IRISES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXXII, Issue 10466, 2 October 1894, Page 2

IRISES.

(The Field,) The English and Spanish irises ore, in their way, the finest o£ all summer-bloom-ing things. They are of glorious colour, hlirdy, easily grown, and flower before, as a rule, tho roses are in full beauty. Although classed together, the two types present quite a distinct aspect. 1 The English are less grown than the Spanish, but they are handsomer, the flowers superb for breadth and massiveness, whilst the colours are at once tender and rich, “English" is quite a misnomer. They are no more English than the little violet-scented J. reticulata that blooms in the spring; and it is interesting to know the name occurred through the supposition of the Dutch that the bulbs were native of these isles. They were imported here from the sunny slopes of the Pyrenees, and from thence to Holland—hence the mistake. A great feature of this iris and the Spanish is their hardineca. They do not appear afflicted with disease as the early bulbous kinds, and will thrive in positions where the German irises, the most robust of the family, will not thrive. The only drawback is that sometimes frost will destroy tho growths. We have seen this occur; but the mistake wns in too early planting, the end of September or early October being a better time than August. In severe weather a covering of pine branches loosely thrown over tho beds is a gain. Such splendid flowers as these are worth preserving by every means in one’s power. A mass of the English iris, especially if the variety be of deep, decided colour, is a superb picture. The English iris is botanically distinguished as I. xiphioides. This flowers a week or so liter than the Spanish flag, called I, xiphium. One must group them to get the best effect of their fine colours, and a splendid contrast is got by mixing the rich purples with I. juncea, the flowers of which are intense yellow. One gets in the English iris a lovely series of colours, and there is a list of named kinds; but “mixtures” are just as valuable, whilst the bulbs are cheaper. If, of course, one wishes to get certain colours for forming beds, then named varieties must be purchased. The purest white is called M ountaiu of Snow, the flowers quite colourless, except for a suffusion of yellow at the base of the fall, which intensifies the purity of tho segments. Mont Blanc is sometimes called white, but it is not so pure as the foregoing, having a distinct tinge of pink. We have before us, as we write, four lovely kinds in a bronze coloured jar, and the effect is superb. One variety is Mountain of Snow; another, a delicate light purple, almost heliotrope colour; another, deep blue; and tho other is called Leon Tolstoi; which is, we think, the finest, iu its particular shade, of all this group —the flowers deep velvety reddish purple, quite a clear, shining shade, so to say, as rich as a plum near ripening. With these is the deep yellow I. juncea, another beautiful bulbous iris too little seen. One gets in this way a splendid assortment of colours, rich and distinct. This reminds us that irises should always be gathered when on the point of expansion. When gathered fully expanded, they are quickly over, and get much bruised. The English iris has remarkably robust stems, the leaves graceful and abundant, and it blooms some days later than the Spanish. Both these classes should have a well-drained soil, light, and iu a well exposed position. It is useless to try and grow them in the shade. If the ground is very heavy, the bulbs must be helped as much as possible by surrounding them with sand. In water-logged soil, however, they are quite a failure. The Spanish iris (I. xiphium) requires just the same culture, and is, i! anything, the hardier of the two, It is curious that whilst in the English section there are no yellow or bronze shades, in the Spanish these are very conspicuous, and in their subtle contrasts pleasing. The flowers are smaller, narrower in the segments, and leas graceful, but yet full of charm. One may have mixtures or distinct varieties—in fact, it is impossible almost to describe the great variety of shades in the flowers, varying from orange to purest white, A fine named

variety ie California, a large flower of a deep yellow colour. Gem is very different. Its flowers are pale blue, as regards the standards, the falls of an olive shade touched with yellow. A very beautifnl variety is General Wyndham, in which one gets sulphur-blue standards and orange falls—a diversity of lovely shades. La Yestale is pure white, except for the yellow suffusion at the base of the falls, always present in the iris. Louis Philippa has light purple standards, and falls of orange shade, set off with chestnut. We lately saw at an exhibition a mass of that hybrid kind called Thunderbolt. It is larger than the majority of the Spanish type, the standards of a reddish purple shade, and the falls dusky yellow, in which is a trace of clouded green. The English and Spanish irises may be planted in various ways, and an extremely pretty effect wo saw recently was obtained by a group of the lighter coloured forms, with a groundwork of the deep blue Phacelia campanularia. The contrast was charming, and it is by such effects that the garden is made pleasing. The bulbs of both sections are now very cheap, so that there is no reason whatever why they should not get more common even than they are at present.