208 ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW 
in blossom, with the old, ivy-covered Museum in the background, 
Mr. Olivier’s picture amply tells. It consists of twelve large beds, 
32 feet by 12 feet, and ten circular beds 12 feet in diameter, all cut 
out on the grass. Each large bed is planted with several distinct 
kinds belonging to one section of the genus. The most popular 
sections are germanica, pallida, squalens, variegata, amoena, neglecta 
and pumila. The English and Spanish irises each occupy a bed, 
and the remainder of the rhizomatous species are grouped in others. 
As the bulbous irises (excepting the English and Spanish) require 
more shelter and a warmer position, they are grown at the foot of 
the wall at the north end of the Herb Garden. Here some species, 
like L. stenophylla and L. Danfordia, are to be found in flower in 
January and February, followed closely by other allied species. On 
the same border are also grown the irises of the Oncocyclus group, 
commonly known as “ cushion ” irises, perhaps the most gorgeously 
coloured of all. 
