A PROPOSED GARDEN FOR WHITING IRIS 
By ROBERT BAKER WYNNE 
The iris lover’s enthusiasm for his chosen flower has sometimes been 
referred to as pleasant pixilation or flag frenzy. No matter the terms from 
the uninitiated, the vigorous productiveness of American irisarians has 
given this weary world many fine iris indeed. Hybridizers, dealers, col- 
lectors, swappers—the great and the small—contribute to this hobby of 
ours that has now become more notable for its fascinating distractions 
than for its former ease of mind. Of possible consideration in any article 
on iris today, is our self-critical view that the zestful urge to create buick 
iris has inevitably resulted in numerical overabundance. Too, it is fairly 
self-evident that irisarians have unwittingly contrived a mad race to pro- 
duce and acquire “the very latest.’’ Despite real accomplishment in so 
many directions, our most outstanding fault at the moment is that the more 
we produce and the more we acquire, the less we seem to know how to 
use them effectively. We need to concentrate heavily on the landscaping ot 
our collections. 
Whereas many reasons lead us to this point of view, two are upper- 
most. At present, most professional landscape architects are so concerned 
with the gymnastics of contemporary architecture that they subordinate 
beauty to so-called functionalism, and often overextend themselves in the 
creation of outdoor-interiors at the sacrifice of our prized flowers. We can 
rarely turn to the professionals for any conclusive answer to iris place- 
ments, unless we are willing to run the risk of suddenly discovering our- 
selves outdoor-living by the mile and irising by the inch. Secondly, we, 
the flag growers, have not yet made an all-out, widespread effort in this 
challenging phase of our work. It may well be that from tireless amateurs 
within our own group some logical approach and practical application will 
finally come. 
Many of us are weary of the overused term ‘‘garden value.” Neverthe- 
less, this term is legitimate to our aims and needs and proves recurrently 
bothersome not so much because we cannot understand it but because we 
are nettled by the challenge forever within it. Consider how we enthusiasts 
begin our collections; nearly always the collections begin us. When at 
first the iris are few, we augment them with various concurrent bloom; 
when the iris greatly increase, we eliminate complementary plant mate- 
rials and spread our flags far and wide over usually limited acreage. What- 
ever else, the one thing we all tend to do is “spot plant,” and rarely is 
the result good. Many hold that any iris is only as good as its immediate 
iris neighbors allow it or help it to be, a point more practical than not. 
But these same persons conclude, finally, that the best effects are most 
often accidental, and here they are sadly on the defensive. Such an iris 
philosophy leads to further, complicated defensiveness and onto the floating 
isle of multiple ifs and formidable whynots. A technique of calm, plotted 
controls is the answer—not a random, double-barrelled firing of iris into 
the unarmed ground. 
Anyone can spot plant iris and most of the four thousand do. The lazy 
ease of it promotes a rationalizing about it, until this spotting (which is 
really no more than that old game of give-away checkers) comes to be 
regarded as ultimate formula. When this imp’s creed is pushed to its 
atomic extremes, the result is a chain reaction often devastating to behold. 
The thoughtful, alert irisarian must seek to control the panorama of 
color just as eagerly as he would master the borer. Basically, he must con- 
tend as well with height, size and time of bloom. He must even extend 
his efforts to a concern with windbreaks, sunlight reflection, underfoot 
stability, and resting with a view. 
The following competitive study is a landscheme of basic controls as 
applied to the distinguished originations of the Whitings. In explaining it, 
I must say first off that from where I stand I can view no easy way to the 
effective landscaping of iris; the road is rough, not royal. Certainly, a few 
overall principles of placement, basic precautions relative to specific kinds 
of iris, are fairly well known and can be further realized and patiently 
recorded to our obvious and more widespread advantage. But each individ- 
ual collection will require individual research, a preliminary maneuvering, 
a realistic testing, until by such studious procedure we shall have learned 
a great deal more than we now know. 
Specifically, my chosen problem was how to place to their greatest 
effectiveness 85 Whiting iris in an exhibition garden. A specialist’s collec- 
tion is always best when staged simply; a simple but controlled plotting 
is best if formal in spirit though not manneristic in detailing. A rectangle, 

