LEAVE IT TO THE IRIS 



LouisK Blake. Three Oaks, Spartanburg. S. C. 



^li.ss Grac^^ Sturtevant wa.s amu.sed when I told her that for 

 fifteen years I had marveled at the ease and sureness with 

 which she named her iris. She an.swered with her radiant smilp. 

 "It is much easier to originate an iris than to name it.'' As T 

 start this paper, at the order of our secretary, on garden pic- 

 tures of tall bearded iris. I realize how much easier it is to plan 

 and to plant than to describe the garden effect. 



In the first place. I must confess that I leave it to the iris. 

 Tn planning colors I neither study a book nor work with a color 

 chart. I look at an iris and the iris tells me what to do. There 

 are many people who have never really looked at an iris in their 

 lives. It's an exciting thing to do. T look at.an iris that is called 

 pink and I find pink and blue and yellow and warm white. 

 AVhat is the use of going to a book or a color chart whr^i tlie iris 

 has told me the colors to use in my garden picture? 



One other confession: I have not reached the lieiglit of iris 

 culture where I shun amoenas. disdain plicatas, tolerate blends, 

 dislike bicolors and scorn variegatas. I have liked amoenas 

 ever since, many years ago. I bought ]\Iildred Presby from 

 Bertrand H. Farr. And I have noticed in my garden that visitors 

 rarely pass Dorothy Dietz without a smile of appreciation and 

 they always pause with a gasp of delight before ]\Iarquita and 

 Shah Jehan. Los Angeles was my first modern plicata and age 

 does not wither the luminous quality of this iris. Every spring 

 I recapture the thrill of pleasure the first blooming gave me. 

 At the annual meeting Avh^n we were being graciou.sly enter- 

 tained by ]\Irs. J. Edgar Hires. I ran out in the rain and dark- 

 ness three times to look at the lovely, as well as wonderful. 

 Siegfried. During supper, a suave voice whispered. "Xo use 

 getting excited over a plicata."* Well. I'm still excited over 

 Siegfried I As for blends, with their coloring of charm and 

 mystery. I can not even understand a lack of entlnisiasm so I 

 leave it to Serenite and Mary Geddes to plead tlip ease. How 

 can any gardener fail to appreciate the value and the beauty 

 of bicolors? I leave it to Sir Michael and At Dawning. And as 

 for variegatas. I am thankful I have not missed tlip interest 

 and delight of Deseret. El Tovar. Picador. Vision, and a score 

 of others in my garden. 



When we place a picture on the walls of our home, we care- 

 fully consider light and shadow but we are apt to place a garden 

 picture anywhere we find a space. This is hard on iris, particu- 

 larly hard on blends. I have two garden pictures where blends 

 predominate ; one. in partial shade, the other in full sunlight. 



