FLOWER GARDENING FOR SEPTEMBER. 
“ If we coulcl open and unbend our eye, 
We all, like Moses, should espy 
E’en in a bush the radiant Deity.” 
In all God’s works we can trace the impress of His 
divine hand, and surely in our glorious flowers He 
grants to us a glimpse of the wonders of that city be¬ 
yond the sun, whose light was never seen on sea or 
land! ' 
And again, joyfully do we welcome the first and 
fairest of the autumnal months, when one can hardly 
recognize the departure of the Summer, excepting by 
the early fading away of the twilight. 
But with the closing of the Summer comes the work 
of preparation for another year, and there is still plenty 
of occupation in the garden in the saving of seed—now 
daily ripening—and in planting those of perennials and 
annuals as soon as ripened, to provide early plants for 
another season. 
All seeds of biennials should also now be planted, such 
as Campanulas (Canterbury Bells), Achilles, etc. And 
the plants which were raised from seed in the spring, 
for early spring flowering next year, should now be 
transplanted into the beds where the} - will remain. Se¬ 
lect a cloud}-, damp day for the work, when the moist 
earth will cling to their roots, and take them up care¬ 
fully with spade or trowel according to their size. And 
water them well, at the bottom of their roots, so that 
they will experience no injury by drouth, and they will 
soon become accustomed to new quarters, and be well 
rooted before the ground freezes. 
Perennials of all kinds can be now divided to their ad¬ 
vantage, and the plants can either be taken up entirely 
and divided with a sharp knife, or the earth can be 
part ly dug away and a part of the crown and the fibrous 
roots cut off so as to produce a new plant. 
In many varieties of herbaceous perennials the crown 
or eyes are the only parts that are capable of division; 
and in many plants they can be separated by the hand, 
by breaking or pulling them apart with a good portion 
of fibrous roots attached to each piece. 
Pa;onies, Day or Plaintain-lily, etc!, however, can¬ 
not be divided in this manner, but must be carefully cut 
asunder without breaking or bruising the roots.- The 
Autumn is not as good a season as the Spring to separate 
these. 
The chief point to be attended to in increasing plants 
by division, is to see that sufficient roots are attached to 
each crown or eye to give it support—i. e., to make it 
grow well before the cold weather freezes the ground. 
Now the Hybrid Perpetual Roses will come into second 
bloom if they have been planted in rich compost, or 
given weak doses of liquid manure, or two table-spoons¬ 
ful of soluble guano, or some kinds of phosphates have 
been dug about their roots to stimulate their growth. 
The handsomest buds of the Tea, Monthly and Noisette 
roses are always borne on fresh stalks from the 
roots: so root growth must be carefully encouraged. 
And all the old woody stems should be cut back so as to 
throw the strength of the roots into second growth of 
stems, leaves, and buds. 
September is also the best season to plant hardy an¬ 
nuals for early Spring flowers; but if the month is hot 
and dry, it will be well to defer sowing the seeds until 
towards the last of it, when the dews are heavy and the 
nights cooler. The seeds should be planted where they 
will flower in the Spring, and the ground should.be free 
from weeds, and dug up with a fork, and raked smoothly. 
The smallest seeds need only the slight pressure of the 
hand into the soil, the largest but quarter of an inch of 
earth. Then strike the ground down closely over them 
with the back of your trowel and they will sprout more 
rapidly. 
It is also a good plan to provide some protection from 
the heat of the noon-day sun, by driving two or three 
small pegs of wood close by the seeds, and laying an 
old shingle or a clap-board over them. It will also pre¬ 
vent the heavy rains from washing them out of the 
ground. Take the boards off at night and water well, 
and replace them at noon-time till the second leaves 
appear. After the ground has frozen hard, a few dry 
leaves or boughs of hemlock laid over them will pro¬ 
tect them from thawing and freezing alternately, which 
does far more harm to tender plants than steady cold 
weather. But if it is laid pn too thickly it will keep the 
plants too moist, and cause them to decay. The 6eeds 
can be sown in the shrubbery and under rose bushes, 
and then they will need no other protection from sun 
and heavy rains than the shrubs afford, and will make 
a large supply of plants next season. 
Take the seeds of all hardy annuals as they ripen and 
plant them at once, and you will save yourself much 
work another season. 
All gardeners in the Spring have quantities of annuals 
that sow themselves, but they are rarely in the right 
place, and must be dug up or transplanted, elsewhere 
before they bloom: but by this plan they are all ready to 
give you early flowers and also afford plenty of plants 
for your friends’ gardens. 
Among the most desirable annuals and perennials for 
autumn planting, are Golden Alyssum and Sweet Alys- 
sum—the former is a biennial with clusters of gold- 
colored flowers, the other is a great favorite with all 
gardeners, and always sows itself in the beds and walks 
of the garden. 
Candytuft in all its colors—wliite, pink, purple, and 
crimson—is also a pet of mine, and no garden is com¬ 
plete without it. 
Silene, or Catch-fly, in white, pink, and purple, is 
also desirable. 
Clarkia lias over a dozen varieties of delicate flowers 
in various shades of crimson, pink, mauve, and white. 
Erysimum should always be cultivated in thick clumps 
on account of its deep orange-colored flowers, which 
produce a fine effect when grown en masse. 
Delphinium, or Larkspurs, cannot be grown to perfec¬ 
tion unless the .-seeds are sown in the autumn, as they 
have a tap root and will not bear transplanting any bet¬ 
ter than Mignonette. Their various shades of deep 
blue, porcelain blue, and while with crimson, purple, 
pink and white, make a beautiful bed of flowers for 
