II 
SPRING 
45 
trasts in size and colour—blue, purple, yellow, 
brown, and white—and they flower from May 
onwards; but there are other forms as well. 
The great big Japanese ones which have lately 
become well known, called Iris Kaempferi , 
come out in the summer, and can only be grown 
in a bog garden, but there are many kinds 
which do well in ordinary good garden soil ; 
foremost among these comes Iris reticulata , 
which is small and deep blue, with fine grass¬ 
like leaves. This blooms very early in the 
spring, and is therefore most useful. Even 
earlier still appears the pale blue Iris stylosa 
In a wild garden it will form large plants with 
ribbon-like foliage, and its lovely flowers in the 
south of England are often out as early as 
Christmas. Another bulbous plant, the “ spring 
star-flower ” (Triteleia uniflora ), is white, with a 
sort of bluish tinge, and has a mauve stripe 
down each point of the star. It shows early, 
and lasts till April, and grows well in any nice 
sunny spot. 
Foremost among blue flowers stands the 
gentian. Among the cold snows of the Alps 
the gentian comes out “ timidly peeping ” 
with the first breath of spring which is able 
to thaw the ice-bound earth, and in the calm, 
majestic stillness among those snowy peaks, 
she 
