The Weekly Florists' Review. 



MAY 31, 1900. 



seedlings of the victoria will in the 

 future be as hardy an annual as any 

 other aquatic. Certainly more care 

 must be taken in planting out, not 

 venturing to do this before the nights 

 are quite warm. Further details as 

 to culture will be mentioned later. 



Planting. 



Probably this is the simplest as well 

 as the least troublesome part of aqu- 

 atic gardening. Plants which are to 

 be potted into tubs need thorough 

 drainage, and must have the soil well 

 packed, though not tightly, to prevent 

 it from washing out. The size of the 

 tubs varies according to the require- 

 ments of the plants. Spread the roots 

 carefully and cover them with from 

 three to four inches of soil. The pro- 

 cess frequently practiced and even re- 

 commended by some of placing the 

 tubs into the pond iirst is ridiculous. 

 The ease with which tubs of consia- 

 erable size can be moved in water 

 should never induce any one to go to 

 the trouble of first having the tubs, 

 then the soil and lastly the plants 

 carted to the pond. Pot the plants 

 where all the potting of the season is 

 carried on, where pots, tubs, soil and 

 other required material is at hand. 

 After several tubs have been plant- 

 ed, cart them to the pond where they 

 can be immersed anywhere for the 

 time being. If the ponds are covered 

 with a layer of gravel or sand, the 

 discoloration of the water caused by 

 entering will be slight. It is quite 

 necessary to place the plants into 

 water immediately, or as soon after as 

 convenient or possible, for if exposed 

 to the action of the sun's rays for 

 some time the result may be injurious 

 and in some cases prove fatal. If the 

 plants are to be taken some distance 

 give them a good watering before 

 taking them away. 



Where the planting is carried on in 

 the open ground a plank may be laid 

 across if the pond be small, thus sav- 

 ing the trouble of wading about in 

 rubber boots. The plants must be 

 well set and the roots well covered 

 and even weighted down if necessary 

 with something to keep the plants 

 from rising to the surface. If the 

 foliage is completely immersed it mat- 

 ters little, as the leaves will soon put 

 in their appearance at the surface. 



The time of planting varies with 

 the locality, the tender ones not be- 

 ing planted out before the weather 

 has become settled unless the pond Is 

 heated, when the operation may be 

 begun as soon as the frost leaves the 

 ground or spring planting in general 

 commences. All plants may be start- 

 ed in suitable frames or greenhouses, 

 thus bringing forth the flowers a few 

 weeks earlier. 



Border Decoration. 



More stress upon this branch of 

 aquatic gardening should be laid than is 

 generally done, for much of the beauty 

 of a pond would be marred by a badly 

 kept or poorly decorated border. It 



would be like a beautiful bed of 

 carefully selected plants with weeds 

 several inches high for a border in- 

 stead of a neat plant or a well kept 

 lawn. It not only adds to the comple- 

 tion of the pond but a certain beauty 

 may be added to it. Just as the col- 

 ors of acalyphas when used as a bor- 

 derplant or intermingled with crotons 

 will tend to heighten the colors ot the 

 latter, so does a good border tend to 

 heighten the beauty of the pond. 



One of the greatest mistakes too of- 

 ten made is the planting or rather 

 placing ot some artificial appearing 

 piece of rockery upon which bamboos 

 and the like are planted. Who ever 

 heard of bamboos, cyperus or some 

 other rushes growing upon rocks? 

 Nothing would be more pleasing than 

 a piece of natural rockwork over 

 which the little forget-me-nots or the 

 lysimachia is creeping, flushed here 

 and there by the water as it enters 

 from the supply-pipe. A bridge, even 

 ot rustic design, gives the place an ar- 

 tificial appearance. Have a bridge 

 where one is requisite and have that 

 a durable one. If nicely made, it may 

 add to the beauty of the curroundings 

 instead of the contrary. Fountains 

 are out of place unless the pond and 

 the surroundings are artificial and 

 symmetrical. Simplicity, harmony 

 and beauty are the three great things 

 we must strive for, and when these are 

 attained, we may rest assured that 

 the sought for has been accomplished. 



To lay down rules which govern the 

 planting and selection of border plants 

 is difficult, as no two ponds are alike 

 or enhanced by the same environ- 

 ments. The rules laid down in land- 

 scape gardening also apply to this, 

 and must be followed if success is to 

 be attained. The planting of a border 

 depends much upon the surroundings 

 and unless the place is large the rules 

 mentioned before will apply. 



Never, if it can be avoided, have a 

 gravel walk leading around the pond. 

 The effects of beautiful foliaged bor- 

 der plants are completely broken 

 down by the yellow gravel. A lawn 

 in perfect condition up to the very 

 edge of a large pond will give the 

 most pleasing effect when broken up 

 here and there by the border plants. 

 A gravel walk leading in front ot the 

 pond is of no disadvantage, and no 

 harm is done in having one. Let it 

 approach not in a direct way. that is, 

 having a right or oblique angle with 

 perfectly straight lines, but let the site 

 of that walk be carefully selected, as 

 the effect produced upon one ap- 

 proaching the pond must be most fa- 

 vorable. 



If the pond is large and the sur- 

 roundings in proportion and more 

 than one point, so to say, reaches the 

 climax, have the curves of the walks 

 just touch upon these points. To the 

 one passing the whole would seem as 

 a panorama — one beautiful view is 

 lost and another appears. This is the 

 effect most sought for in landscape 

 architecture, and is what we must 



strive to reproduce, even in the plant- 

 ing of a pond. If there is but one 

 point upon which our eye can feast, it 

 soon grows monotonous and tire- 

 some. Each step we take must bring 

 something new to our view and each 

 view should be distinct in itself, but 

 the whole gradually leading up to the 

 point where the greatest beauty is at- 

 tained. If the intermediate changes 

 do not exist, the stepping from the 

 poorer to the higher form of decora- 

 tion would be too great and the height 

 of the latter would be considerably re- 

 duced. 



Insects and Enemies. 



Of the numerous insects that are 

 injurious to aquatics, none can be said 

 to be troublesome if a sufficient quan- 

 tity of fish are kept in the pond. Be- 

 sides the beauty which the little gold 

 fish add to the pond, they are invalu- 

 able. With them in the ponds we 

 need fear no insects of any kind. 

 Frogs, beneficial as they are in pre- 

 venting the increase of insects, ought 

 to be done away with as soon as pos- 

 sible. Besides feeding upon the gold 

 fishes, they ruin ^he foliage. It is not 

 uncommon to see a beautiful tender 

 leaf of a victoria with a hole in it 

 caused by these creatures as they leap 

 upon it. Water and musk rats are 

 about the most injurious. The dam- 

 age done to a pond before their pres- 

 ence is detected is often very great, 

 frequently causing the destruction of 

 the entire pond. In a granitoid pond 

 we need not fear them, as to dig 

 through the hard material is impossi- 

 ble. As soon as they are detected, 

 make war against them and do not 

 give up until every one is killed. 

 Trapping is the best way in which 

 this can be done, unless one is a good 

 shot with a rifle. Mice will frequent- 

 ly devour the tubers of the nymphaeas 

 and nelumbiums if nothing else is at 

 hand. 



Turtles are the greatest enemies to 

 aquatic gardening in the large natu- 

 ral ponds. They feed upon the shoots 

 of all plants. 



Besides having members of the ani- 

 mal world to combat with, we have 

 to put up with a few enemies of the 

 vegetable kingdom. Of these the 

 green slimes and other algae are the 

 most formidable, sometimes complete- 

 ly choking up all other inhabitants. 

 It can be fished out with a rake or 

 wire net. There is no way to prevent 

 them, as the spores are in the soil. 

 Strange as it may seem, but a fact it 

 is, that a large quantity of fish of the 

 German carp and the black bass will 

 completely cause the disappearance of 

 this pest. 



There is a leaf roller that attacks 

 the leaves of the nelumbiums, but it 

 can be eradicated by the use of the 

 hellebore put on in the morning while 

 the foliage is damp with dew. If dis- 

 eases of any kind appear, the timely 

 use of the Bordeaux mixture will pre- 

 vent any further trouble. It we were 

 to grow aquatics with no enemies to 



