72 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



grey-blue and indigo, the latter appearing in large con- 

 spicuous blotches. A good contrast, and perhaps a better 

 doer, is I. Tauri, with deep purple flowers gaily veined with 

 gold. 



None of these bulbous Irises exceeds 8 inches in height, 

 and their leaves wither away completely by mid-summer, 

 so that some small annual can well be sown among 

 them to cover the ground in the later summer months. 

 The only disadvantage of this plan is that I. reticulata 

 and its kind cannot be lifted and replanted unless one 

 can make up one's mind to root up the annuals when 

 in full flower in July. This frequent lifting and replant- 

 ing of /. reticulata and its varieties is undoubtedly bene- 

 ficial, but at the same time the bulbs should not be kept 

 many weeks out of the ground, for they are apt to shrivel 

 and deteriorate. If they must be stored for any length 

 of time, they should be covered in dry sand, to keep 

 excess of air from the bulbs. This will prevent the 

 evaporation of" the moisture within them and tend to 

 keep them plump and sound. 



CHAPTER XII 

 IRISES FOR THE ROCK GARDEN (continued) 



II. RHIZOMATOUS SPECIES 



THE previous chapter dealt with certain small bulbous Irises 

 that find a fitting home and shelter in the rock garden. So 

 long as the bulbous species are in flower, no rhizomatous 



