THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. NYMPH^A. 589 



rosy flowers in clusters towards the 

 point. Its graceful growth is well 

 seen in the bolder arrangement of the 

 rock garden. In New Zealand it 

 grows 20 feet in height, and seems to 

 be fairly hardy here, though not a 

 shrub for cold climates or exposed 

 places. 



NUPHAR ( Yellow Water- Lily] . 

 Bold water plants nearly allied to 

 the Water-Lily , but not so handsome. 

 The most familiar Nuphar is the com- 

 mon Yellow Water- Lily (N. lutea), 

 which inhabits many of our lakes and 

 slow-running rivers. It has a very 

 interesting little variety called pumila, 

 which is found wild in some of the 

 Highland lakes, and which has the 

 same vinous perfume as the type. N. 

 advena is the N American ally of our 



When in bloom it bears a resemblance 

 to the Flowering Currant, and forms 

 a dense bush, 6 to 12 feet high, growing 

 in any kind of soil. California. 



NYCTERINI A. Half-hardy annuals 

 from the Cape of Good Hope. N. 

 selaginoides grows about 9 inches 

 high, forming dense compact tufts of 

 slender stems, in late autumn covered 

 with small white, orange-centred blos- 

 soms fragrant at night. N. capensis is 

 about the same size as N. selaginoides, 

 and is of similar growth, its flowers 

 larger, and not of so pure a white. 

 N. selaginoides and N. capensis require 

 to be sown early in heat, and to be 

 transplanted in May in light, rich 

 sandy loam in warm borders. 



NYMPELffiJA (Water-Lily).& beau- 

 tiful family of water plants, distributed 



Hardy American Water-Lily (N. tuberosa). 



yellow Water-Lily, and resembling it, 

 but larger and with leaves which stand 

 erect out of the water, and is a much 

 finer plant. N. Kalmiana, also a 

 N. American kind, much resembles 

 the small variety of N. lutea, and is 

 an interesting plant to grow in com- 

 pany with it. The cultivation is 

 quite simple placing the root-stocks in 

 water 2 or 3 feet deep, when they will 

 soon root in the mud ; but they are 

 apt to increase too rapidly, and may 

 prove troublesome to get rid of. 



NTJTTALLIA (Osoberry). N. cerasi- 

 formis is a hardy shrub, and one of 

 the earliest to flower. Hardly before 

 winter is past its abundant drooping 

 racemes of white flowers appear, and 

 they usually do so before the leaves. 



over many parts of the world, some of 

 the northern kinds hardy. Our own 

 native Water-Lily was always neglected 

 and rarely effective, except in a wild 

 state ; but when it is seen that we 

 may have in Britain the soft and beau- 

 tiful yellows and the delicate rose and 

 red flowers of the tropical Water-Lilies 

 throughout summer and autumn, we 

 shall begin to take more interest in 

 our garden water flowers, and even the 

 wretched formless duckponds which 

 disfigure so many country seats may 

 have a reason to be. The new hybrid 

 kinds continue blooming long after 

 our native kind has ceased, and from 

 the middle of May to nearly the end 

 of October flowers are abundant. 



CULTURE OF HARDY WATER-LILIES. 



