IRIS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



IRIS. 603 



almost any light garden soil, but prefer 

 one that is friable, and sandy, not too 

 poor, but enriched with rotten leaf-mould 

 and manure. Sun they must have, and 

 the shelter must be without shade. They 

 need an autumn drought to ripen, and a 

 dry soil in winter to preserve the bulbs 

 and keep them at rest, but in spring, when 

 the leaves are pushing up, they love 

 moderate rain. These observations apply 

 to the Spanish and English Irises as well 

 as the rarer bulbous kinds. The great 

 point is not to meddle with the bulbs as 

 long as the plants are doing well, and, 

 when the soil is exhausted and it is 

 necessary to transplant, the bulbs should 

 not be allowed to become dry or shrivelled. 

 It is advisable to place a thin layer of 

 Cocoa-nut fibre refuse or some similar 

 material for protection during severe 

 weather, and to prevent the flowers from 

 being bespattered by mud during heavy 

 rain. Some kinds produce seeds very 

 freely in some seasons, which should be 

 carefully collected, and when well ripened 

 sown at once. This will be found a ready 

 way of increasing the stock, as they will 

 make strong flowering bulbs in about 

 three years. 



Most of the non-bulbous Irises like rich 

 soil, the coarser and stronger forms relish- 

 ing even rank manure, but to the more 

 delicate ones this is almost poison ; and 

 all indeed thrive the better if the manure 

 is given in a decayed state. If it is well 

 rotted they can hardly have too much of 

 it. As regards moisture, they vary a good 

 deal. The condition that suits most is 

 comparative dryness in winter and an 

 abundance of water in summer. Un- 

 fortunately, this is the reverse of what 

 they generally get, and they also vary a 

 good deal as to the nature of the soil they 

 like best, some preferring a deep, some- 

 what stiff, but rich loam, and their long 

 thong-like roots reach down an amazing- 

 distance, while others prefer a lighter, 

 looser soil, richer in vegetable matter. 

 The more vigorous kinds are suited for 

 planting among large shrubs, which ought 

 to be wider apart than they generally are 

 in shrubberies ; and may be enjoyed in 

 tufts near water, in isolated groups on the 

 Grass, and also on mixed borders and 

 beds. In the smallest gardens, where 

 there is not space to plant them in these 

 various ways, one of the best ways would 

 be to establish healthy tufts in the fringes 

 of the shrubbery. Another good way is 

 to place them here and there in carpets of 

 low evergreens, above which their flowers 

 would be seen in early summer. Tufts of 

 the finest kinds look very beautiful here 



and there among dwarf Roses. The 

 flowering season of the Iris extends over 

 the greater part of the year. The follow- 

 ing selection of the more important kinds 

 for our gardens is arranged in alphabetical 

 order for convenience of reference. 



I. alata (Scorpion Iris}. A beautiful 

 bulbous kind with fine large blossoms, the 

 ground colour delicate lilac-blue, with 

 showy blotches of bright yellow, copiously 



Iris asiatica. 



spotted with a darker hue. The foliage, 

 which appears with the flowers, much 

 resembles that of a Leek. I. alata gener- 

 ally commences to bloom in October, and, 

 if the weather is not too severe, flowers 

 also about Christmas time. It is easy to 

 grow, requiring a warm, dry, sunny border ; 

 the bulbs should be planted in autumn in 

 ordinary garden soil. 



I. asiatica (Asiatic Flag]. Allied to 

 the German Iris, but the handsome flowers 

 are much larger, the lip especially being 

 very long and broad ; its colour is a very 

 fine pale purplish-blue, the standards a 

 little paler than the falls. A good border 

 kind. 



I. atro-purpurea. This Iris may be 



