have never had any complaints concerning the quality 
of bloom and we believe that they are as well grown 
and give as fine bloom as they ever will. The except¬ 
ions are those which have been planted too late in 
the season to form the complete annual new root 
system. Planted in July or early August with attention 
to moisture and growing conditions, a one-year 
division will provide typical bloom. 
As to the first bloom of seedlings, we should say 
wait a year or two. Often the first blooming of a 
seedling is the best it ever gives. 
The one and only real use and function of an iris is 
to give beauty in the garden. Its garden beauty, use 
and value are the only criteria that should be applied 
to the plant. The technicalities of the show bench have 
seriously damaged fine races of plants in the past, such 
as the tulip and the primrose, in attempts to stan¬ 
dardize form and detail and limit color classes. If, for 
instance, an iris of strikingly beautiful color, such as 
Clara Noyes, is to be condemned because it has too 
open standards or other imperfections of somebody’s 
idea of what perfection in these lines should be, we 
merely ask, how do these open standards damage it 
as a beautiful piece of color in the garden. 
We have selected our list of quality irises on the 
basis of their beauty in the garden. We believe that 
all the average gardener wants to know is whether the 
iris will be a beautiful plant in his garden and whether 
it will grow well before he buys and plants it. Irises 
whose imperfections of stem and bloom are so obvious 
as to mar their beauty naturally are not introduced 
to commerce, so no one need worry that any iris 
offered in a selective list such as that of Quality 
Gardens carry any such imperfections. The points on 
which ratings are reduced are so technical that the 
average gardener wouldn't notice them unless some 
highly technical judge pointed them out and he 
wouldn't care even then. 
The great appeal of the iris in the garden is that it 
gives a wider range and more varied combinations of 
coloring than any other perennial. It has none of the 
obvious character of many plants. It needs close 
inspection to observe its full beauty. It is a subtle 
plant, a plant of personality, so to speak. This is the 
reason that once you have an iris in your garden you 
want it in greater variety than you do most other 
plants because the variety is there. The experience of 
veteran gardeners is that a number of varieties in the 
same color range is far more effective, interesting and 
beautiful than a large mass of a single variety. 
Some attention to color combinations is needed for 
the finest effects in the garden but the color scheme 
can be and often is overdone. An arbitrary color plan 
laid down on paper and then planted meticulously 
according to the colors in the paper plan often brings 
disappointments and does not realize the hopes of the 
gardener because there are so many variations of 
texture and light to be considered that cannot appear 
on a paper plan of flat colors. The character of the 
iris makes such disappointments rare. It is difficult to 
get a really inharmonious and disagreeable iris com¬ 
bination, but some are very much better than others. 
The most practical and most easily workable and 
beautifully effective idea we have encountered for iris 
plantings is the oriental rug motif. Much the same idea 
has been expressed in the Bulletin of The Iris Society 
of England, where embroidery with its varied colors 
was taken as a basic idea. The rug and embroidery 
effect work out in much the same way. 
A beautiful oriental rug which is generally red, 
warm and glowing in effect, will be found to have a 
number of different reds slightly varying tone with 
roses to maroons, and contrasts of blue and yellow. 
The red-toned irises offer wonderful material for such 
a planting with the pink blends and an occasional 
deep rich blue, such as Blue Velvet, to enhance the 
reds. There is now a great variety of fine red-toned 
irises available for such plantings, such as Dauntless, 
Indian Chief, Hernani, Joycette, Ethel Peckham, Red 
Radiance, the new and brilliant Cheerio, the bronzier 
reds, such as the wonderful Burning Bronze, the even 
darker new French masterpiece, Directeur Pinelle, 
Grand Monarch, and others. In the pink and rose 
blends to go with them we have such beautiful things 
as Spring Maid, Hermene, Ramese, Frivolite and the 
lovely Coralie. It is a fascinating pastime to arrange 
such plantings. 
The blue irises with varying yellows offer another 
fine field. The varying pinks with white irises and an 
occasional deep blue to bring up the pinkness offer 
still another range. 
When it comes to the blends the possibilities are 
almost endless and offer some of the most beautiful 
garden effects that can be obtained. 
Variegatas and variegata blends give the brilliant 
spots in the iris garden. There is the widest field for 
beautiful plantings and the wider the variety of irises 
the more beautiful and interesting the planting. 
The iris can make a garden by itself, but when the 
bloom is done, so is the garden. Perennials to bloom 
with the iris and to follow it must be considered, but 
the iris as the foundation plant of the late May and 
early June garden, after the tulips and before the roses 
and peonies get into full flower, will give you the 
maximum of garden beauty. 
In our gardens we have had these factors in mind 
and you will see iris blooming with other perennials 
and something of beauty all season. 
We again extend an invitation to visit Quality 
Gardens in iris time. 
Mrs. Douglas Patdson 
IRIS 
SHOW 
The Freeport Garden Club will hold their Annual Ins Show in the Masonic 
Temple and the tentative dates set are June 1st and 2nd. Weather conditions 
may ma\e it necessary to change the dates. Anyone desiring to come may write 
us and we will send definite date. 
6 
Quality Gardens 
