624 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN 



the rhizome being planted completely in 

 it, and by this means it is kept rather dry 

 during the winter. Dry borders or warm 

 spots on the rock-garden. 



Iris iberica. 



I. juncea (Rush-leaved Flag] is a lovely 

 bulbous Iris, graceful in habit and with 

 bright yellow flowers of a delightful frag- 

 rance, whilst it can be grown almost as 

 easily as the English Irises. It requires 

 a light, rich deep soil, and will be all the 

 better if planted where it can be kept 

 fairly dry during winter. Spain. 



I. Kaempferi (Japanese Flag}. The 

 many varieties in cultivation under this 

 name have sprung from /. Icevigata and 

 7. setosa, and form a fine race of garden 

 plants, whilst every year many beautiful 

 sorts are added, chiefly from Japan, 

 though many seedlings have been raised 

 in this country. The flowers are variable 

 in size and colour, some measuring as 

 much as 9 and 10 in. across. The varieties 

 of 7. setosa differ from those of 7. Itevigata 

 in having broader and less-drooping petals, 

 and the three inner petals are often of the 

 same size as the outer, so that the flower is 

 symmetrical. 7. Kcempferi will grow in 

 almost any soil, but is best in a good 

 loam, with peat added to it, though this is 

 not so much for nourishment as to retain 

 moisture during the hot and dry summer 

 months, for this Flag likes moisture, and 

 its numerous roots will often go 2 ft. deep 

 in search of it. It dislikes shade, prefer- 

 ring a warm sunny position, being especi- 

 ally happy when planted by the margin of a 

 lake, pond, or stream. Two-year-old seed- 

 ling plants of it bloom in June and July, and 

 amongst them will be found an endless 

 variety of colours from white to the 

 richest plum, the deep blues being very 



rich. The mottled flowers are objection- 

 able, and unfortunately these are common, 

 but they are poor in effect, nothing like 

 so handsome as the self-coloured kinds, 

 nor do we care about the more double 

 varieties. In these the natural grace and 

 fine outline of the flower are lost. When 

 transplanted this moisture-loving Flag 

 does not bloom well until the second 

 season after planting. Propagated by 

 division or seeds, which should be sown 

 as soon as gathered either in pots or in 

 the open ground, they will vegetate in the 

 following spring. 



I. Kolpakowskiana. An ally of 7. 

 reticulata and introduced from Turke- 

 stan, it is perfectly hardy in the open air, 

 flowering about the same time, and effec- 

 tive in groups. The chief difference from 

 the netted Iris is in the bulb and leaves, 

 which are narrow, linear, deeply channelled 

 on the inner face, with a central band or 

 rib like a Crocus leaf, and pale-green with- 

 out the glaucous tint usual to this group. 

 The falls are deep violet-purple, with a 

 beardless bright yellow keel from which are 

 purplish branchings, whilst the standards 

 are pale self-lilac with creamy anthers. 



I. Korolkowi. Of this the leaves are 

 tall, narrow, and upright, the scape, which 

 is about I ft. or so high, bearing two large 

 flowers of delicate shades of gray and 

 brown, and beautifully veined. Warm 

 and dry spots on the rock garden. 



I. lacustris (Dwarf Lake Iris]. A 

 dainty, quite hardy Iris, with beautiful 

 sky-blue flowers in spring and again in 

 the autumn. It belongs to the rhizo- 

 matose group, is free both in growth and 

 bloom, and succeeds in full sun and in 

 sandy soil. North America. 



I. Lorteti. This Iris comes from 

 South Lebanon. In general features it is 

 near to 7. Sari, but its wonderful colouring 

 makes it, perhaps, the most beautiful Iris 

 in the world. " In a plant flowered by 

 myself this summer (1893)," writes Prof. 

 Foster, " the falls showed a creamy-yellow 

 ground marked with crimson spots, con- 

 centrated at the centre into a dark crimson 

 signal, while the standards were nearly 

 pure white, marked with very thin violet 

 veins, hardly visible at a distance. 



I. lupina ( Wolfs Ear Iris). This is 

 from Armenia and Central Asia Minor, 

 and resembles both 7. susiana and I. 

 Iberica, The rhizome is compact and the 

 foliage, though somewhat variable, is 

 dwarf like that of 7. iberica, and 3 in. or 

 so in length. The flower, borne on a 

 stem varying from I in. to 6 in. or even 

 more in length, differs in form from both 

 7. susiana and 7. iberica in that the fall is 



