7 
A GARDEN FOR 
THE DISPLAY OF IRISES 
LOUISE BEEBE WILDER 
Planning for Next Year’s Iris Garden While Irises are 
Abloom — Variations and Combinations Innumerable 
Suggested by a Lover and Grower of Iris Whose 
Word Carries Weight 
50 MAKE the acquaintance of the Iris in even a modest 
way is at once to become imbued with the ardor of the 
collector, and shortly afterward to be confronted with 
the embarrassment of one’s riches and with the question 
of what to do with them. 
It is not possible to be satisfied for long with the space avail- 
able for the accommodation of this flower of flowers in the beds 
and borders of a general garden where so many other plants 
i must find a place. One is soon brought to the distressing neces- 
sity of imposing the fate of the wild flower, “ born to blush un- 
seen,” upon all sorts of rarities and royalties; sticking bits of 
i newly acquired Iris treasure into out-of-the-way or unsuitable 
places; and ousting entirely, perhaps, some worthy old friends; 
, all because it has not been foreseen to what lengths, or numbers, 
i one’s infatuation would carry one, and proper preparation made. 
Long ago the separate Rose Garden solved the problem of 
man’s passion for Roses and more Roses, and it would seem 
to-day that we are in such case that only a similar provision for 
Irises will enable us satisfactorily to indulge our ever increasing 
i interest in this great family of enchanting personalities. 
A border, or an entire garden, devoted to growing Irises under 
; the most favorable conditions, physical and artistic, has become 
I for many of us a most pressing need. Such a garden should 
be so placed as to be inconspicuous during the period when there 
t are no Irises to bloom; but from April well into July it would be 
full of beauty and interest, and as our knowledgeand understand- 
i ing of rare species and varieties increase, and the attention of 
' the Iris hybridists turns toward giving us later flowering, or 
I second-flowering sorts, this period will be greatly extended. 
The plan given in no way assumes to have exhausted the 
i possibilities of such an enterprise — each must approach the 
| problem from the point of his personal requirements and the 
r' space available. My effort is to suggest a type of garden that 
I might easily be reproduced in an out-of-the-way portion of the 
j grounds and screened from the general view, that would provide 
I opportunity for growing a good many species and varieties under 
I congenial and becoming conditions. 
In explanation of the plan I would say that the central bed 
about the pool (A) is devoted to the moisture-loving spe- 
cies; the surrounding circle (B) to the Intermediates; the beds 
marked (C) to varioust all species; the square beds (D) to 
members of the squalens and variegata sections of the tall 
Bearded Irises whose unusual color schemes make them difficult 
to place; the narrow beds (E) are assigned to the dwarfs, and 
the wider outer borders (F) to a general planting of early and 
late tall, bearded varieties. The plants shown on the plan all 
may be grown without extraordinary care or preparation, and 
are such as any one may acquire without risking his everlasting 
solvency. The bed about the pool will need to be of deep, rich 
soil; and if the pool may be so constructed as to over-flow in one 
•or two places, so much the better for the moisture-loving tenants. 
For the rest, good garden soil, devoid of fresh manure, is all that 
is required, save plenty of sunshine. 
I T WILL be noted that other plants than Irises are indicated 
on the plan. They, however, are quite subordinate in the 
part they play, being chosen entirely for their fitness to empha-- 
size the beauty of form and color of the Iris flowers. These, 
like any forms of beauty, are greatly enhanced when seen against 
the foil of a well chosen background, or when some near-by con- 
trasting form serves to accentuate the nobility of their own 
modeling. No set color-scheme has been followed on the plan; 
my attempt has been simply to make a harmonious grouping of 
the best moderate-priced Irises known to me with such plants and 
shrubs of their season as will best throw their beauty into relief. 
“All concord’s born of contraries” in the garden as elsewhere, 
thus the Lupin has long been recognized as the perfect accom- 
paniment for the tall Bearded Irises — its spreading foliage and 
slender flower-spike furnishing the ideal complement for the 
sword-like leaves and winged blossoms of the Iris. To search 
out these flower affinities is a most delightful occupation. My 
own observations and experiments in behalf of the Iris have 
resulted in some happy conclusions which I give in the hope of 
being helpful to other Iris-lovers. Plants appropriately grown 
among the tall Bearded Irises are Lupins; Thalictrum aquilegi- 
folium, T. cornuti, T. glaucum; Thermopsis Carolina (early June) 
and T. montana (late May), both with pale yellow flower-spikes 
not unlike Lupin; Veronica amethystina (syn. spuria), flowers 
bright blue in spikes; Valeriana officinalis; Baptisia australis, 
B. tinctoria; Elymus glaucus (syn. arenarius); Geranium san- 
guineum, G. grandiflorum and G. ibericum; Salvia pretensis, 
the Meadow Sage, rather coarse of leaf, but its crowding flower- 
spikes give fine blocks of deep blue color useful among the yellow 
Irises. Oriental Poppies are a favorite accompaniment to June 
Irises; and while the respective blossoms are rather out of scale, 
their colors appear to have been mixed with a special view to 
felicitous association. Single Peonies, too, which bloom earlier 
than the double sorts, are well placed in the neighborhood of the 
larger-flowered Irises. A spreading mass of silver-gray Lyme 
Grass (Elymus) forming a foreground for groups of Iris pallida 
dalmatica and pink single Peonies is one of June’s rarest manifes- 
tations in my garden. 
Mr. Morrison suggests the glowing possibility of Irises and 
Azaleas, and from Mrs. McKinney came the delightful hint of 
Iris Mrs. Alan Grey with a foreground of Phlox divaricata. 
Cottage and Darwin Tulips may be freely used among the 
Intermediate Irises and the May-flowering germanicas, and early 
or Dutch Tulips and Daffodils among the dwarf Irises. These 
rise delightfully-from a setting of such low-spreading plants as 
Arabis, Aubrietia, and creeping Phlox. Foxgloves accord pleas- 
antly with the blue and white forms of I. orientalis, and golden 
Trollius may also be used in these groups. 1 must confess never 
to have found a very effective associate for the Japanese Iris; 
the great, gorgeous creatures seem to demand a monopoly of the 
stage during their season. But I once saw at a flower show a very 
fine grouping of a deep blue Japanese I ris and a soft pink Astilbe, 
said to be named America, that might well be carried out in the 
garden. 
The best edging that I know for borders of May and June 
Irises is composed of irregular stretches of Nepeta Mussini, 
Stachys lanata, and the old double white Pink, Dianthus fim- 
briatus, that may be raised from seed in quantity at little ex- 
pense. These create a neutral setting that helps to reconcile 
the most striking associations within the border. 
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