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THE (JAR DEN MAGAZINE 



363 



we plant more closely, give the bulbs a 

 light mulch in the winter, put Paris green 

 ami bran, mixed with molasses, near 

 them to tempt the energetic and greedy 

 cutworm, and call our Spanish iris one of 

 the successes of our garden. I should 

 also say that we found they were also 

 inexpensive at home, where good mixed 

 varieties may be bought for fifty cents a 

 hundred. 



The English iris, or Iris Ziphioides is 

 much like the Spanish, only with some- 

 what larger flowers, and an even greater 

 range of coloring, including many beautiful 

 mottled varieties, besides the plain colors. 

 It blossoms later than the Spanish — in 

 late June and July, and therefore must be 

 included in our continual blooming scheme. 

 It is very easy of culture, somewhat more 

 hardy than the Spanish, and also valuable 

 for forcing. 



Both the Spanish and the English send 



up only one or two stalks of bloom, and 

 increase but slowly, and therefore take but 

 little room in the garden. A row of them 

 may be sandwiched in almost anywhere 

 among plants which will fill in, later in the 

 season. The English iris grows to a height 

 of about two feet. 



I must include in my list of "must haves" 

 for the small garden, the tiny dwarf spring 

 iris, /. pumila, sometimes called baby iris, 

 one of the earliest flowers to bloom. It 

 makes a charming border, set closely, but 

 in separate plants, and is easily kept in 

 bounds. There is an old-fashioned garden 

 in Old Concord, where all the beds are 

 edged in this way, and the slender thread 

 of dark purple bloom outlining the paths 

 in spring is most charming. 



We have two or three "patches" of it 

 at the street end of our perennial border, 

 and when the "gardener" takes the re- 

 freshment of his five-minute walk about 



the garden before starting for his city law- 

 office, these patches are the first places to 

 visit in the early warm days. 



Here, some morning, when the snow has 

 hardly all vanished from the cold corners, 

 there will be found purple instead of 

 brown, and in spite of our daily inspection 

 it is always a surprise. 



There are several varieties of color, but 

 I think none is more lovely than the com- 

 mon purple. Of a beautiful rich, dark, 

 royal shade, its tiny flowers unfold when 

 just above the ground, and in their setting 

 of minute sword-like leaves, are always a 

 revelation and a delight. Evanescent and 

 fleeting, they are hardly more than a 

 promise of the joys to come, but in their 

 glowing beauty are fitting, although di- 

 minutive, heralds of that regal train which 

 shall soon follow, and which shall not have 

 wholly passed before the summer begins 

 to wane. 



The Climbing Lilies — By Parker T. Barnes, p :r. rI 



AN ENGAGING LITTLE GROUP OF UNUSUAL SUMMER FLOWERS FOR THE GREENHOUSE, AND QUITE EASY TO GROW 



THE gloriosas are odd, 

 but handsome, plants 

 which deserve to be better 

 known and more generally 

 cultivated. The blooming 

 period extends from early 

 summer through the fall, 

 according to the species 

 and time of starting into 

 growth, and well grown 

 specimens will have an 

 abundance of flowers, one 

 being produced in the 

 axil of each leaf. They 

 differ frommost odd plants 

 in that they are attractive 

 and their interest is not 

 for the specialist alone. In 

 appearance the flowers 

 greatly resemble some of 

 the liliums, but the six 

 segments of the perianth 

 (petals) are reflexed like 

 the cyclamen. The plants 

 differ from the lilies in 

 having a climbing habit. 

 They make a weak growth 

 and the long narrow leaves 

 have tendril-like prolonga- 

 tions with w 7 hich they 

 cling for support. The 

 flowers are borne singly 

 in the axils of the leaves, 

 on stems several inches 

 long, are red or yellow in 

 color, and vary in size 

 from four to eight inches 

 across, according to the 

 species. The best flowers 

 are produced when the 

 plants are grown in a 

 bright, sunny place. 



If you have a greenhouse try this climbing lily. Gloriosa superba, 



yellow towards the centre 



The flowers are red. shaded 



The oldest and best 

 known is Gloriosa superba. 

 It will grow five feet or 

 more in height. The seg- 

 ments of the flowers are 

 three to four inches long, 

 much reflexed, and the 

 edges of the segments un- 

 dulated or crinkled. When 

 the flowers first open the 

 lower half of the segment 

 is yellow, the balance 

 bright red with yellow 

 margins; with age the yel- 

 low merges into red. It 

 flowers in the fall. 



Although not as attrac- 

 tive as superba, Gloriosa 

 simplex (also known as G. 

 virescens, and G. Plantii) 

 is worth growing because 

 it flowers in early summer. 

 The flowers open yellow, 

 but with exposure to the 

 sun, turn to a deep yel- 

 low-red. The edges of the 

 petals are less undulated, 

 and the entire flower is 

 smaller, while the plant 

 grows at least four feet 

 high. 



There is a variety of 

 this species, G. simplex, 

 var. grandiflora, with flow- 

 ers much larger than the 

 type (eight inches across). 

 This variety is frequently 

 sold as G. superba, or 

 G. simplex, according to 

 whether or not the seg- 

 ments are much crinkled. 



The latest introduction 



