Plate 137 . 
IRIS KCEMPFERI — " EDWARD GEORGE HENDERSON.” 
One of tlie most superb and gorgeous flowering plants exhibited during the year is 
undoubtedly the grand variety of Iris Kcempferi figured on Plate 137. Its rich coloration 
has been aptly compared with that of the blooms of Clematis JacJcmanii ; but the Iris of our 
illustration is furnished with a luminous golden splash at the base of each petal, which is not 
present in the Clematis, and this brilliant yellow tint is simply invaluable as a means of 
setting off to its utmost advantage the magnificent purple of the body of the petals. At the 
date of the exhibition of this plant in the rooms of the Royal Horticultural Society (July 3rd 
last), Messrs. Henderson and Sons exhibited several other varieties belonging to the same 
strain, one of which was most elegantly reticulated, after the manner of some Petunias. We 
are informed that this is a border plant, easy of cultivation, and, as will be seen from our 
Plate, of unrivalled beauty and splendour of colour. Some botanists consider I. Kcempferi 
to be a variety of I. laevigata , to which species it is certainly closely allied. If our readers 
will turn to Plate 207 (Old Series), they will see a grand Iris of the old type sent out by the 
late Mr. Salter, in which the three outer coloured segments of the flower are purple and bent 
downwards, whilst the three inner are bright yellow and turned upwards : the variety of 
I. Kcempferi we now figure will be seen to differ in its blooms from the normal condition of 
the Iris in having all its six floral segments spread out horizontally. This divergence from 
the ordinary form is of great value to the plant when considered as a decorative object for the 
flower bed, and one likely to be highly appreciated by all lovers of handsome garden flowers. 
Plate 138 . 
NEW PENTSTEMONS — “ COUNTESS OF ROSSLYN” AND 
“ COUNT MUNSTER.” 
The two varieties of Pentstemon figured on Plate 138 may be considered types of the 
highest development to which the Pentstemon has at present been brought. Messrs. 
Downie, Laird, and Laing, of the Stanstead Park Nurseries, Forest Hill (to whom we are 
indebted for the opportunity of figuring these two fine new varieties), have made the culture 
and improvement of the Pentstemon a specialty for many years past, and a reference to our 
former volumes will show what a steady but certain progress has been made. In their grand 
Pentstemon, Stanstead Rival, one of the twenty best plants selected by the Royal Horti- 
cultural Society, we certainly had individual blooms a trifle larger in size than in either of 
the varieties we now figure, but the improvement in the general habit is most remarkable. 
In a first-class Pentstemon we must no longer look for pendulous flowers after the manner 
of the Foxglove, but fine horizontal or vertical blooms, which make the plant an invaluable 
one for bouquets. Any verbal description of the fine colours of the two plants we now figure 
is unnecessary, as the colour of the drawing speaks for itself, as does the representation of 
the general habit. Pentstemons make grand border plants, and deserve a greatly increased 
popularity, for the improvement that has taken place in their general quality can hardly be 
imagined by those who have not the Pentstemons constantly before them. A good yellow 
loam, not too light, enriched by the addition of some manure and leaf mould, suits this plant 
exactly. In a bed so composed the Pentstemons should be placed eighteen inches apart each 
way. When the plants are turned out of pots a stake should be placed against each, to 
support the leading shoot. 
