32 A REMINDER TO PLANT TO HELP 



There are, however, a few matters besides a preference for 

 special colors which it will be well to observe. A mass of one 

 color is the most showy, but a number of small groups of different 

 colors are preferable to a large mass of one color. In massing 

 different colors care should be taken to select such as harmonize. 

 Varieties of the squalens section, for instance, do not, as a general 

 rule, go well with other varieties. It is a striking characteristic 

 of blue that all of its shades go well together. White is generally 

 recommended to separate discordant colors but while it separates 

 it also accentuates sharp high colors. A better way to prevent 

 "clashing" of different colored masses is by separating them with 

 some other kind of plants of taller growth and different flowering 

 period, or with flowering shrubs. This also prevents monotony 

 from the Irises being so long out of bloom. 



"Here also grateful mixture of well match'd 

 And sorted hues (each giving each relief, 

 And by contrasted beauty shining more) 

 Is needful." Cowper: The Task. 



Light and shadow should be considered. Most Irises look best 

 in full sunlight, but a few as those of a bluish color look 

 equally as well in light shadow. 



The point of view should receive attention. Some Irises are 

 very beautiful when seen close at hand, but much less so when 

 seen from a distance, and colors should therefore be chosen which 

 will carry well the distance from which they will usually be seen. 

 The Queen of May, for instance, lavender pink, is fine close at 

 hand in strong sunlight, but has a duller appearance from a dis- 

 tance. The large flowers of some of the varieties of the plicata 

 section, having a ground of white edged with another color, are 

 exceedingly beautiful when nearby, but at a distance the border 

 is hardly noticed and the flowers seem to be small white ones. 



In Iris catalogs some varieties are sometimes described as 

 "good for cutting," or "excellent for cut flowers." All Irises are 

 desirable for cut flowers. Sometimes what is meant is that the 

 varieties thus described have long flower stems which show off 

 their flowers to great advantage, or, that their flowers are espe- 

 cially showy on account of their size. Generally it seems that 



