CHAPTER VI 



31une 



Irises — Lilies — Roses — (Enothera — Funkias — Honey-dew— 

 Philadelphus — Ferns— A long drought. 



June is the fullest month of the year in the garden, 

 fullest in foliage and flower; it is Shakespeare's 'foison 

 of the year.' 



The chief flowers of June are the irises, the roses, 

 and the lilies. Of the irises, the grand /. ochroleuca 

 is one of the most stately, and is most ornamental. Its 

 native country is not certainly known, but it has 

 been a favourite in English gardens for more than a 

 hundred years, and is said to have been brought 

 from the East by the great traveller, Dr. Pococke, 

 but there is no record of its having been found in a 

 wild state. The most beautiful iris with me in the 

 dry year of 1893 was /. monnieri, a very near relation 

 of the Himalayan /. aurea, and generally in flower 

 in July, but in that year quite a month before its 

 usual time, and with flowers larger and purer in 



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