IN MY LADY'S GARDEN 



It appears probable that the seed was originally brought 

 from the Cape of Good Hope to the mountainous districts 

 of Ceylon, where the warm, moist climate and rich soil have 

 so greatly changed the character of the flower as to practi- 

 cally make it a distinct variety. It is therefore named Morcea 

 iridioides Johnsoni, after the name of the lady who brought 

 it to England, and it obtained much admiration from the 

 Scientific Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society 

 and at the Temple Show of 1908, where it was exhibited for ( 

 the first time. 



The original flower is about half the size of the new 

 morcea, being 2| inches in diameter, against 4^ ; the j 

 colour of the floral stamens (which is milky blue in the 

 Cape variety) has become a rich mauve, the stamens having 

 greatly increased in height and breadth ; whilst the pale 

 yellow blotches on the perianth segments (which are now 

 doubled in breadth) have increased in size and become 

 golden yellow, with rich bronze markings at the base of 

 each petal. The substance of the whole flower has so 

 changed that it now persists in beauty for three days (or 

 longer in shade), instead of fading in a few hours like the 

 original plant ; and the foliage, low and fan-like as it used 

 to be, is now 30 inches in height and upright. The chaste 

 colouring of violet and orange on a creamy white back- 

 ground, which this morcea displays, is charming, and the 

 plant is altogether an interesting one. It produces blossoms 

 at intervals from spring to the late autumn, needing a 

 minimum temperature of 50 in winter (when it should 

 be kept rather dry), with plenty of moisture as soon 

 as spring arrives. It thrives without difficulty in loam, 

 with sand and a little charcoal, and is decidedly an easy 

 plant to grow, although but little known as yet. 



Another rare irid, which requires like treatment, is 

 Marica Northiana, the marvellously tinted flower brought to 

 England from South America years ago by Miss Marian 

 North, whose flower-paintings in the Kew Gardens are well 

 known. 



This flower is powdered with peacock tints in blue, crim- 



80 



