The florists have taken our native Asters in hand, and we now have several varieties that make themselves perfectly at home in the border. Some of them grow to a height of eight feet. Others are low growers. The rosy-violet kinds and the pale lavender-blues are indescribably lovely. Nearly all of them bloom very late in the season. Their long branches will be a mass of flowers with fringy petals and a yellow centre. These plants have captured the charm of the Indian Summer and brought it into the garden, where they keep it prisoner during the last days of the season. By all means give them a place in your collection. And it will add to the effect if you plant alongside them a few clumps of their sturdy, faithful old companion of the roadside and pasture, the Golden Rod.
It hardly seems necessary for me to give a detailed description of all the plants deserving a place in the border. The list would be too long if I were to attempt to do so. You will find all the really desirable kinds quite fully described in the catalogues of the leading dealers in plants. Information as to color, size, and time of flowering is given there, and you can select to suit your taste, feeling confident that you will be well satisfied with the result.
Just a few words of advice, in conclusion:
Don't crowd your plants.
Allow for development.
Don't try to have a little of everything.
Don't overlook the old-fashioned kinds simply because they happen to be old. That proves that they have merit.
Keep the ground between them clean and open.
Manure well each spring.
Stir the soil occasionally during the season.