and house decoration they are exquisite, and better than any other form 
of iris for this purpose. 
Closely following the Washington hybrids are the spurias and Japanese 
irises. The spurias are tall and stately, so enchanting, so filled with ethereal 
beauty, that I cannot understand why so often they are neglected in our 
gardens. When it comes to the Japanese irises which bloom for nearly 
four weeks, there seems to be no end of fascinating effects that can be 
portrayed with these flowers. Their individual beauty of form and finish 
lends itself to delightful possibilities in creating great masses of color, 
often lacking at this time of year. 
The newer delphiniums are a revelation to most gardeners, with their 
tall graceful spikes of orchid-pink, white, blue and royal purple. Not only 
do they bloom in June, but with proper care they will give us flowers in 
August and September, and these combine perfectly with the later blooming 
hemerocallis. There is no need to dwell upon the peonies for everyone 
knows of their beauty, but perhaps it is well to emphasize that they give us 
beautiful accents of color, and have extremely fine foliage, points to be 
considered in any garden planting. 
Then comes the July and August slump in the garden, which it is well 
nigh impossible to combat if we do not have the modern hemerocallis. 
There are several charming early varieties, but unlike most perennials, 
they are at their height of bloom during these two months. In them we 
have a wealth of choice, for their large lily-like flowers are in great variety 
of coloring, palest yellow, glistening gold, orange, salmon, coral and cop¬ 
pery pink, soft old rose, and deep velvety rose red, yet all unite in one 
perfect harmony of color, giving continuous bloom from May until late 
September. If the charm of an evening garden is considered, where one may 
walk at twilight, the night blooming hemerocallis are most effective. Their 
great stars of light are sweetly scented, and as the shadows fall they seem 
to shine with magic lustre Lovely in form and color with splendid foliage, 
each variety has the additional merit of a blooming season from four to six 
weeks, something not found in other perennials. 
As the season wanes, we have the new race of fall blooming bearded 
irises, and the latest hemerocallis, little Multiflora. These irises are of the 
bearded type, and while not as large in flower as the newer tall bearded, 
yet if given fertilizer and plenty of water after their spring flowering, they 
will give us bloom until taken by the frost. An excellent planting is the 
late blooming Multiflora with these tall blooming irises in some sunny spot 
where they can be protected from our first frosts and if this is done both 
will bloom well through October. 
To me, no more enthralling hobby can be found than the creating of 
new varieties of plants, and there seems to be no end to the diversity of 
color that may be obtained through hybridization. It is from this pursuit 
that I get the most enjoyment, although there are many failures, often 
there is a success which gives encouragement to renewed effort. There is 
no royal road to success in gardening, it must come through patient efforts 
and many tumbles, but the glory of it all is the lasting happiness that a 
garden gives for the love of gardening is a seed that once sown never dies, 
but grows until it becomes an increasing source of peaceful satisfaction, 
and in the last analysis, the joy of a garden lies within the heart of the 
gardener, who views with appreciative eyes the beauty he has created. 
ELIZABETH NOBLE NESMITH 
DEFINITIONS OF INITIALS USED IN CATALOGUE 
S. means standards; F. means falls. 
A. M., A. I. S. is Award of Merit, American Iris Society. 
H. M., A. I. S. is Honorable Mention, American Iris Society. 
A. M., R. H. S. is Award of Merit, Royal Horticultural Society. 
C. M., R. H. S. is Certificate of Merit, Royal Horticultural Society. 
C. M., S. N. H. F. is Certificate of Merit, Societe Nationale d’Horticulture 
de France. 
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