SOME OCTOBER FLOWERS 
By Eben E. Rexford 
A r this season of the year Hydrangea paniculata 
grandiflora “holds the fort” against all rivals 
in the line of shrubs, and holds it easily — holds 
it hy virtue of genuine merit. It would he a notice¬ 
able shrub, any and everywhere, if it bloomed at the 
season when other shrubs were at their best, but, com¬ 
ing so late, it practically has no rivalry worth the 
name. There is but one shrub that I would pit against 
it, and that is the flowering currant, whose beauty at 
this season is in its foliage rather than its flowers. 
When this plant has changed its garments of green 
for one of richest scarlet and gold, it is simply magnif¬ 
icent — more so, hy far, than in spring when its long, 
gracefully curving branches are laden with golden- 
yellow bloom, overflowing with spicy fragrance. 
But I would not 
make a rival for the 
hydrangea out of 
it. Instead, I 
would plant them 
together, where the 
beautiful foliage of 
the currant might 
serve as a brilliant 
background of the 
hydrangea’s ivory 
clusters. 
To he most 
effective, the hy¬ 
drangea must be 
planted in groups, 
or rows. Grown 
as a single speci¬ 
men, it never does 
itself justice. 
There should he 
branches enough 
to form a mass that 
will give a hank- 
hke effect. These, 
when lade n with 
bloom, will bend 
almost to the 
s wa r d, a n d t h e 
effect will he excel¬ 
lent. For hedges, 
or screens, we 
have no better 
plant, if it is set 
quite close "togeth¬ 
er, say two feet 
apart, in two rows, 
letting the hushes 
alternate with each 
other in the rows. The effect, after the first year, 
will he that of one large shrub. 
To grow this plant most satisfactorily, keep the 
soil rich, allow no grass to choke it, and prune it 
sharply, each spring. I cut my hushes hack at 
least one third—sometimes more. After pruning, 
they have a stubby, spiky appearance anything hut 
pleasing, hut as soon as growth begins, the luxuriant 
new foliage hides all imperfections, and I am always 
glad, when I see the half dozen or more clusters that 
come where there would have been but one, probably, 
if I had neglected to prune severely, that I had the 
courage to make the plant unsightly for a little season. 
It is a serious mistake to think this shrub needs 
little attention in the way of manuring. Because 
it will live on, in¬ 
definitely, in a poor 
soil and bloom 
fairly well, is no 
reason why it 
should be n e g- 
lected. Feed it lib¬ 
erally and you get 
long branches, 
each one bearing 
a cluster several 
times as large as 
those h o r n e o n 
neglected plants. 
Keep m mind the 
fact that to grow 
this s h r u h well, 
you must give it 
close pruning and 
plenty of rich food, 
each spring. Until 
you have grown it 
in this way, you 
do not know what 
it is e (| u a 1 to m 
the way of the fall 
decoration of the 
home p;rounds. 
C h r V s a n t h e - 
j 
mums ought to he 
out in fullest 
splendor, n o w, 
What gorgeous 
things they are! 
Each fall, they 
seem to impress us 
m ore and more 
with their magnif¬ 
icence. Perhaps 
C H R Y S A N YU E M U M S 
187 
