Michaelmas Daisies, or Starworts.
You must be sure to have some of these in your garden, because they are easy to grow and come into flower in September, when many things are over. They are delightful, too, for cutting, as they last well in water and look well in any size or shape of bowl or glass. The only complaint people ever make of them is that they increase too fast, and take up too much room in the borders. We have had the best flowering clumps sometimes from patches we have dug up in autumn or spring, pulled to pieces and divided. But a clump may be left year after year, if convenient. There is all the difference in the world between Michaelmas Daisies grown in rich soil and good air and those grown in starved conditions. We have seen an inexperienced gardener buy a collection from good nurserymen, plant them in a bed of starved, poor soil on the east side of a suburban house, and then be surprised that her Starworts made no growth, and were not worth looking at. And, as it happened, we saw a handful of Aster Amethystinus taken from those miserable conditions to a sunny, sheltered garden in West Cornwall, where it was pulled to pieces and planted in good soil all along a low granite wall running north and south. In October a whole row of healthy plants was looking over the wall, and sending up masses of clear mauve starry flowers; their very colour and size improved out of knowledge by the change. Michaelmas Daisies lose much of their beauty if they are tied up in untidy bundles; but it is impossible to avoid tying them if they stand in an open border where they may be caught by autumn gales. They look very well amongst shrubs, or if you have a fence or a wall you can put them all along it. Drive a stout stake in at either end, and tie a strong string or length of coir rope so as to catch your Starworts at the height that will best support them. If you must have unprotected clumps, be sure to stake and tie them as soon as they are tall enough, and before they flower. There are many beautiful varieties. Four of the best are Amellus, Acris, Cordifolius, and Vimineus.