October Looking Forward 



to draw attention to the charming little Hyacinthus 

 aniethystinus, which bears a miniature spike of bluish 

 flowers in early summer. It is delightful for the rockery 

 or for choice spots elsewhere in the garden. 



Spanish and English Irises are splendid flowers of 

 early summer, the former opening in early June and the 

 latter a week or two later. The prevailing shades of the 

 Spanish kinds are yellow, blue and white, while the 

 English Irises are of mauve, purple, white, crimson and 

 other colours. One may obtain named varieties, but it is 

 scarcely necessary to do so. The opinion appears to 

 prevail among amateurs that these bulbs ought to be 

 planted in spring and taken up again in autumn. 

 Nothing could be farther from the truth ; they are 

 perfectly hardy and thrive best if planted in October. 

 They may be left undisturbed for several years, until, 

 in fact, they become so crowded that it is necessary to 

 replant. The time to do this is as soon as the leaves have 

 died down. Groups of Spanish Iris are particularly 

 welcome in the rock garden, in the flower border, 

 between Border Carnations, and even among the Roses. 

 The bulbs are put about 3 inches deep and 4 inches apart. 

 The English Irises are more vigorous than the Spanish 

 kinds, and should be covered with 3 inches of soil and be 

 placed quite 6 inches apart. They are better suited for 

 the flower border than the rockery. Within recent years 

 a new race of bulbous Irises has been obtained; they 

 are known as Dutch Irises because they were raised in 

 Holland, and bear* a close resemblance to the Spanish 

 kinds, though they bloom rather earlier. 



The Flag Iris. October is a suitable month in which 

 to plant the Flag or German Irises, an invaluable race 

 of plants. They will flourish in all sorts of odd places, 

 on a shady border, in full sunshine, on a hot bank in 

 poor soil, and I have even seen them on the top of a 

 stone wall with the scantiest of soil covering to the roots. 

 Most people make the mistake of planting them too 



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