NYMPH^A. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. NYMPH^EA. 59* 



active destroyer of the flowers, and 

 where it inhabits water, as it commonly 

 does all ponds and streams, nearly all 

 the flowers will be destroyed if this 

 animal is not constantly kept down. 



In the recent story of our open-air 

 gardens, there have been no gains so 

 good as those which have transformed 

 our waters into gardens of beautiful, 

 hardy plants. Wherever there exists 

 a streamlet, we may arrange a water 

 garden, and in the many places where 

 pieces of water already exist, nothing 

 is easier than to establish colonies of 

 these flowers, of charming effect from 

 June to September. The water is best 

 when open to the sun, renewed by 

 only a small inflow, and if possible 

 sheltered from rough wincls by the 

 lie of the land or by a belt of shrubs. 

 The water should be cleared of coarse 

 weeds, and in most cases the natural 

 mud is the best soil in which to plant. 

 In artificial pools a layer of soil may 

 be prepared by mixing loam with a 

 little sand and some of the rich deposit 

 of grit, leaves, and mud so often left 

 behind by water when in flood. This 

 is the natural food of the Water-Lily, 

 and manure only excites rank leaf- 

 growth and predisposes to disease. 

 Little mounds may be made by laying 

 a few sods together, but if the depth 

 of water makes this difficult the plants 

 may be simply lowered into place 

 planted firmly in baskets and the 

 mud pressed around them. May is a 

 good time for planting, and (for estab- 

 lished plants) the flower season begins in 

 June, reaches its height in August, and 

 in good years lasts into October. After 

 growing for three or four years, some 

 kinds get too thick, and these may be 

 raised and divided late in April ; others 

 we have had in the same place for ten 

 years with no loss of health or bloom. 



A crowded water garden is often a 

 matter of necessity, but where space 

 is at command the plants are best in 

 bold groups and far enough apart to 

 keep the kinds distinct. The depth of 

 water may vary from a foot to as 

 much as 7 feet, but only the strongest 

 kinds will thrive in water as deep as 

 this. The flowers vary as to opening 

 and closing, and while on bright days 

 they mostly fold away about four in 

 the afternoon, on dark days they some- 

 times keep open until evening. But 

 it is, perhaps, after a sharp shower, 

 when leaves and flower - cups are 

 thickly set with diamond drops, that 

 the water garden is at its best. If the 

 fading flowers and damaged leaves can 



be removed from day to day (by the 

 help of a flower-cutter and long-handled 

 rake), the flower season will be longer, 

 but this cannot well be done save in 

 small tanks. As soon as they open, 

 the flowers may be arranged very 

 prettily in shallow bowls, lasting fresh 

 for several days and fragrant. If care 

 is taken to bend back the sepals when 

 the flowers are cut, the blooms remain 

 open until they wither. 



INCREASE. Though some of the 

 finer hybrids make few side crowns 

 and thus increase slowly, others may 

 be freely divided, the offsets being cut 

 away with a bit of the old stem 

 attached. Some kinds mostly of the 

 odorata and tuberosa sections are 

 easily increased from seed, but many 

 kinds are sterile, in others seed is slow 

 in germinating, and the seedlings are 

 so liable to degenerate that this way 

 of increase is not much followed. The 

 flowers sink upon the third day, and, 

 ripening under water, open half-way 

 when mature to allow the seeds to 

 escape. They are at first held together 

 by a mass of jelly-like matter, and 

 float for several hours, and during this 

 time may be skimmed from the surface 

 and sown at once in pans of mud. 

 Care must be taken not to disturb the 

 soil when adding water, and if placed 

 in a warm and sunny corner the 

 seedlings are not long in starting. 



PESTS. Weeds must be kept under, 

 such things as the Water Starwort 

 and Floating Pond Weed giving 

 trouble, the last pest with its brittle 

 roots being especially difficult to get 

 out. In early summer the grubs of 

 the caddis-fly gnaw the young leaves 

 and stems, and water snails so load 

 them with eggs as to cause curling 

 and distortion, but as a rule the plants 

 outgrow these troubles with the warmer 

 days, and have more to fear from rats 

 and water-fowl when in full bloom. 

 In small ponds these may be kept 

 under, but in larger sheets of water 

 they often do harm, gnawing the buds 

 before they open, and even carrying 

 them off to build their nests. Green- 

 fly also appears upon the leaves and 

 flowers above water, and grubs of 

 various kinds attack them, but spray- 

 ing with a weak solution of quassia 

 will generally clear the emergent leaves 

 and flowers, while a few drops of a 

 mixture of three parts of colza to one 

 of paraffin will spread over the water 

 and check, the foe. 



