CHAPTER XXVII 

 THIRD WEEK IN JULY 



WITH July the grand display of the irises, which has 

 lasted since the winter, is over ; and the latest of all, 

 Iris Kaempferi, is, perhaps, the most magnificent. 



This bog iris, from Japan, has many varieties in delicate 

 tints of violet, purple, and crimson, but the loveliest of all 

 are, perhaps, the pure white blossoms with golden centres, 

 such as Seirin. 



Then there are our own beautiful water irises (I. pseudo- 

 acorus), which are most effective, too, flowering in May, a 

 month or two before the Japanese varieties, which are at their 

 best in July or early in August in cold localities. Both are, 

 however, perfectly hardy ; being herbaceous, they disappear 

 below the soil in autumn, and fear no frost while dormant. 

 Iris Monnieri, a plant from the islands of Rhodes and Crete, 

 is even taller than the Japanese varieties, rising to the height 

 of 4 feet, and producing golden yellow blooms ; this is an 

 excellent plant for the centre of a group. I. monspur, too 

 (a hybrid of I. Monnieri and I. spuria, a Siberian plant), is 

 decidedly handsome, and may well be added to a collection 

 of the finest bog plants, with such hybrids of I. sibirica as 

 Blue King and Snow Queen, respectively in violet and in 

 white. 



These semi-aquatic irises can be grown in tubs partly 

 sunk in the side of a bank, the front part of which is 

 hidden by rough rock work, in which trailing rock plants, 

 such as creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia), dwarf 

 campanulas, ferns, mossy saxifrages, Phlox decussata, and 

 many other plants are cultivated. 



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