MISTY GOLD 
IMAGINE THIS GROUP IN A CORNER OF YOUR GARDEN 
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By F. Elmer Hallberg, Landscape Architect 
A garden without Iris is like a Prima Donna without jewels 
and sequins. Flowers are the highlights of the garden and Iris 
are indispensable because of their majestic carriage and wide 
range of color. They combine to form exquisite harmonics with 
any perennial which blooms during its season. The above color 
illustration of Iris Misty Gold is a striking example how adapt- 
able even one color can be. This soft creamy yellow forms a 
lovely picture with the pale blue Forget-me-not Anchusa tucked 
in as a blanket around the feet of the Iris. One or two 
touches of strong color as supplied by the orange Geum gives it 
just the proper accent. The picture also shows how various 
shades of the same color but of different form and size make 
pleasant pictures. Here the combination of the yellow Iris and 
the yellow Alyssum Saxatile spiced by the orange Geum create 
an agreeable picture. If one wished to form another color com- 
bination with the perennials shown in the illustration, one might 
use a purple Iris such as Violet Crown or Vatican Purple in the 
place of the yellow Misty Gold. he purple, pale blue and or- 
ange combination would be very agreeable. Or even a deep blue 
like Danube Wave could be substituted. 
The illustration of Dreamcastle shown above shows how nice 
Iris look against a green background. In this particular case it is 
Boxwood but it would look just as well near a Mugho Pine or 
Siberian Arbor-vitae in the more severe climate of Minnesota. 
Have you ever planted a group of evergreens? Well if you 
planted them close enough to form a well knit carpet you will 
find they will be crowded in a few years. You may solve the 
problem by spacing the evergreens a normal distance apart and 
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DREAMCASTLE 
AS AN ACCENT POINT AGAINST A BOUNDARY HEDGE 
by interplanting them with Iris and low growing perennials. The 
Iris foliage is upright and neat with evergreens and adds a bit of 
color to an otherwise somber picture. 
I have found some shrubs are just as difficult to handle as ever- 
greens when it comes to proper spacing. For instance, Lilacs are 
such tiny plants when they come from the nursery but form such 
large masses when full grown. Here again, restrain yourself and 
plant your Lilacs 8 to 12 feet apart and while you are waiting 
for the plants to grow together use the intervening spaces for 
ravishing pictures of Iris and perennials. It will do the Lilacs 
good to receive cultivation and you will be thrilled with your 
Iris pictures. 
And who loves to cut grass on a steep slope? Very often, when 
the surface drainage is not too great the unpleasant chore can be 
eliminated by substituting a slope cover of Iris and other heavy 
rooting perennials. Mulch the spaces between plants with an 
inch or two of peat or leaf compost. Sometimes a layer of hay 
or straw is necessary over the peat mulch to prevent erosion but 
never shows when growth begins. Therefore substitute beauty 
for backaches! 
Then may I call your attention to the “Ten Minute Garden.” 
So many people offer the alibi, “I have no time for a garden.” 
Generally they could if they would revise their ideas of a garden. 
Instead of trying to reproduce the Windsor Castle Gardens they 
should try say only a five foot square garden or even smaller and 
fill it with Iris and less ambitious perennials or annuals. Such 
a garden could be kept in the pink of condition on ten minutes 
per day and what a reward of soul satisfaction will be the result. 
