May, 1914 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



235 



be fifteen or twenty in a group and the 

 variety, I thought, was Mrs. Moon. The 

 name of the iris is wanting; but it was the 

 counterpart of one of my own which I 

 owe to the kindness of a farmer's wife, 

 and whose colors according to the chart, are 

 Bleu d'aniline, No. 4 in the standards and 

 Violet de violette in the falls. 



A further suggestion for iris and tulip 

 grouping (this from an English source), is 

 a bold use of the deep purple-blue iris thinly 

 interspersed with the lavender Darwin 

 tulip Rev. H. Ewbank. In my own part of 

 the country it is rarely that the Darwin or 

 May-flowering tulip overlaps in time of 

 bloom upon the German iris, but in the 

 latitude of Philadelphia, these plants may 

 be expected to give flowers together. 



A group of Darwins in brilliant cherry- 

 rose tones we may notice next. These gay 

 occupants of the spring border hold less 

 charm for me than some of their less flaunt- 

 ing fellows, the reason being the difficulty 

 of combining them well with tulips of other 

 colors. True, they may serve as a climax 

 where first lavender then deep violet tulips 

 are used in successive groupings. But with 

 white tulips, dead white, they are not agree- 

 able to the eye; with primrose and yellow 

 they do not particularly agree ; with mauve 

 and bronze not at all. The two which shall 

 be singled out for special mention are both 

 Darwins, Professor Francis Darwin and 

 Edmee. The tones of Professor Darwin 

 according to the chart are Rouge fraise, No. 

 2, within the petals, Vin de Bordeaux, No. 2 

 outside. This tulip has a pale lemon col- 

 ored pistil and a prismatic blue-black base. 

 In Edmee the outer petals are of Amaranthe, 

 No. 1 with much blue in these pinkish tones. 

 These tulips are beauteous instances of the 

 development of their race. 



Let me suggest to those who do not yet 

 know the newer Darwins, Cottage tulips, 

 Breeders and Rembrandts an investment in 

 a few bulbs, next fall, if only a half dozen of 

 each of some of the finer varieties, and see, 

 each for himself, the wonders of these 

 flowers. Make your selections now and 

 place your orders at once for fall delivery. 

 In the first three classes if I were to choose 

 four out of each as introductory lists, they 

 should be these: 



Cottage or May-flowering tulips: Retro- 

 flexa superba, Moonlight, the Fawn, Ingle- 

 scombe Pink. Darwins; Clara Butt, Rev- 

 erend H. Ewbank, Gudin and Euphrosyne. 

 Breeders: Coridion, Golden Bronze, and 

 Louis XIV. 



These are but shortlists, not combinations 

 of color, — samples of some of the finer 

 varieties in the three classes. Would that I 

 might have named Zemerschoon in the Cot- 

 tage group — Zomerschoon that too-costly 

 tulip of unforgettable beauty. 



And now for a few combinations of tulips 

 with other flowers. The gayest knot of 

 flowers of spring may be produced by the 

 joint use of Tulipa Gesneriana var. rosea 

 with one of the taller forget-me-nots, such 

 as Perfection or Royal Blue. In this vivid 

 crimson tulip there is a dull blue base; some- 

 thing of that blue is perhaps imparted to 



the rosy chalice of the flower and makes it 

 perfect company for the sweetest of pale 

 blossoms. 



Mr. Divers, gardener to the Duke of 

 Rutland, makes these suggestions as to 

 combinations of tulips and low-growing 

 plants to flower together. Couleur Car- 

 dinal, a single early tulip, with Phlox di- 

 varicata; tulip Picotee is also recommended 

 with the phlox ; and the same fine tulip with 

 myosotis Royal Blue. This should be ex- 

 ceedingly good, especially as we recall the 

 rosy flushing of Picotee as it ages. For a 

 very lively effect, tulip Vermilion Brilliant 

 is suggested as a companion to the pale yel- 

 low primrose. Mr. Divers uses ribbon 

 grass (Phalaris arundinacea, var. variegata) 

 with Phlox divaricata, tulip Picotee and 

 Aubrietia Leichtlini, plants which when pro- 

 perly set with relation to each other's 

 heights and habits must surely make a per- 

 fect picture in lavender and rose. 



Another authority on tulips would have 

 tulip Thomas Moore, that tawny orange 

 flower, rise above yellow primroses; the Dar- 

 win Erguste bloom over Phlox divaricata, or 

 Bouton d'Or with myosotis. All these are 

 good; and a trial of any two together must 

 convince the doubter that half spring's plea- 

 sure lies in tulip time. 



Tulip Bouton d'Or, almost droll in its 

 fat roundness, and whose rare rich yellow 

 is already described, proved most excellent 



in conjunction with the cushion irises in 

 flower, such varieties as Isis and Helenae. 

 Their strange red purples were very sump- 

 tuous among groups of these tulips. Tulip 

 Le Reve, that flower whose beauty is one of 

 my perennial delights, showed a peculiar 

 charm rising among colonies of Mertensia 

 Virginica. The general tone of Le Reve, 

 according to the color chart, is Rose brule 

 No. 1; the petals are feathered with Rose 

 violace, No 4, while the centres of the outer 

 petals show Lilac rougeatre. The merten- 

 sia flowers are of Bleu d'azur, No. 1, though 

 more lavender-blue and with greater depth 

 of tone. The buds are of Violet de Cobalt 

 No. 1, the leaves Vert civette, No. 3. 



A suggestion for spring planting noted 

 last season was the remarkably rich effect 

 of tulips PuqDle Perfection, vitellina, and 

 Innocence with cut buds and blooms of the 

 superb purple lilac Ludwig Spaeth. A 

 noble combination this for a border in which 

 interesting and original color is desired. 

 Tulip President Lincoln I thought a great 

 find. The chart description of it would be 

 this : Darkest tone of petal Violet d'iris No. 2 ; 

 paler part of petal Lilas violace No. 2. Let 

 me suggest with every confidence in its value 

 the growing of President Lincoln with the 

 two tulips, Mrs. Collier and Dr. Hardy 

 shown in color on the cover of the Reverend 

 Joseph Jacob's capital book, '"Tulips," that 

 book written from "the innate fire of an en- 



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„ -ii'afr'ft"- 



A marvelously lovely combination is of tulips and iris. Here is opportunity for many harmonious groupings of 



brilliant or softly shading colors 



