June, 1907 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



231 



and so need introducing to 

 the newer generation. 

 These are the old fash- 

 ioned mauve with hght 

 standards and deeper falls 

 — a stately and beautiful 

 plant when well grown and 

 blooming early in May, 

 and the cream-colored var- 

 iety which blooms later 

 in the month. Less seldom 

 seen in the old fashioned 

 garden was the white iris, a 

 pure and beautiful flower, 

 and equally vigorous and 

 free blooming. These three 

 are of iron clad constitu- 

 tion and are especially 

 adapted for naturalizing 

 along the banks of streams, 

 the edge of wooded slopes, 

 and other points of vantage 

 in the semi-wild garden. 



Among the rarer Ger- 

 man iris is a beautiful 

 white, the standards and 

 falls edged with a feath- 

 ered band of blue, this is 

 really about the loveliest 

 of the several varieties. 



Mexicana, a variety with purple standards and yellow falls, 

 is rich and unique in color, then there are various bronze and 



Too Much Shade Should Be Avoided for Successful Planting 



preference it is for leaf 

 mold and sharp sand, a 

 preference it shares in 

 common with its congener 

 the Japanese iris. 



It requires less water to 

 bloom well than the Jap- 

 anese variety, but should 

 be well supplied during the 

 budding and blooming 

 period. 



While it may be success- 

 fully grown in partial 

 shade too much shade is 

 to be avoided; a position 

 where it will receive the 

 morning sun will prove as 

 successful as any, and 

 where it may have some 

 protection from bleak 

 winds in winter. It should 

 not be planted where the 

 water can stand about its 

 roots in winter, but be given 

 a well drained position. 



The iris is always more 

 effective when grown in 

 long rows and for best ef- 

 fect should never be mixed 

 with other flowers. 

 When naturalized among shrubbery or along the course of 

 streams — whether natural or artificial — and in such positions 

 it is always at its best, it should be 

 distributed in groups or large clumps 

 rather widely separated. 



In planting the iris the roots should 

 be merely covered with soil as this 

 is one of the plants which love to 

 have their roots close to the surface, 

 for this reason a mulch of lawn clip- 

 pings over the surface of the bed dur- 

 ing summer is beneficial, and in the 

 fall the ground between the roots 

 may be covered with old manure, but 

 it should not be allowed to cover the 

 crown of the plants as it is apt to in- 

 duce decay. 



yellow, blue and pink, light and dark 

 blue, and rosy lilac varieties that are 

 striking and beautiful, a description 

 of which belongs properly to the 

 florist's catalogue, and any of which 

 are a real acquisition to the hardy 

 garden. 



Any good garden soil seems to suit 

 the German iris, perhaps if it has a 



The Splendid Flowers Beautify Any Landscape 



