622 IRIS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



fine 



little 



kind 



pale purplish-blue, the standards a 

 paler than the falls. A good border 



Iris asiatica. 



I. atro-purpurea. This Iris may be 

 considered as coming within the iberica 

 group, as the foliage is not unlike that kind, 

 and the stem, though always of some 

 length, never rises very high. The flower 

 is somewhat small, and for the most part 

 of deep purple colouring. The plant varies 

 somewhat, one variety being called 

 " Odysseus." 



I. aurea (Golden Flag]. This is a 

 lovely tall plant, a native of the Hima- 

 layas, with yellow flowers of great beauty, 

 hardy in the coldest soils. It does well 

 among shrubs or in borders of the best 

 perennials, and groups of it so placed are 

 very handsome. It is one of the kinds 

 that may be grouped with good effect 

 near water, though it thrives in borders. 

 Division and seed. 



I. Bakeriana. This is one of the most 

 beautiful of the bulbous early spring flower- 

 ing Irises. It comes from Armenia, and 

 the flowers, which smell like violets, 

 remind one strongly of those of the 



netted Iris. The colouring varies, the 

 yellow streak on the fall, which is con- 

 spicuous in some of the forms, being 

 almost entirely absent in others ; the size 

 and number of the violet spots and the 

 breadth of the rich violet edging as well 

 as the size and brilliancy of their tints 

 vary in individual flowers. It blooms quite 

 early in the year, and is delightful in 

 pots. 



I. Barnumse. This Iris, a native of 

 the hills of Kurdistan, belongs to the 

 iberica group. The flower is smaller than 

 that of that Flag, and both falls and 

 standards are vinous red-purple marked 

 with darker veins, the standard being 

 lighter in colour than the fall and its veins 

 more conspicuous. There is a yellow 

 variety described by Prof. Foster as " an 

 exceedingly charming plant," and fragrant, 

 the odour not being unlike the Lily of 

 the Valley. 



I. biflora. A handsome Flag, 9 to 15 

 in. high, bearing large violet flowers on 

 stout stems. Similar to it are /. sub- 

 biflora and /. nudicanlis, which is one of 

 the best of the dwarf Flags, from 4 to 10 

 in. high ; its flowers large, of a rich violet- 



Iris cristata. 



blue, four to seven on a stem in early 

 summer. It has the vigour of the German 

 Iris and the dwarfness of the Crimean 

 Iris, but is much sturdier, and is suited for 

 the margin of the herbaceous border and 

 for the rock-garden. 



