54 THE UNHEATED GREENHOUSE 



the service for early flowering under glass, yet they respond so 

 readily to such gentle persuasion that where they have been 

 tried the result has given much satisfaction. Careful cultiva- 

 tion in a prepared garden bed and lifting for potting in 

 alternate years is a good plan to adopt. 



The beautiful Spanish and so-called " English " Irises, 

 though somewhat " leggy," are not the less useful on that 

 account for grouping with suitable greenery. Nor must the 

 tiny Iris cristata be forgotten, a perfect gem, with its delicate 

 pale-blue falls and feathery crests. The slugs have such an 

 unfailing instinct for this dainty morsel that I have found the 

 only safe place at flowering time to be some quiet haven under 

 glass. It succeeds well in a deep pan with sunken bits of 

 stone, or planted on a bit of permanent rockwork. A top- 

 dressing of some good light soil now and then helps the root- 

 ing stems, and the lovely little flowers lift themselves up at 

 intervals from the leafy points. It is not a showy plant, but 

 one that every lover of flowers must delight in. Another very 

 distinct hardy species is I. tuberosa, whose quaint green 

 flowers with dark velvety blotches will serve as a natural foil 

 to some of the more brightly coloured kinds. Iris-growing 

 has its deeps as well as its shallows, but we need not fear to 

 get beyond our depth with those named above, or to be without 

 some representative of this lovely tribe for several months of 

 the year. Other species, more delicate, range themselves 

 better under the half-hardy list. 



In turning over a parcel of bulbs and tubers, perhaps none 

 look so utterly unpromising as the brown flaps and sticks of 

 different kinds of Anemone and the little dried-up claws of 

 Ranunculus, yet to both of these we are indebted for some of 

 the most brilliant of our spring flowers. In the very early weeks 

 of the year we shall find the splendid colouring of Anemone 

 fulgens and of the best forms of A. coronaria, single and double, 

 added to the lasting quality of the flowers, invaluable for the 

 cold greenhouse. The last gives us, as well as scarlet and 



