For IS'oiember, 1921 



781 



D epartments of Foreign Exchange and Book Reviews 



IRISES BY THE WATERSIDE 



THROUGHOUT the floral world it would appear that Nature, 

 in her wonderful economy, gives more freely those of her 

 works that have attained the highest perfection. Having achieved 

 a superior type, she multiplies it with slight variations in such a 

 way that it can never fail in its appeal to beauty-loving mankhid. 

 It is as though she says, "Here is one of my best works, I will 

 place it in many parts of the world so that it shall not be over- 

 looked. High up in the mountain fastnesses, down in the green 

 valleys, in the dry wilderness, and lush, low-lying meadow lands. 

 I will vary its constitution and construction to suit all these 

 conditions, and moreover will so arrange the organs of assimila- 

 tion that there shall be species that will thrive under all the 

 varying conditions of the geological development of the earth. 

 Some shall live and grow where water is scarce, and only moistens 

 the roots for a few months in the year. Others shall trust them- 

 selves out into the margins of the still waters, and there display 

 their beauty, twice enjoyed, once in the actual flower, and again in 

 the wonderful reflection cast into the depths at their feet." 



All and more than this has she done with the Iris. Perhaps no 

 other genus exhibits in such marked degree so pronounced an 

 accommodation to every environment. From the Oncocyclus and 

 Regclia groups that love to be sun-scorched and baked during the 

 resting period, to the species Pscudo-acorus that will thrust its 

 growth right into the waterway, there exists an immense range 

 of forms that require every varying phase of intermediate con- 

 dition. Again, the whole world of vegetation can be broadly 

 divided into three groups — lime loving, lime hating, and lime 

 indifferent. In the genus Iris we find all three represented. 

 Thus at one end of the scale we find the rhizomatous Irises, which, 

 almost without exception, demand lime in the soil for healthy 

 survival. These include the beautiful section known as the 

 Bearded Irises of June. At the other end of the scale are the 

 California species and Iris Kampferi which object to lime. Thus 

 every possible condition is provided for. and a fact equally re- 

 markable is that, with very few exceptions, all can be classed 

 as hardy in the temperate zones of the world. 



In recent issues of The Garden the value of the Bearded Irises 

 has been fully emphasized- It is the turn nowr of the species 

 and varieties that revel in moist conditions and are suitable for 

 planting in low-lying land where the moisture is permanent, and 

 by the side of lake, pond or stream. Most of these are grassy 

 leaved and exceedingly attractive on account of their foliage. 



.\mong them none is more exquisitely beautiful than the truly 

 regal Japanese Iris KcBnipferi. Incidentally, the Japanese have 

 given us an excellent example in the naming of the many va- 

 rieties of this beautiful flower, and one could wish that their 

 poetic instincts entered into tlie naming of some of our home-bred 

 productions. Shiratki (W'hhe Waterfall) is infinitely more sug- 

 gestive of a silvery white flower with broad fluted petals than 

 is Mrs. Pocksted-Clak which is the sort of name that our Eng- 

 lish raisers love to bestow on their choicest hybrids.* One sees 

 also in Hatsushimo the glistening sheen of "First Frost" sug- 

 gested on the white petals. In Momijino-taki (Maple Waterfall) 

 the splash and swirl of tumbling waters, dyed with the reflected 

 colors of crimson purple from the overhanging Maple is 

 prettily conveyed. Then there are Moonlight Waves, Yczo Em- 

 broidery. Morning Mists, Distant Mountain and others, and so 

 the characteristics of the beautiful flowers are associated with 

 some other beauty of Nature or art, and thus speak to the 

 imagination. Mrs. Pocksted-Clak may be a beautiful production 

 of Nature or art, or both, but there is little to suggest it in the 

 name, which takes the imagination nowhere beyond the flower 

 that bears it. Distant Mountain and Purple Isles give us at 

 once two pictures. One in the flower itself, another in the grey 

 blue of ascending hills in the far landscape, or visions of the 

 lake scenery of Killarney, Corib, or a placid sea where in the 

 sunset glow an archipelago of islets rise darkly on the horizon. 



Iris Kampferi are strong feeders. They make a very large 

 number of fibrous roots, and therefore the soil in which they arc 

 planted must be well prepared and rich. Moreover, for the same 

 reason the best results are ol)tained by transplanting about every 

 three years. They love plenty of water during the growing sea- 

 son, but are not at other times so insistent in respect of water 

 as they are generally supposed to be. They succeed by the 



*VVould our catalogs not be improved by abandoninjr altogether tbe cumber- 

 some Japanese names and by substituting English translations? Eoitor. 



waterside, but should be planted just above the water level. They 

 will do in any well cultivated border, jiroviding they are given 

 plenty of water from March to the middle or end of June. After 

 this period the normal conditions of an English Summer suit 

 tliem admirably. They are best transplanted during September 

 or October, or during suitable weather in March or April. No 

 plants should be introduced by the waterside during mid-Winter. 



Next to the Kampferi I think the Siberian Irises rank, both 

 for use and beauty, as waterside plantings. The best varieties are 

 Emperor, a deep rich purple; Perry's Blue, an exquisite shade 

 of turquoise blue with deeper veining; and Snow Queen, a pure 

 white. It is impossible to enumerate all the species and varieties 

 that can be used under the conditions described, but there are 

 some that are indispensable. /. Delavayii is a Chinese species 

 with rich dark violet flowers and graceful foliage. /. Cuprea 

 ifulva) I have seen reaching out from the bank right into a 

 narrow stream and apparently enjoying itself immensely. It is 

 a curiously beautiful shade of reddish copper. Albo-purpurea and 

 its greatly imjjroved form, Colchesterense, will stand partial 

 submersion during the Summer months. Then there are the 

 varieties of the native fa'tidissima. the golden foliage of which 

 is invaluable by the waterside and in shallow water. The species 

 itself is likely to become a little too rampant for any but the 

 largest areas. Pseudo-acorus foliis zwiegatis is an indispensable 

 variety of the species said to be the origin of the fleur-de-lis, 

 the "golden Lilies of France." I believe there is no really satis- 

 factory authentication of this claim. There is a story that Louis 

 VII, during one of the Crusades, was retreating from the Sara- 

 cens, and this Iris indicated shallow water across a river. By 

 fording it at this point he and his followers escaped, and he 

 therefore introduced the conventional symbol into tlie Royal 

 Arms of France. I believe, however, tliat the fleur-de-lis ap- 

 peared much earlier in Venetian heraldry. Moreover, the fleur- 

 de-lis was introduced into the English arms by Eleanor, the di- 

 vorced wife of the same Louis, when she married Henry II. I 

 do not know whether, in heraldry, the divorced wife claims to 

 carry with her the quarterings of the husband, but it seems at 

 least probable, in this case, that Eleanor claimed the fleur-de-lis 

 in her own right, as she would scarcelv be ambitious to wear a 

 symbol adopted by Louis if it had been created by him during 

 their brief association. The facts certainly cast a 'doubt on the 

 veracity of the statement, and, personally, 'l incline to the belief 

 that the flowers became fleur-de-lis (or" flower de luce) on ac- 

 count of their resemblance to the heraldic symbol, rather than 

 that the flower was the origin. One could suggest several quite 

 as probable origins that have nothing to do with flowers. 



Other Irises that flourish by the waterside, though not neces- 

 sarily at Its edge, are: Aurea, a golden giant; Ochroleuca, a 

 iioble plant, both as regards foliage and its ivory white flowers : 

 Monmeri. a pale yellow of luxuriant habit and profuse flower; 

 Spuria, rich dark blue ; and their hvbrid forms, such as Monsptir 

 Monaiirea and others. Then there are also the species Biilleyana, 

 Forresti, Lavigata, and other Chinese and Japanese forms. 



Gold and purple, violet, rose. lavender, grcv blue, ivory white 

 and many intermediate shades and tones arc the materials' offered 

 by these denizens of moist lands to paint our waterside pictures 

 Foliage unequalled for elegance and grace is theirs, which makes 

 them vaulablc in such positions even though tliev never bore 

 a flower. 



The Iris is an enthusiast's flower. The old-time race of flower 

 fanciers of florists is gradually dying out. and tlicir place is being 

 taken by flower lovers who admire color and form with a taste 

 which becomes every year more precise and exacting Who 

 admire them, moreover, in the individual specimen as did the 

 florist of a generation ago, but, unlike him. if the proportion and 

 coloring be beautiful, they care not a jot whether or no the flower 

 attains some arbitratory show-bench standard of form Their 

 warmest approval, however, is, in general, bestowed on the 

 gracious effects winch such flowers as these Irises produce when 

 boldly massed by still water. 



In tlie pure still light of the early mornin.g, when everv green 

 sword and form of flower is reproduced with sharp precision in 

 the waters beneath : during the evcr-varving light of a Summer's 

 day when, with each passing cloud, the iridescent flowers take 

 on now and subtle shades; in lightlv stirring breeze when the 

 eventide atmosphere grows cooler as the sun sinks lower and a 

 gentle zephyr ripples the face of the waters, and the reflections 

 become blurred and indistinct in a kaleidoscopic wash, one longs 



