. 
Mee (Gsarden Magazine 
VoL. VII—No. 6 ; 
PUBLISHED MONTHLY 
JULY, 1908 
[For the purpose of reckoning dates, New York is 
generally taken as a standard. Allow six days’ difference 
for every hundred miles of latitude.] 
How to See a New Kind of 
Flower Show 
HE editor of the GARDEN MAGAZINE 
invites you to attend a display of his 
favorite flower — the Japan iris, which will be 
in perfection during the latter half of June 
in the Middle States and early in July in the 
North. 
The Japan iris sometimes bears flowers 
a foot across. Any beginner can have 
flowers averaging six inches across without 
special care. They are “as hardy as apple 
trees and as easy to grow as potatoes.” And 
they have a wonderful range of colors. 
The chances are too to 1 that you are 
prejudiced against them simply because 
you have heard that they need more water 
than ordinary garden plants. That notion 
is all wrong. We saw hundreds of eight- 
inch irises in ordinary hardy borders last 
year. Everybody has heard half the truth, 
viz., that these irises are grown in the wet rice 
fields of Japan; but nobody seems to have 
heard the other half, viz., that these rice 
fields are dry in winter. A young Japanese 
iris can no more endure wet feet in winter 
than any other decent garden plant. 
It is true that you get the biggest flowers 
if you water them generously during June, 
but the notion that they require more water 
than other hardy perennials is probably 
the main reason why this gorgeous flower 
is not found in every garden in the country, 
for we believe it is the best hardy peren- 
nial flower of July. Certainly it is the 
largest. 
We prophecy that in ten years the words 
“Japan iris” will be in the mouth of every 
person in America, just as ten years ago 
everyone was talking about the chrysanthe- 
mum, but with this important difference: 
The Japan iris is not a mere show flower to 
be grown for us by florists; we can have the 
§ ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
| FIFTEEN CENTS A COPY 
pleasure of growing it ourselves and have 
plenty to give away! ; 
While the Japan iris is all right for home 
decoration, it cannot stand shipment unless 
specially handled. To revel in its colors you 
must see the growing plants outdoors. They 
are such as no catalogue can give you any 
conception of and moreover the names are 
all mixed up — worse even than the peony 
names. Some day we “iris cranks” are 
going to have an iris society and straighten 
out all those names. Meanwhile the best 
thing anyone can do is to write now and 
find out where the nearest large collection 
of Japan iris can be seen. 
There are hundreds of names, but few 
nurserymen keep more than fifty kinds. 
It is worth traveling a hundred miles to see 
twenty-five varieties. Few private collec- 
tions contain more kinds than this. If you 
do not know any 
near you write the 
editor of the GAR- 
DEN MAGAZINE, 
enclosing a_ self 
addressed envel- 
ope for reply. We 
may have to send 
you to a nursery- 
man, but it will 
be with the under- 
standing that you 
will not be solici- 
ted for orders. 
If, however, 
you want to buy 
any Japan iris, 
the best thing you 
can do is to see 
the very thing you 
are buying, for 
then you have 
some assurance of 
getting what you 
want. And it is 
a remarkable fact 
about Japan iris 
that you can have 
your plants deliv- 
ered a week or 
two after they 
have passed out 
of bloom. Many 
people believe 
that you get more 
and better flowers 
from either Jap- 
anese or German 
iris by dividing 
the plants as soon 
as possible after_ 
flowering. 
However that 
may be, there can be no question that 
the only time to order Japan irises intelli- 
gently is when they are in bloom. 
If you wish to make a pilgrimage to the 
Japan iris this year there is no time to lose, 
for you must ask somebody for permission 
to see his collection or give some nursery- 
man sufficient notice so that he can tell 
you what will be the best day to see the 
flowers. 
The most important flowers from the mid- 
dle of June to the middle of July are rhodo- 
dendrons, larkspurs, and hollyhocks; the 
most important fruits are strawberries, cher- 
ries, plums, and raspberries. If you wish to 
see a large collection of any of these, and do 
not know the nearest good one, write to the 
Readers’ Service Department, enclosing a 
stamped, self-addressed envelope for reply 
For a list of July chores see page 340. 
The glorious Japan iris which has flowers eight to twelve inches across and a 
splendid range of color. It is perfectly hardy and easy to srow 
