WATER MARGINS 157 



Irises like water, and that Irises, with them, mean 

 Flag-leaved Irises. These are for the most part moun- 

 tain plants, while Iris florentina grows on wall-tops ; 

 and though they may do fairly well on a well-drained 

 river bank, they are not the true Irises for water edges. 



Among those most commonly in cultivation, the 

 ones for the water-sides are the native yellow-flowered 

 Sword-flag (Iris Pseud-acorus\ I. ockroleuca, grand in 

 cool, moist loam ; /. fulva, L monnieri, the varieties of 

 /. sibirica, and the noble Japanese flower so grandly 

 grown at Wisley. 



Plants that are distinct of habit and large of leaf 

 always look well near water ; this has been felt in the 

 Devonshire garden, where a tuft of Veratrum album is 

 seen seated on a rock overhanging the rushing stream, 

 although it is not a true water-plant. 



The great Cow-Parsnep (Heracleum) is one of the 

 best of water-side ornaments. The kind we have 

 known and used so long seems likely to be superseded 

 by the newer and still handsomer H. mantegazzianum. 

 The plants of Cow-Parsnep in the picture are rather 

 too much smothered among other growths, which 

 hide the handsome radical leaves. It is seen at its 

 best in grassy water edge or other cool damp place 

 where it is backed by dark foliage. It would be 

 excellent about old water-mill buildings. 



Thalictrum flavum is a first-rate water-side plant. 

 Originally a native, and not unfrequently to be found 

 on river banks, it has been improved and much in- 

 creased in size by cultivation, and now throws up its 

 grand heads of feathery yellow bloom to a height of 

 seven feet or more. 



