Iris: Flower Of The Rainbow

Too often these books focus on descriptions and comparisons of all the truly gorgeous varieties of iris, rhapsodizing over falls and beards and color shadings. Sure, it helps to understand the differences between bearded and Louisiana iris, between species and cultivars, but what a gardener really needs to know is how to integrate these tall, stiff and flamboyant flowers into our home gardens.

There are enough color photographs in Iris: Flower of the Rainbow to convince anyone of the beauty and possibilities of iris; tall bearded iris like hot spice in muted tones of cocoa, gold, and cream, or the delicately splotched lavender-and-white Japanese iris, freckled geisha, are nearly irresistible. What this book uniquely offers are drawings, photos, and advice on how to use iris in the garden along with other plants, and how to time their bloom, mix in with perennials and shrubs, and use in ponds and as edging and in rockeries. The author makes the case for using iris in nearly every garden situation; the easy-to-grow, perfumed Iris unguiculalris flowers dependably in winter, Iris foetedissima grows happily in the shade, and I. pallida variegata has spiky foliage striped in brilliant yellow, a focal point long after the flower has faded.

It's unclear whether the final chapter, "The Future--2000 and Beyond," is prescient or just entertaining, but you won't want to miss the doctored color photos of irises in startling kelly green, or pure black combined with baby-pink. --Valerie Easton