SATURDAY, OCTOBEI^-^4, 191 
Autumn Flowers. 
Although Ave may not be able to accept 
without some reservation Donne’s opinion, 
as expressed in his lines wherein he states— 
“No spring or summer beauty hath such 
grace, 
As I have seen in cne autumnal face 
we have no hesitation in declaring that the 
hardy plants which flower after the summer 
has departed are more than 
suflhcient to admit of the en¬ 
joyment of floral effects of 
surpassing beauty during the 
greater part of the autumn 
season. In the olden days, 
when tender bedding plants 
were allowed to usurp the 
whole of the available space 
in the beds and borders of 
the flower garden, the pro¬ 
duction of displays of autumn 
flowers other than those 
yielded by plants under glass 
was an impossibility. Conse- 
qr.ently, with the close of the 
fiummer, with its warmth and 
sunshine, flowers vanished 
from the garden, and left 
bed and border bare until the 
following summer, except in 
those gardens wherein the 
practice was adopted of fill¬ 
ing the beds with spring¬ 
flowering plants on their 
being cleared of their sum- 
nier occupants. Of autumn 
flowers there were none, and 
i jflis state of things continued 
; long after the tender summer 
flowers had fallen from their 
nigh estate, with the result 
of the garden being wanting 
in interest and attractiveness 
^t a time when the country 
oii^ usually contains a 
goodly contingent of visitors. 
2 the course of time a 
ange brought about by 
tfle inclusion in the selections 
2 hardy plants of a small 
mber of kinds that bloom in 
autumn, and their presence was indi- 
^ ^ tew patches of colour scattered 
r he border. AVithin the past few years 
important reform has been effected in 
0 arrangement of liardy plant borders; 
incr the result of our advocacy, 
attention has been given to the 
In seasonal displays of flowers, 
mad strenuous endeavour has been 
a nr ^\tilise such kinds as will maintain 
flowers extending from 
aufii • middle of spring until the 
''tumn IS well advanced. In not a few 
gardens the practice has been to have the 
beds bright with the colour of bullmu.s and 
fibrous-rooted plants, and to devote the 
borders to hardy perennials that bloom dur¬ 
ing the summer and autumn, and this 
method of procedure has much to recom¬ 
mend it. AVhere, on the other hand, the 
pleasure grounds are sufficiently exten.'^ive 
to allow of two distinct sets of borders, the 
arrangement of one with plants Avhich bloom 
during the greater part of the spring and 
summer, and the other with kinds which 
MR. H. G. MOUNT. 
will maintain a succession of flowers from 
the closing days of the last-mentioned s^ 
son until the end of the autumn will be 
found eminently satisfactory. A\hatever be 
the dimensions and design of the garden, an 
endeavour should be made to have it bright 
with the flowers during September and Oc¬ 
tober In some seasons the rams and early 
frosts may greatly mar their beauty and 
diminish the opportuities for the enjoyment 
of the charms of the flowers m the open, 
but in the majority the weather is such 
as to admit of the flowers attaining their 
full development, and alw) of their being 
fully enjoye<l. The hardy plants that bloom 
somewhat late in the year Avould make a 
somewhat lengthy list, hut we are not so 
much concerned at the present time with 
kinds that require special treatment or claim 
attention more for their interest than for 
their attractivenc^ss, as with tho.'^e which 
under ordinary culture are capable of 
producing colour effects of sufficient bright¬ 
ness to dispel the gloom that is .sometimeg 
east over the flower garden during the 
present month. To mention 
but a few of the plants suit¬ 
able for beautifying the 
lower garden during the sea¬ 
son on which we have re¬ 
cently entercxl there are the 
Japanese anemones, which 
now form a rather large 
group ; the perennial asters, 
or Aliehaelmas daisiee, in 
great variety ; the stately Ar¬ 
temisia lactiflora, heleniums, 
helianthuses, kniphofias or 
torch lilies, perennial lobelias, 
and rudbeckias. In selecting 
from each of these groujis it 
will \ye necessary to give pie- 
ference to those of which the 
flowering extends over the 
greater part of September 
and October. The Japanese 
anemones are sufficiently 
numerous to afford ample op¬ 
portunities for the exercise of 
taste and judgment in mak¬ 
ing a selection, and to con¬ 
tribute liberally to the attrac¬ 
tions of the hardy floAver 
border. The variety knoAvn 
as A. japonica alba has not, 
perhaps, any superior among 
the pure Avhite A'^arieties, but 
there are other Avhite forms 
that should be selected, and 
such rose and pink A^arieties as 
Monte Rosa, Prince Heinrich, 
and Queen Charlotte should 
be groAvn in preference to the 
type, Avhich is by no means 
wanting in attractiveness. 
The Michaelmas daisies have 
undergone considerable im¬ 
provement of late years, and some at least 
of the more recent introductions should 
have a place in borders of the most limited 
dimensions. Tlie amellus section comprises 
a considerable number of varieties^ all of 
Avhich have a dwarf upright habit, and bear 
large floAvers of various shades of deep bhi© 
and purple-blue. The cordifolius varietie* 
are remarkable for their elegant habit and 
freedom of flow ering, and the colours range 
fI'om white to pale blue and mauve; not less 
attra-ctive are the forms belonging to the 
ericioides groups, for they have a graceful 
