90 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



ripe in the open ground. Plant in the autumn, and put the bulbs well 

 down, say six inches. 



Iris. The English Iris (/. xiphioides) and the Spanish Iris 

 (/. xiphium) are the best known of the bulbous section of this family. 

 Both are handsome plants. The English Iris bears white, lavender, 

 deep-blue, purple, maroon, and striped flowers, while in the Spanish 

 the colours are blue, yellow, white, and striped. The striped varieties 

 are far inferior to the self colours for effect. The bronze, purple, and 

 yellow Thunderbolt, belonging to the Spanish section, is an interesting 

 flower. These Irises succeed best in a light, well-drained soil. In 

 heavy, retentive soils they often perish during the winter. Plant the 

 bulbs about four inches deep. I. reticulata (the Netted Iris), /. alata, 

 and /. persica are three dwarf plants flowering in the early spring. It 

 is well to have the rarer bulbous kinds in pots, especially those that 

 flower in quite the early year. 



Iris reticulata is an especially sweetly fragrant flower of the early 

 year. There is a variety named major, which has larger flowers than 

 the type. A few of the deep purple flowers will scent a large room. 

 A well-known gardener, writing about this bulb, says : "I planted them 

 in large groups in the hardy plant border, which is well drained and 

 faces south. The only attention they receive consists in clearing off 

 the old foliage in autumn, forking off the top soil, and adding some old 

 potting material. In March I counted, on a clump two feet across, 

 sixty to seventy flowers, either open or opening, and many more to 

 follow. The foliage with us attains a height of two feet, and the 

 flowers are strong in proportion. It has often puzzled me why 

 gardeners who need a lot of cut flowers do not grow it, considering the 

 quantity of lovely flowers to be had from good plants." Occasionally 

 the bulbs are attacked by a fungus, which may be brought into the 

 garden from stock affected with it. When this Iris has established 

 itself in a garden, it is wise to ascertain the condition of any fresh bulbs 

 introduced, and the place from whence they came. 



Leucojum (Snowflake). Graceful plants, bearing drooping, white 

 bells. L. vernum blooms in the spring and grows to a height of three 

 inches. L. xstivum flowers later and often exceeds two feet in height. 

 It is excellent for naturalising in the wild garden or in the grass by 

 water. 



Lilies ' Of the numerous Lilies many will be found to flower well ID 

 ordinary garden soil. The following form a good selection: Bulbiferum, 

 two feet, orange-red ; Candidum(the Madonna Lily), five feet, white; Chal- 

 cedonicum (Scarlet Turk's Cap), three feet ; Croceum, six feet, orange ; 

 Davuricum, two feet, orange-red, black-spotted ; Excelsum or Testaceum, 

 five feet, buff; Giganteum, ten feet, ivory white ; Henryi, six feet, orange- 

 yellow ; Humboldti, five feet, apricot, spotted-maroon ; Martagon, three to 

 five feet, white, purple, and purple-black ; Pyrenaicum, three feet, yellow, 

 spotted-black, red anthers ; Szovitzianum, five feet, pale yellow, sometimes 

 dotted with minute black spots ; Thunbergianum, eighteen inches, yellow 

 to red, sometimes spotted ; Tigrinum, four to six feet, orange red, purple- 

 spotted. Lilies should be planted as soon as the flower-stems die down, and 



