GARDEN FL O WERS. 173 



The summer-flowering irises ai'e also impoitant. I mean 

 those that bloom in early summer. The Florentine iris, or 

 the orris root, belongs to this time. It bears large fragrant 

 white flowers with a tinge of blue, and a bright yellow- 

 white tinged with pink or lilac when they have been open 

 for some days. There are generally many flowers com- 

 pletely covering the stem. The Siberian iris is tall with 

 narrow leaves, and white and blue and delicate-veined 

 flowers. Iris Siherica, var. hcematophylla, is a very dark- 

 leaved early flowering kind that often blooms the second 

 and third time during the season. Linum per^enne, the 

 perennial flax, is attractive all summer, with its tufts of 

 narrow foliage and its bright blue flowers, an inch or more 

 across, which seem, on their slender stalks, semi-detached 

 and floating. 



No garden would, of course, be complete without its 

 peonies and tall phloxes. The herbaceous peonies present 

 eveiy shade of white, pink, rose, ^^ 

 red, crimson, and dark purple 

 among their scores of varieties. 

 Their flowers are perhaps the 

 largest and most showy of any we 

 are likely to plant in our garden, 

 and make a great display at a dis- 

 tance. I will mention one kind 

 because it is so unique. Pceonia ' ~ "'^'' 



^ HERBACEOUS PEONY. 



tenuifolia, fl. pi., is different from (p/eoma oFRciNALrs.) 



all others on account of its abundant finely divided foliage, 

 from the midst of which peer out large double brilliant 

 dark-red flowers. The tall phloxes to be seen in gardens 



