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unusual emergency arise I should give
them water if I thought it absolutely necessary--but this will
be a very rare occurrence.
.....Thirdly
, give them a judicious dressing
of lime, I never used to do this, but I have been converted to
the practice by the effect produced by lime in the gardens of
my friends. Mortar and brick rubbish is recommended by some authorities
as a satisfactory home for the Bearded Irises. In my garden which
is very much exposed the Irises are what Tennyson calls caught
and cuffed by the gale. For this reason perhaps I always find
myself assessing the amount of protection afforded to the flowers
whenever I enter a new garden. The most successful private Iris
garden which I know is protected on all sides, and the plants
seem to show by the excellence of their growth that they fully
appreciate this as well as their other advantages.
To sum up I will take refuge in rhyme:
...................................Give good drainage, give them sun,
...................................Add lime-tis thus success is won.
Orleton, Gerrard's Cross.
BEARDED IRISES.
BY
G. P. BAKER.
MY introduction to the
bearded Iris is of very long standing: I would not like to say
how long, suffice it to admit that I remember accompanying my
friend, Mr. George Yeld, to Parker's Nursery at Tooting, where
I purchased the nucleus of my present collection, which includes
some of to-day's favourites, such as Pallida dalmatica, Celeste,
and odoratissima, atropurpurea, cengialti, Cordelia, Gracchus,
Darius, Ganymede, Jacquesiana Victorine, Innocenza, Queen of May,
and possibly others of doubtful origin.
.....In
my early gardening days I made no particular study how best to
grow the Iris, but subsequently when in Italy, Bulgaria, and Asia
Minor, having observed them growing in vases surmounting the pillars
of a gateway, or on the roof of an oriental fountain, or in the
chinks of mortar-made stone walls, much as Wallflowers and Snapdragons
grow in this country, I came to the conclusion I would try them
on a clay soil bank overlooking and surrounding a sunken lawn.
The position has proved very successful; there is no danger of
the plants becoming water-logged and when in full bloom their
varied colours, like so much stained glass, can be viewed from
the sunken lawn with great advantage.
.....A
well-worked stiff loam or even clay with some mortar grit on such
a site is an ideal mixture. The bearded Irises make very long
roots, working downwards through the clay a foot or more long;
they are also surface feeders and in this connection great care
must be exercised not to disturb the surface of the soil during
the growing season. The Iris is amongst the hardiest and most
accommodating plants we have and it has been for this reason that
amateurs have taken advantage of their good nature to relegate
them to shady places under trees and to any odd corners. They
will grow in such places, but they will not flower; they delight
in sunshine where the rhizomes growing on the surface of the ground
may ripen and insure healthy plants for the following year.
.....Now
although I am an advocate of a bank, terrace, or a slope, I will
not condemn any level plot provided always that it is well trenched
and well drained. Some of my more precious varieties are so located,
only I take care to give them a lighter soil. It must, however,
be pointed out, that on a flat surface they are more prone to
rot at the base of the stem. When this occurs the diseased portion
must be immediately cut out and a dressing of silver sand, to
which may be added a weak solution of Condy's fluid and water
inserted in and around the wound. The alternative is to cut away
a larger portion of the plant and burn it.
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