138 fffje ffifartien's 



will allow the use of large subjects, the Japa- 

 nese iris may be appropriately employed. This 

 species is so slow to advance, that its fine foli- 

 age retains its freshness for a very long period. 

 The same observation will apply to the use of 

 Hemerocallis flava in the rock-garden. The 

 English and Spanish sections are much smaller 

 species than either of the foregoing. Both have 

 wonderful colors in blue, bronze, and gold, but 

 are not to be compared with those above men- 

 tioned as border plants. /. Sust'ana, an Ori- 

 ental species, is one of the strangest of hardy 

 flowers so weird, indeed, as to startle one on 

 first beholding it. It is styled " mourning iris," 

 its gray ground singularly and beautifully reticu- 

 lated with dark purple. It looks like an Ori- 

 ental flower ; you find it some morning perched 

 upon its stem, a great orchid on an iris stalk. 

 Though it will withstand our severe winters 

 with protection, and often without, its flowering 

 is usually checked. It should be treated like 

 the tazetta Narcissus, or stored during the en- 

 tire winter. The iris, and, for that matter, all 

 desirable and easily grown flowers, should be 

 raised on a sufficient scale to afford an abun- 

 dant supply for indoor use. 



The Pceonias, including the tree, herbaceous, 

 and Chinese sections, give us one of our most 



