yee one 
To those of you who did not receive the 1953 folder 
from Brentwood Gardens I would like to explain what 
I mean by Lilliput Hybrids. I personally have always 
liked small irises. They have definite use in the garden, 
and every garden whether an iris garden or not needs 
a good early blooming perennial flower. I have never 
been satisfied with the old type dwarfs. Efforts to 
produce intermediates from them when crossed with 
tall bearded met with little success. 
Some years ago my friend, Mr. Paul Cook, sent me 
pollen of a new form of true pumila. This placed 
upon tall bearded varieties has produced a new type 
of hybrid. They are very short in stature, running 
from 8 to 16 inches. Most of them have two terminal 
flowers and one side branch. In shape and substance 
they follow the pattern of the tall bearded parent. 
They are fertile among themselves and to either parent. 
This quality should make these small irises valuable in 
transmitting the factors of hardiness and floriferous- 
ness to our modern tall bearded strains, two qualities 
which are sorely needed. 
The Lilliputs bloom in the period between the early 
dwarfs and the early tall beardeds. They have the 
habit of making multiple bloom stalks as the season 
progresses which gives them a long season of bloom. 
Try them for the rock garden. They will make com- 
pact round clumps which bloom at tulip time. Try 
them for edgings, or in the perennial border. Try them 
above all, if you are interested in hybridizing, as 
something new and different. There seems to be no 
limit to the variations which are possible from their 
combinations. 
As we did last year we are pricing these introduc- 
tions very low and due to a shortage of stock of our 
1953 introductions we are making no change from last 
year’s prices. 
Sincerely yours, 
Geddes Douglas 
