202 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



"The border at the lower end of the garden is in the shade 

 of a row of Poplars and tall houses near. Ivies cover the fence 

 with a dense covering, and in the border itself the Day Lilies 

 flourish, whilst last summer the crimson Phlox, Etna, flowered 

 well. Scilla campanulata (the Spanish Scilla) increases, and 

 Polyanthuses, Tuberous Begonias, and Irises are at home too. 



" The German or Flag Iris is one of the most important of 

 town garden flowers. True its flowering time is not of long 

 duration, but the silvery-toned sword-like leaves are always 

 pleasant to see, and there is great variety of flower colouring. 

 The plants succeed even in the shade, and may be put in 

 during the spring or in the autumn, but perhaps the best 

 time is immediately after flowering. There is something satis- 

 fying in colonies of German Irises, especially the blue varieties, 

 Atropurpurea, Purple King, or Black Prince. Where space 

 admits a garden of summer Irises may be made, but in the 

 ordinary border may be grown in large clumps the best of 

 the group, beginning in May with the old blue German. 

 This is quickly followed by the white-grey Iris of Florence. 

 My favourites are Mme. Chereau, white, feathered with laven- 

 der ; Queen of May, rose and lilac ; Pallida Dalmatica, a tall 

 kind with beautiful pale blue flowers ; Victorine, rich purple, 

 and white ; and the ordinary Blue Flag, so familiar in English 

 gardens. The German Flag will grow even upon a London 

 railway bank, but is worth a layer of manure beneath the 

 roots, not in contact with them, at planting time. 



"The border by the gravel path is margined with stone, 

 which is now almost covered-with Stonecrops, Saxifrages, and 

 Creeping Jenny ; whilst near the drawing-room window, in a 

 border running to the steps, English and Spanish Irises are 

 planted alternately. Nothing in the whole range of bulbous 

 plants gives more pleasure than the beautiful colouring of 

 these two groups. The pure colours of the Spanish Iris are 

 irresistible, and if my garden were larger, I should form 

 colonies of them, in amongst shrubs, anywhere, to get the 

 full value of their exquisite shades. The bulbs are so cheap 

 that they ought to be freely planted in every garden. The 

 English Iris blooms about a fortnight later, and has flowers 

 in which the segments are broader and flatter than those of 

 the Spanish Iris. Of course the ' English ' Iris is not a 

 native, but comes from Spain and the Pyrenees ; it probably 

 obtained its popular name through the bulbs having first come 

 to Bristol and thence were transferred to Holland. The 

 Dutch merchants, thinking the plant was a native of these 

 isles, named it the ' English ' Iris a sad misnomer. 



