H4 



GARDENING. 



/an 



ing summer. I find planting patches of 

 seedling nymphajas in those beds to be 

 very effective. 



The water supply comes from gravita- 

 tion wells some 75 feet above this level. 

 An overflow is placed a little below the 

 edge and the water runs out over a rock 

 work among ferns before passing off. 

 There is a suction pipe placed on the bot- 

 tom outlet; this we use to lower the lake 

 in summer when placing tubs, cleaning, 

 etc., in the deep part of the lake. 



The soil for the beds and also for the 

 tropical lilies in tubs is composed of leaf 

 mould, manure and soil. Our leaf mould 

 and old hotbed manure are mixed 

 together every year. We take one half of 

 this mixture and one of good soil, and 

 after planting cover the whole with sand. 



put them in the cellar away from frost. 

 We find we can winter them in fine form 

 in this way, keeping the soil moist till 

 they die down entirely, then towards the 

 end of March or first of April we make a 

 hotbed as for seeds and place tubs of 

 water therein, and cover with sash. Then 

 we look over our lily tubers pot them up 

 in the mixture spoken of, in 3 and 5-inch 

 pots and place them in the water tubs in 

 the hotbed, keeping the glass on except 

 on very warm days when air is given 

 freely. In this humble, yet practical way 

 (which is within the reach of all who 

 have a garden) we have by the end of 

 May fine plants to put in tubs to plant in 

 lake, or fountain pond, the water of 

 which will be by this time warm and fit 

 for their reception. By theend of August 



NELUMBIUM SPBCIOSUM IN FAIRMOUNT PARK. PHILADELPHIA 



We also topdress the beds in the lake, 

 after cleaning, in spring with the same 

 mixture and have splendid results with 

 but few exceptions. Among theexceptions 

 are the Cape Cod pink lily, the .V. rosea 

 and A', odorata. These we have to get 

 lake mud for, and grow them in cool 

 shallow water. 



The water in the lake becomes quite 

 warm during summer hence our great 

 success with the tropical nvmpha?as. The 

 reasons I ascribe are that the lake is 

 sheltered from the northwest, north and 

 northeast by high trees, some 60 to 75 

 feet tall but is fully exposed to the sun on 

 the cast, south, and west. I would ad- 

 vise anyone about to construct a lake for 

 tropical lilies, to keep this sylvan shelter in 

 view, more so in the northern parts of the 

 country. 



Perhaps right here a word or two as to 

 the simplest means of getting the tropi- 

 cal varieties in shape for planting in 

 spring may not be out of place. I have no 

 doubt but a great many lovers of this 

 class of. plants would like if they could 

 grow some of the tropical varieties but 

 think they < annot do it without green- 

 house accommodations. This is not so. 

 rtere, when we take up our plants in the 

 fall, we take some of them in early and 

 place ii; tanks in the house to flower out. 

 The rest we leave out till the frost makes 

 it necessary to move them inside so we 



we have massive flowering plants of the 

 most tender sorts. 



To the left in the picture are seen some 

 fine flowers of Nymphwa Devoniensis, to 

 the right A', coerulea, N. seutifolia, N. 

 zanzibarensis azurea and rosea, all in fine 

 shape. The mass in the foreground with 

 the leaves standing out of the water 

 is a very strong clump of the yellow N. 

 Marliacea chromatella, which is a superb 

 addition to our perfectly hardy lilies, but 

 not more so than its rose colored com- 

 panion A'. M. rosea, which is equally 

 hardy. Both flower continuously from 

 May till frost. When I say these are 

 hardy I may safely say I can speak for 

 almost any part of the country, for the 

 thermometer some winters goes as low 

 as 28° below zero here; last winter it 

 reached 26° below. 



This climate is too severe for a great 

 many so-called hardy plants. We have 

 tried the lotus in variety for many years 

 but have given it up. We made special 

 preparation for them in 1SS3, planted 

 them out and flowered them beautifully. 

 They lived through that winter, just 

 appearing the following summer, but did 

 not flower. Wc tried it again, in boxes 

 and tubs, moving them to tanks in house 

 in winter; this proved a failure, from the 

 fact that we could not mature a growth 

 strong enough to keep them in a flower- 

 ing condition. But there is not water 



garden complete without them so it well 

 repays the cost of buying them every 

 year. 



The lily seen in the picture beyond the 

 N. M. chromatella is a seedling we raised 

 in 1888. This Iconsider the most superb 

 of the hardy white lilies. Some of the 

 flowers measured ten inches last summer. 

 The leaves and flower stems are almost 

 red, the flower large and pure white, 

 making it quite distinct from its seed 

 parent, Nymphtea alba. 



We have something like thirty-five 

 varieties of water plants in the lake. 

 Those in the foreground and round the 

 margin are such as Scirpus zebrina, 

 Sagittaria japonica, variegated sweet 

 flag, papyrus, Cyperus alternifolius, C. a. 

 rariegatus, callas, iris, hedychiums, etc., 

 planted in beds with the following 

 plants as aground work: Water hyacinth 

 in variety ( see flowers in picture), Lim- 

 nanthemum indicutn, Limnocharis Hum 

 boldtii, parrot's feather, Limnanthemum 

 nvmpha?oides and many others. 



Our first flowers opened last summer 

 on the 2nd of May, on N. alba and N. a. 

 candidissima. A few weeks later we had 

 them by the hundreds. Mixed up as they 

 were with the tropical varieties in all 

 colors, red, white, blue, purple, yellow and 

 pink, when seen in the morning at 10 a. 

 m. they made a scene of water flora to be 

 long remembered James Hepburn 



Gardener for the Hon. James Askell, 

 Canajoharie, N. Y. 



NBLUIMBIUM SFECIOSUM IN FAIRMOUNT PARK, 

 FHILfl. 



The pond of nelumbiums at Fairmount 

 Park is always a source of much enjoy- 

 ment to visitors, so vigorously do the 

 plants grow and so profusely do they 

 flower. This pond is fed by a stream of 

 water which not only supplies it but oth- 

 ers as well.asitcoursesthrough the park. 

 Running all the time as it does, and the 

 plants having plenty of mud to root in, 

 they pass through the winter safely, no 

 frost penetrating to the roots. 



As will be seen there are many hun- 

 dreds of plants theie now, yet this pond 

 was started with but about a half dozen 

 plants two years ago. 



The group of grasses shown amidst the 

 lilies is composed of Arundo donax fo' a 

 center, with outside of Eulalia japonica 

 They flourish well. In the rear of this 

 group on the lawn is a bed of rhododen- 

 drons with an American holly in the cen- 

 tre. The partial shade which the large 

 trees give, is just what the rhododendron 

 likes, and its blooms last longer in such 

 situations than when in the full sun. 



The large trees shown are of natural 

 growth, and consist of hickory, tulip 

 tree, red maple, sour gum and ash. 

 Among those which have been planted 

 are sweet gum, English oak, beech and 

 other tall growers, to make shade, with 

 groups of shrubs between them. 



The commissioners of the park are very 

 proud of the way their fellow citizens 

 appreciate it. It is of such immense size, 

 2,750 acres, that the thousands who 

 visit it every bright day have ample room 

 for privacy and enjoyment. Picnic par- 

 ties are in every grove, and one such has 

 been caught by the camera, as shown in 

 the illustration. Joseph Meehan. 



The Flower Garden. 



NARCISSUS FOETICUS. 

 This flower has in the past been the 

 favorite theme of the poets. The mytho- 

 logical lore connected with its name hav- 



