i's an excellent plan to grow it on single stems 
without stopping, and allow each plant plenty of room. One 
then has stems about 4| ft, in height, and the bottom branches, 
which almost touch the ground, are about 3 ft. across. It 
exactly resembles the Spruce Fir in habit, and when the warm 
lavender flowers are expanded the whole is a pyramid of bloom. 
Hon. Edith Gibbs, —The flowers of this are small, pale blue 
in colour, and produced in countless numbers on slightly droop¬ 
ing branches, which are invaluable for cutting for use in large 
vases, etc .; height about 5 ft. 
These two varieties are also invaluable for growing on single 
stems in pots, and their pyramidal, drooping habit makes them 
most serviceable for table work, etc. King Edward VII. has 
the same pyramidal habit and grows 4 ft. high, but the flowers 
are a rich mauve and produced with great freedom. A well- 
grown plant in the border is very conspicuous, and this variety 
also has the advantage of not being damaged by wet weather. 
There are two fine seedlings of A. cordifolius Diana—namely, 
A. c.-profusus, which has pale mauve flowers, and Ideal, with 
flowers of a deeper colour. Both have a very graceful habit, 
have better constitutions than the parent, and are a fleecy 
cloud of bloom. 
A seedling from A. c. elegans, named Edwin Beckett, has 
flowers nearly 1 in. in diameter and dark blue. The habit is 
very dense ; height 5 ft. 
Among large-flowered sorts it would be difficult to beat 
Triumph, a seedling from Coombe-Fi'shacre, which has reddish- 
mauve flowers. The plant forms an immense head about 5 ft, 
m height. Brightness is a seedling from the same source, and 
lias branching stems carrying large quantities of deep, bright 
pink flowers. This is very desirable on account of the pleas¬ 
ing colour. Among the older varieties one of the best is 
Novae-Angliae Mrs. J. T. Raynor, which must not be omitted. 
It is rather stiff in habit, but the large, reddish-crimson flowers 
make a fine mass of colour. Without doubt this is the best 
red-flowered we have. 
A. Novi-Belgii Finchley White is the best tall white, and 
though the habit is not so graceful as some, yet it is a welcome 
addition on account of its large flowers and their pure white 
colour. 
There are several fine seedlings from the species ericoides 
and vimineus, which differ in height from ft. to 4 ft. They 
are invaluable for cutting, being composed of light graceful 
sprays carrying small flowers, and also for bedding purposes. 
I know of nothing that gives a more pleasing display in the 
autumn than when several plants of one variety are massed 
together and tied out to the best advantage. Golden Spray 
is one of the most distinct, and was given this name on account 
of the large golden disc ; and, the petals being short, it has the 
appearance, when viewed from a distance, of being a golden 
form. 
Delight is a charming variety having pure white petals 
which change with age to a pale pink. It is remarkably dense 
and floriferous. Osprey is quite a distinct break from any of 
the small-flowered varieties, the blossoms being a pale pink 
on opening and change to rich pink. Ophir is also veiy pleas¬ 
ing, the petals being creamy-white, delicately suffused with 
pink. For delicacy of colour and appearance I do not know 
of a better Aster than vimineus perfeetus, which has small 
white petals and a pale red centre. Other excellent foims in 
these sections are Freedom, Thora, Sensation, and Decorator. 
There are several very tine varieties of more upright habit 
which are most valuable for bedding, and foremost among 
them is Admiration, with large, deep rich pink flowers. C'a]> 
tivation is by many considered the most pleasing colour of all. 
This is white on opening, and changes to pink and bright rose 
round the edge. The Hon. Y. Gibbs is a bright clear pink. 
The Pearl has pearly white flowers of good size ; Royalty, rich 
purplish-pink ; Venus, pale lavender, suffused with pink ; and 
Esther, delicate pink and late flowering. Although of upright 
growth, these flower profusely from the ground. 
Aldenham House Gardens, 1.1 street A. E. Thatcher. 
Among the Orchids. 
Seasonable Notes. —With the dawn of the new. year the 
prospect, of lengthening days and general conditions becoming 
more favourable to the encouragement of plant life, the work 
among the Orchids will correspondingly increase. It is advis¬ 
able, therefore, to be prepared as far as possible to meet the 
requirements of the various necessary attentions, so that there 
may be the least possible delay when the time conies to deal 
with the different subjects. The potting compost should be 
carefully prepared, the peat picked and riddled to different 
sizes so that it may be suitable for use with either small or 
large specimens. I certainly advise coarser potting material 
being used for large plants. It is not desirable to repot such 
plants more often than is absolutely necessary; the compost, 
therefore, used in these cases should be of a more lasting nature 
than where more frequent repotting should be necessary. The 
bracken roots discarded when picking the peat should "be care¬ 
fully gathered. I find that in using these roots chopped into 
suitable lengths in lieu of crocks for draining the pots, it is 
necessaiy to thoroughly bake or diy all sappy matter out of 
tfyem. If this attention is not given fungoid growth will be 
sure to make its appearance among them sooner or later, 
which quickly disposes of advantages that it is possible to 
obtain from their use. 
Preparing Leaves. — The use of leaf-soil in the potting com¬ 
post for Orchids has been advocated perhaps more strongly in 
the Orchid column of The Gardening World than has been 
the case in any other publication devoted to horticulture. The 
proof of the pudding is iff the eating. Therefore with the 
satisfactory results personally obtained, there is no reason 
whatever to hesitate for a- moment. Owing to the strong 
advocacy of the system in which so much advantage is to be 
derived, so many difficulties in cultivation of what was at one 
time considered the least tractable kinds to cultivation have 
been removed from its proper usage. Its use may practically 
be regarded as in its infancy yet, but the majority of our 
prominent Orchid growers have become advocates of it, which 
is the best illustration that, can be offered in favour of leaf- 
soil cultivation. The leaves I find most suitable are Oak or 
Beech, either separate or mixed. Where used for large speci¬ 
mens it is desirable that they should not be in an advanced 
stage of decay. Dry, with all sappy matter removed, in this 
stage they are easily rubbed through a sieve and broken to the 
desired size. This being the case, it is well to have sufficient 
leaves kept in a dry place for the purpose. The storage and 
selecting of the leaves and seeing they are free from sticks or 
