22 THE GARDENER'S COMPANION 



myself, growing them from seed, as these plants 

 always give such abundance of bloom, and if fresh 

 good seed is sown in August you will have good 

 plants to put into beds for next year, and though 

 there are sure to be some single ones among them 

 the larger proportion will be double, and will pro- 

 vide you with sheaves of flowers for gathering in 

 August when other flowers are scarce. Carnations 

 like a sandy soil. 



Irises. Irises certainly show themselves off 

 best where they are massed ; if there is a sunny 

 border on the outskirts of your shrubbery, German 

 Irises, in great variety of colour, planted with an 

 unsparing hand, would look well there, or in front 

 of the shrubs bordering a carriage drive ; or they 

 may be grown in a border with tall perennials 

 behind them ; but they require something behind 

 them, and do not look their best if they are planted 

 in beds with no background. 



Iris Sibirica orientalis is a variety that looks 

 very well in the mixed border, as its leaves do not 

 die down until quite the end of the summer ; it is a 

 good dark blue in colour, about two feet high. There 

 is also a lovely white variety, /. S. snow queen. 



In a light soil all these Irises grow and increase 



