The dahlia reigns in the fall garden of the author, reinforced by cosmos, chrysanthemums, asters, salvia, marigolds, zinnias and calendulas 
The Autumn Garden of Dahlias 
A SUGGESTION IN GARDENING ECONOMICS FOR THE MAN WHO TAKES 
HIS FAMILY TO SHORE OR MOUNTAINS FOR THE MIDSUMMER MONTHS 
by Hobart A. Walker 
Photographs by E. S. Butterfield, N. R. Graves, E. J. Hall and Chas. Jones 
T HE fall garden must, by reason of its gorgeous and vo¬ 
luptuous splendor, appeal to all who love and appreciate 
nature. Then are the richest color effects seen in flowers and 
foliage; then is the most wonderful passage in nature’s glorious 
symphony approaching its grand finale. Like marvelous chords 
of close harmony the riotous coloring dazzles and thrills its ob¬ 
servers, leaving with them beautiful memories of the past season 
as well as anticipations of another harvest of glorious bloom. 
My reason for a 
special study of 
fall gardening 
must necessarily 
appeal to many 
others, busy m e n 
whose city or sub¬ 
urban homes are 
vacated by their 
families for a 
period of two or 
three months dur¬ 
ing the s u m mer 
exodus to the 
mountains or sea¬ 
shore. Under these 
circumstances it is 
obviously futile to 
spend time and 
energy on flowers 
which are at their 
best in midsummer. 
I have the verv 
Beauty of Kent. A modern show dahlia— i • ' 
two or more colors, striped with edges ‘ - spring 
lighter than the ground color flowers, narcissus, 
crocuses, scilla, chiondoxa, etc., and later, peonies, roses, iris and 
lilies, but my greatest efforts are reserved for the fall garden, and 
the glory of the fall garden is the dahlia. This wonderful old- 
fashioned flower is so well known and loved that it needs no intro¬ 
duction from me. New varieties are being constantly introduced, 
and able professional gardeners are giving their entire time to its 
study and cultivation. 
Two of the reasons for the popularity of the dahlia are its 
hardiness, and the 
fact that it does not 
need the constant 
attention required 
by roses and many 
other flowers. It is 
troubled very little 
by insects or para¬ 
sites of any kind. 
My greatest trouble 
has been with 
grasshoppers which 
eat the blossoms, 
and they must be 
picked off and 
killed. The foliage 
is luxurious and of 
attractive shape so 
that the plants are 
an attraction in a 
garden before the 
arrival of the 
flowers. Of course 
the crowning- solen- The Cactus dahlia has long rays, not cupped, 
, . . , , , b ut sometimes with recurved margins, 
dor is in the bios- Vesuvius 
(358) 
