ABSTRACT
Next in the order of nature's gifts comes, in all its vivid beauty, the season of the azalea; then follows the wistaria which spreads in luxuriant profusion over quaint bridges and arbours and is trained with great artistry over walls and trees in ancient temple gardens. Finally in early July comes the iris season. Irises are to be seen at their best in the private gardens of the Meiji Shrine, which are only open to the public for a few days each year. On the first day or two there is a private view, when members of the Diplomatic Corps and prominent Japanese are invited to the temple gardens. Here millions of irises in every shade of blue can be seen at their best, their serried ranks standing in long pools of gently running water. The pools are bordered by weeping willows and flanked by undulating grass slopes. Little mystic tea-houses stand at just the right spots. Beyond the lawns rise the thick woods of the Meiji Park in all the panoply of early summer. For lovers of flowers and gardens it is a rare delight to saunter through these Elysian fields.
