IRISH GARDENING 



kissed Mexico, and the Siberian larch that takes 

 and grimly keeps its frozen hold on those bleak 

 steppes where neither man norbeasl may look the 

 north wind in the face and live —but trees have a 

 habit of growing cheerfully in Ireland in spite of 

 arguments that prove conclusively they won't. 



After all were planted the ground was tilled 

 in with a few hundred Sitka Bpruce and Thuya 

 gigantea to warm and shelter the more delicate 

 and slower growing trees. These, of course, are to 

 come out as they close in on the specimen trees. 



Waterside Irises. 



By .1. W. BESANT. 



The universal taste for outdoor uardening in its 

 many phases has led to a freer and more natural 

 use of many hardy plants than was wont to be 

 the case. Nowadays, the marshy margins of 

 ponds, streams and lakes provide a happy home 

 for many beautiful plants which do nol always 

 flourish so well elsewhere. And. not only are 

 the plants well suited under such conditions, hut 

 they add enormously to the charm which water 

 always gives to the garden, Large or small. 



I do not propose to deal with the whole genus, 

 but rather to direct attention to such species and 

 varieties as arc found to flourish under the inoisl 

 conditions alluded to above. 



Perhaps the lirst to occur to us, as ii is also one 

 of tlie lirst to flower, is the common fellow Flag 

 Iris, I. I'seudacorus, which brightens many a 

 st rea inside and backwater, and is well worth in- 

 troducing to our gardens in districts where it is 

 not naturally plentiful. Of this there are at 

 least two varieties, for ordinary purposes, per- 

 h.i ps, not superior tot he i ype. 



It is to exotic Species, lloWe\er. lhat we look 



to give us the more gorgeous effects, borrowed 

 from lands where the sun shines brighter, and 

 \ et willing to unfold their beauty under our oft- 

 times did I. Kiev skies. 



It may be well here I,, saj that all the waler- 

 loving [rises like a rich compost to grow in. and 

 although it is neither aecessary nor often de- 

 sirable to replant every year, yet the rich con- 

 dition must be maintained by animal dressings 

 of manure in BOme form or another. At Glas- 

 nevin. cow manure is found efficacious, and in 1 he 



case of the Japanese Iris. Kaempferi, it is applied 



as a mulch in spring. The manure i^ mixed with 

 some good, turfs loam, and in company with the 

 Irises, Primula rosea and I'. pulverulenta delight 

 in similar treatment, all growing happily to- 

 gether. While treating of the Japanese Iris, it 



may be well to state that the soil and water ;it 



Glasnevin are both strongly impregnated with 



lime this in view of t he fact that it is sometimes 

 asserted that lime is distasteful to Iris K.-empleri. 

 Of this Iris-, which bears the largest Mowers in the 

 genus, there are very man> beautiful varieties. 

 These can be purchased separately in colours, and 

 are capable of gorgeous effects towards the end of 

 . I une and in July. Mixed seedlings can he boughl 

 cheaper, and are scarcely inferior to the named 

 sorts, giving an> amount of fine flowers in several 

 colours. The chief colours in the cultivated forms 

 of the Japanese Iris are white, blue, lilac, blush, 

 the whites sometimes suffused or edged with pose, 

 and the blues and lilacs mottled with white. 



W. H. Dykes, M. A., an acknowledged authority 

 on Irises, gives the colour of i he wild I. Kaempferi 

 as rich velvety red purple, and the pity is we do 

 not know it better in our gardens. 



Next in importance for massing by the water- 

 side I would place Iris sibirica. I'nlike 1. Kaunp- 

 feri, this has rather small flowers, a defect, if it 

 may be so, more than compensated for by the 

 profusion in which they are produced. The 

 effect of a large colony of the Siberian Iris when 

 in full flower is something to remember with 

 pleasure long after the flowers are gone. What 

 for garden purposes may be taken as a typical 

 form has rigid spear-like leaves and bright blue 

 How ers. but there are other forms with almost 

 pure white (lowers, and blue forms more con- 

 spicuously veined with white. I. sibirica orien- 

 talis, a more eastern form, is by some authors 

 claimed as atruespecies. It has larger flowers than 

 I. sibirica, and for garden purposes is a superior 

 plant. Of it therearetwo superb forms, known as 

 Blue King and Snow Queen respectively. These 

 latter are well worth planting in quantity, and 

 will give a truly delightful display in June. 



I lis laevigata, a name formerly used for I. 

 KaMnpfeii, Mr. Dykes has shown to belong to 

 another plant represented in gardens to-day by 

 I. albopurpurea ; this has very line white flowers 

 mottled with blue, and is quite a desirable plant, 

 sure to become popular as it becomes more 

 plentiful. 



Iris aurea from the Western Himalayas is a 

 very handsome species which succeeds well in 

 moist places where the roots can reach the water. 

 It is a tall grower, reaching 3| to I feet when in 

 flower, with strong, handsome leaves, and beauti- 

 ful bright yellow flowers. Of similar growth, 

 and rejoicing in like conditions, are I. Monnieri 

 and I. orient alis. sometimes known as I. ochro- 

 leuca, the former with large yellow lemon flowers, 

 and the latter yellow and white. I. ochroleuca 

 gigantea is a, giant form of quite remarkable 

 appearance when in (lower. There is also a very 

 tine white variety of Iris ochroleuca -viz., Snow- 

 flake which has beautiful glistening white 

 flowers, with a yellow spot on the falls. 



These tall-growing Irises crossed with each 

 other have produced some very beautiful hybrids, 

 quite as useful for moist positions as the parents. 



1. ochraurea, a child of ochroleuca and aurea. 

 is a handsome form, reaching about "> feet in 

 height and producing line flowers with yellow 

 falls which are paler towards the margin. Iris 

 Monaurea is a very strong growing hybrid, 

 bearing large deep yellow Mowers ; a group of 

 this is most effective. Iris Mouspur is the result 

 of crossing I. Monnieri and I. spuria, and takes 

 after the Latter parent in producing soft blue 

 How ers of wonderful effect. There are several 

 forms of this hybrid, of which Dorothy Poster, 

 violei and blue, and A. .1. Balfour, with Large 

 deep violet flowers, are typical. 



Iris spuria, alluded to above, is apparently a 

 variable plant as botanists know it, bui in its 



besl forms is a good soil for the drier part of (he 



hog garden, where there is abundance of mois- 

 ture in summer, but not loo much iii winter. 

 The flowers are of vaiioUS shades of violet-blue, 

 and look extremely well in mass. 



Iris Delavayi, a Japanese species, is one of the 



most beautiful and striking kinds we have for a 

 really moist position. When doing well, it will 

 reach a height of at hast I feet, and hears hand- 

 some deep VJolel (lowers blotched wild white. 



Iris fulva is a peculiar Iris in more ways than 

 one. 'The llowers are of an unusual terra-cotta 

 colour, produced late in June and .Inly, and the 

 plant seems to grow well either in a damp or dry 

 position. At Glasnevin it grows and (lowers on 

 a dry sunny border, and does equally well in a 

 very wet porl ion of the bog garden, but exposed 

 to full sun above. It is worth trying in a moist 



