December, 1918 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



137 





I 



Why I Grow Irises 



By B. Y. Morrison, 

 Landscape Architect and 

 a widely traveled student 

 of gardens here and 

 abroad. His acquaint- 

 ance with the flower is 

 long and keen. 



T GROW Irises be- 

 ■*■ cause I began years 

 ago and now I cannot 

 stop. And because I 

 have been loving them for years, I find some diffi- 

 culty in telling just why they are my choice above 

 other flowers, for choice always follows, or at least 

 suggests, comparisons, judgments and rejections, 

 and no person who regards his hobby with af- 

 fection can offer an unbiased presentation of its 

 merits nor does he find pleasure in assuming, 

 even for the moment, a position in which he may 

 appear to cast discredit on other less loved 

 flowers. 



The arguments in favor are these: Culturally, 

 the problem is as simple or as difficult as the col- 

 lector may desire. In matters of variety, there 

 is a wide range both in species and in horticul- 

 tural forms. In return for labor, the rewards 

 are great. Counted in amount or period of 

 bloom, the comparison is favorable with any 

 perennial; in diversity of color, there is no equal, 

 though some colors known to man are missing; 

 in value for the garden picture, it has few rivals; 

 and for decoration in the house certain forms are 

 invaluable. So in all it measures well, using the 

 standards which should be applied to any candidate. 



My personal pleasures in Irises are these. 

 First there is the pleasure which comes to any 

 collector. This may be dismissed without dis- 

 cussion, explanation or defense. Secondly, there 

 is a pleasure which I find in the plant judged 

 from the standpoint of design. There is a 

 dignity and precision in the splendid fan of 

 leaves with their clean vigorous curves, in the 

 sturdy stem, carried with assurance, and in the 

 flowers, lightly poised and of exquisitely delicate 

 tissue. Thirdly — there is a pagan pleasure to be 

 had from the mass of color. From velvet purples 

 through clarets and garnets to pink and which 

 turning through palest green- and gray-whites 

 to yellows and gray lavenders — surely this is a 

 lavish palette. Then given those colors in a 

 tissue which cannot be matched in any other 

 bloom, so that sunlight and shadow play magic 

 with it — and you have no end of riches. And 

 lastly there is the pleasure which has come in 

 the raising of seedlings — a very new pleasure for 

 me, but one which I have enjoyed by proxy, for 

 some time. 



Therefore, I am quite content that my Roses 

 should be few and my Peonies and Lilies fewer 

 still, even though the trio be given the old tradi- 

 tional honors, and find my great pleasure in quan- 

 tities of Iris — with their wealth of color, their 

 subtle perfume, and their festival recurrence 

 which makes mid-May, all poetry. 



Why I Grow Roses 



By Robert Pyle, whose championship of this 

 flower led to his election as President of the Ameri- 

 can Rose Society. He 

 has long been associated 

 with the distribution 

 of garden Roses through 

 the Conarti iff Jones 

 Co. of which he is now 

 the active head. 



' I "'HE Rose needs no 

 ■*■ champion; she 

 needs but to be pre- 

 sented. Her sway is 

 unquestioned. She 



speaks an universal language. Throughout the 

 ages, from the childhood of the race of man, 

 she has been his companion. In every land and 

 in all generations she has graced his life in its 

 most momentous events. 



When words fail us utterly she speaks our 

 thoughts. Please note for a moment the sig- 

 nificance in these blossoms plucked from the 

 thorny pathway of the past few months:- 



1. From the Philadelphia Bulletin of October 

 19th, regarding the liberation of a French City, 

 we read: 



Lille Pays Tribute To British Soldiers — Historic scene as 

 City Welcomes — Troops representing the Fifth Army — Showers 

 Roses on Men — "As General Birdwood rode into the city at the 

 head of his troops the crowds broke loose in a, tremendous ovation. 

 The members of the British stafF were showered with bouquets 

 along the route and upon entering the square were thoroughly 

 smothered by the avalanche of Roses thrown by women." 



2. In a news letter from my friend, Joseph J. 

 Lane, recently on the staff of Garden Magazine 

 he writes: 



As we lay resting by the side of the road, from out of a group of 

 children that had gathered, there came running toward us a little 

 French girl, her arms laden with flowers. She passed from group 

 to group of us, distributing her precious burden, so we all might 

 share it, when suddenly she stopped in front of the wiiter, and 

 handed him a rose. "A r-o-s-e, the flower of beauty and fragrance — " 

 one of God's trusted messengers of peace, tranquility, happiness. 



And I too suddenly became calm — the weight of the pack on my 

 back passed from my thoughts — the perspiration of the long hike, 

 the excitement of the hour — all went from me and as I looked at the 

 flower in my hand I was intensely happy — I had met someone I 

 knew — and understood. 



Of all the flowers, Roses seem to me most com- 

 panionable. To the traveler they "stand for 

 home." Is there any one throughout our Nation 

 who does not need ROSES — I would like to help 

 grow "enough to go 'round." 



Why I Grow Chrysanthemums 



By Charles H. Totty, who as a progressive 

 florist needs no introduction. He specializes 

 in novelties because he likes to be up to date; and 

 is also a leader among his fellows as President of 

 the great trade organization, the Society of 

 American Florists. 



\\TELL, firstly, because I love them and 

 * * have done so for many years, and conse- 

 quently they take up such a large part of my 

 life that were they now taken away I would feel 

 their loss very keenly. More variable in form 

 and color than any other flower they present a 

 bewildering variety to select from. Who, for 

 instance, is not familiar with the hardy types 

 blooming profusely outdoors all fall, long after 

 everything else in the garden has been destroyed 

 by frost? and the wonderful specimens of horti- 

 cultural art in the exhibitions, the aristocrats of 

 the flower-world; flowers larger than a man's 

 head and tinted every imaginable color except 

 blue. See them accompanied by their army of 

 half-brothers in the splendid Japanese Anemone 

 types with their fluffy centres and weird petalage; 

 with the new Singles as the sisters, which are 

 such an advance over the types of a few years 

 ago, and finish with the little Pompons as the 

 babies to complete the family. See the marvel- 

 ous plants such as have been shown at the exhibi- 

 tions in New York, covering not feet but yards 

 and figure these wonderful results are but one 

 season's growth and then ask again — who does 

 not love the '"Mum"? 



The odor is clean and pungent, healthful and 

 refreshing, not a heavy languorous fragrance to 

 lull the senses, but a keen flavor that is delight- 

 ful and invigorates like a good walk on a frosty 

 morning. One can grow 'Mums without a green- 

 house and fine blooms too, if given a fair chance 

 in the open garden. They repay the grower hand- 

 somely for the time and care spent on their 

 culture. 



I have been asked many times if I made a suc- 

 cess of growing Chrysanthemums. If success 

 is to be measured by money as the only yardstick, 

 I would say No! but if a congenial occupation, 

 plenty of friends with the same tastes and a 

 solid enduring pleasure and satisfaction are any 

 guarantee of success then am I richly blest, for 



during the flowering 

 season my friends from 

 all parts of the country 

 drop in and see me and 

 the Chrysanthemums 

 and the results of my 

 many years' patient 

 work are gratifying 

 indeed. Ask any of 

 the soldiers in any of 

 the Camps, who have 

 received some of our 

 'Mums, if they liked 

 them, and you will 

 be surprised at the 

 answers you receive. 

 Why do I grow 'Mums, indeed? 



The Appeal of the Gladiolus 



By Mrs. A. H. Austin, one of our most successful 

 growers and whose devotion to her favorite flower 

 finds frequent expression in singing its praise in 

 print and in adorning the exhibition talk with the 

 tangible evidences of her cultural skill. 



TX7"HAT is its charm? Come with me to my 

 " * garden. The first leaf blades are before 

 us — standing erect like soldiers of a fairyland — 

 passing in successive changes to a mass of waving, 

 shimmering green in wonderful light reflection. 



As roseate hues of dawn give promise of a per- 

 fect day, so the early buds assure us of a season of 

 beauty unsurpassed. I believe I may truthfully 

 say, unequaled, for what other flower combines so 

 many virtues? Wonderful coloring, stateliness 

 of spike, massiveness of bloom and marvelous 

 substance are only a few of its valuable qualities. 

 Its range of color, from pure white to almost 

 black, covers every known shade. Some possess 

 a glistening, sparkling lustre, unspeakably lovely 

 by day, and enhanced by artificial light, while 

 others seem of softest, richest velvet. The vari- 

 ous forms are interesting and beautiful. The 

 ■wide-open almost saucer-shaped, the pleasingly 

 ruffled, and the modestly hooded, are some of the 

 most common, and varying in size from one to 

 six inches in diameter. 



The spike too, has been transformed, and where 

 once were only short stiff spikes, we now have the 

 taller heavy spike, and still newer ones of such 

 tall graceful slenderness that the word spike 

 seems surely out of place. 



Do you wish to share this exquisite loveliness 

 with a faraway friend? »It may easily be done for 

 the substance is such that if cut when the buds 

 show color they can be shipped long distances and 

 when unwrapped and placed in water, will open 

 to the topmost bud. The friend may take them 

 to her wounded soldier who, in his helplessness 

 will appreciate their silent cheer. In no place 

 is this beautiful flower more useful and helpful 

 than in the sickroom. But its uses are legion. 

 We see varieties that are tall and stately carrying 

 immense blooms of heavy substance and brilliant 

 coloring, especially valuable for planting among 

 shrubbery, and forotherlandscape uses, or, in strik- 

 ing contrast, dainty 

 fairy-like blooms suit- 

 ableforthecorsageofthe 

 debutante. For house 

 decoration there is a re- 

 finement and graceful- 

 ness in slender whiplike 

 stems weighted with ex- 

 quisite blooms many of 

 which are in open bloom 

 at the same time. 



This abundance of 

 beauty may be in the 

 homes of all because of 

 their inexpensiveness 

 and ease of culture. 

 They will grow and 

 bloom in any good gar- 

 den soil. 



