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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



June, 1907 



THE IRIS GARDEN 



By Ida D. Bennett 



Probably the best known and admired are the various 

 Japanese and German iris. These differ materially in the 

 construction of flower, time of blooming, and somewhat in 

 color; it is a question if either can carry off the crown of 

 beauty, each being charming and beautiful in their own way. 

 Fortunately their time of blooming is separate, and by plant- 

 ing the two varieties one may have iris in bloom from early 

 in May until late in July, thus extending the iris season over 

 the greater part of three months. 



Two colors of the German iris have been common in our 

 gardens for too many years to need description unless, Indeed, 

 they have so nearly disappeared from the modern garden. 



I HE humblest blue or yellow flag which 

 grows beside a bit of sedgy marsh has a 

 beauty of its own, a beauty not alone of 

 color, but largely made up of form and 

 poise, the pure line of artistic proportion so 

 grateful to the artistic sense. This beauty 

 of form and line is greatly emphasized in 

 the iris family — the aristocratic cousins of the humble flag. 



So large a family is the iris in all its ramifications that one 

 may search through all the temperate zones and finci few, if 

 any, portions whose flora is not enriched with one or more 

 forms of this beautiful flower. 



The Iris Border Is the Most Effective Manner of Iris Planting 



