HERBACEOUS GARDEN 
166 
Iris fcetidissima does well in some damp spot, 
and, though the flower is quite inconspicuous, 
the scarlet-berried seed-pods succeeding it are 
invaluable for winter decoration in the house. 
Its variegated form, with white and green 
leaves, is one of the best border or decorative 
plants we have. 
Graminea is not often seen now in gardens, 
but the foliage, like very green grass, and 
slightly ribbed, is most useful for cutting ; and 
the little mauve and blue flowers, half hidden 
among the leaves, are scented like a ripe 
apricot kissed by the hot sun. 
Japanese or Kaempferi iris are all suitable for 
an iris garden where there is a stream or pond. 
They need to be planted in swampy ground, 
or on the margin of a stream, and in full sun. 
Where they like a soil or site, they will grow 
into clumps 3 or 4 feet high, with quantities 
of thin, flat, almost clematis-shaped flowers, in 
wonderful colours of crimsons, purples, and 
mauves, splashed with white, and sometimes 
7 inches across. 
The Oncocyclus and Regelio species come 
from Palestine, and are so beautiful that it 
is said that anyone who has once seen one 
becomes straightway bitten with the madness 
to try and grow them — and madness it is, 
