^ The Scented Qarden ^ 



they will thrive in almost any soil (except peaty soil), 

 manure is not only unnecessary but fatal to them, they 

 can be planted at almost any time, except when actually 

 in flower (though it is better to avoid transplanting in mid- 

 winter and August), and under normal conditions they 

 are almost disease-proof. Lastly, if one has an iris garden, 

 it can be a thing of beauty for nine months in the year. 

 That delightful seventeenth century writer, Samuel 

 Gilbert, who was both an auricula and an iris enthusiast, 

 tells us that there are more colours to be found in irises 

 than in the peacock's tail. What would he say to the 

 modern range of hybrids ? Of the April flowering irises 

 statellae, formosa and lutea (the best of the early yellows) 

 are all faintly but sweetly scented. /. arenaria (bright 

 yellow flower), which also flowers in April, is very sweetly 

 scented. This iris, which comes from the sandy plains of 

 Hungary, needs a very well-drained spot in the rock 

 garden. It needs protection in winter. In May we have 

 the lovely scented Florentine iris florentina^ whose root 

 has for centuries supplied the ' orris root ' of the perfum- 

 ery trade (the scent is not developed till the rhizomes have 

 been dried for several months), ' istria,' the even more 

 beautiful white iris (raised by the late Mr. Dykes) with 

 sometimes as many as six blooms on a stem and beautifully 

 scented, and the sweetly scented yellow Soledad. Amongst 

 the June flowering irises there is a range of colour for the 

 scented garden. The gem of the early flowering varieties 

 is the late Mr. Dykes' ' pink ' Aphrodite, one of the very 

 best of all the modern irises. How very lovely it is ! 

 Pinkish violet flowers of a very clear colour on stems quite 

 4 feet high and scented. At present ' Aphrodite ' is rather a 

 costly treasure, but she is a strong grower, and will 

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