WATER GARDENS BY VARIOUS WATER GARDENERS. 255 



Waterside Plants. — The water-margin ofifers to lovers of 

 hardy flowers a site easily made into a fair garden. Hitherto we 

 have used in such places aquatic plants only, and of these usually a 

 very meagre selection ; while the improvement of the waterside may 

 be most readily effected by planting the banks near with vigorous 

 hardy flowers, as many of the finest plants, from Irises to Globe 

 Flowers, thrive in moist soil. Bank plants have this advantage over 

 water plants that we can fix their position, whereas water plants 

 spread so much that some kinds over-run others. The repeating of a 

 favourite plant at intervals would mar all ; groups of free hardy 

 things would be best : Day Lilies, Meadow Sweets, tall Irises, which 

 love wet places ; Gunnera, American swamp Lilies in peaty soil, 

 the rosy Loosestrife Golden Rods, Starworts, the Compass plants, 

 Monkshoods, giant Knotworts, Moon Daisies, the Cardinal Flower, 

 the common Lupine — these are some of many types of hardy flowers 

 which would grow freely near the waterside. With these hardy 

 plants, too, a variety of the nobler hardy Ferns, such as the Royal 

 Ferns and Feather Ferns, would associate well. 



Water Plants of northern and temperate regions associated 

 with our native water plants, add much beauty to a garden. If the 

 soil be rich, we usually see the same monotonous vegetation all 

 round the margin of the water, and where the bottom is of gravel 

 there is often little vegetation, only an unbroken, ugly line of washed 

 earth. A group of Water Lily is beautiful, but Water Lilies lose 

 their charm when they spread over the whole of a piece of water, and 

 even waterfowl cannot make their way through them. The Yellow 

 Water Lily (Nuphar lutea), though less beautiful, is well worthy of 

 a place, and so is the large N. advena (a native of America), which 

 pushes its leaves above the water. The American White Water 

 Lilies (Nymphaea odorata and N. tuberosa) are hardy and beautiful, 

 and of recent years much beauty has been given our water plants in 

 the hybrid hardy Water Lilies raised by M. Latour-Marliac, who 

 has added the large and noble forms and the lovely colour of the 

 Eastern Water Lilies to the garden waters of northern countries. 

 The splendid beauty of these plants should lead people to think of 

 artistic ways of planting garden waters. Our native Water Lily was 

 always neglected and rarely effective, except in a wild state ; but 

 when people see that they may have in Britain the soft yellow and 

 rose and red flowers of the tropical Water Lilies throughout summer 

 and autumn, they may take interest in water gardens, and even 

 the wretched duck ponds which disfigure so many country seats will 

 begin at last to have a reason to be. The change should be the 

 means of leading us to think more of the many noble flowers and 

 fine leaved plants of the water-side, apart from Water Lilies. The 



