MIXED BORDERS AND ROCK GARDENS. 



157 



The Irises are a host in themselves. Of the bulbous section, the Spanish and English are best 

 suited for cultivation in the mixed border, and of the two, the Spanish (I. Xiphium) is the earlier, 

 effective varieties being Snow Queen, white, Canary Bird, yellow, Celestial, blue, and Golden 

 King, orange; while of the English (I. Xiphioides), Mont Blanc and La Grandesse, white, are 

 handsome flowers, and there are striking varieties of light and dark' blue, purple, claret, and 

 lavender sold under different names by various firms. In the tw o foregoing sections care should 

 be taken to procure self-coloured, and not splashed or mottled, varieties, and to plant each 

 variety in groups by itself, as by this means a far broader colour effect is obtained than if the 

 different varieties are mixed or those bearing splashed flowers are made use of. In the large 

 section of Flag Irises, usually known under the name of German Irises, there are a large number 

 of decorative varieties, amongst which some of the best are Princess of Wales, white ; tlavescens, 

 pale yellow ; atro-purpurea, dark" purple ; florentlna, white, turning to pale grey, sweet-scented ; 



A BORDER AT WEST DEAN PARK. 



pallida and pallida dalmatica, of different shades of lavender, very fragrant; Queen of the May, 

 rosy lilac ; Madame Chereau, white, margined with blue ; Darius, golden and brown ; Virginius, 

 violet and white ; and venusta, rosy lavender. Other good Irises for the border, where the soil 

 is deep and rich, and does not readily become dry, are I. orientalis, also known as ochroleuca and 

 gigantea, white and yellow, and I. aurea and Monnieri, both bearing golden flowers. These 

 three Irises are of precisely similar habit, and, under favourable circumstances, attain a height of 

 almost 6ft. The charming winter-flowering 1. stylosa and its white variety succeed well in light 

 soils in warm localities, and bear their fragrant flowers from October to March. 



The Lily tribe affords an even larger number of species suitable for cultivation in the 

 mixed border. The first to bloom is L. pyrenaicum, with chrome yellow Turk's caps and red 

 anthers, a handsome flower, but possessing a strong and somewhat offensive smell. In southern 



