WATER FLOWERS 241 



member, however, that water as a feature of the 

 garden must be itself in evidence and not ob- 

 scured by growth upon its surface. Which is by 

 way of reminding that great restraint is needed 

 to hold enthusiasm in check when it comes to 

 planting a pool or water garden; for if it is 

 large and roomy, the natural feeling is that 

 it will accommodate a considerable number 

 of plants, and if it is small it will at least 

 afford opportunity for raising one's own water- 



lily! 



This is as likely as not what it will not do, 

 however; for there are few things in the plant 

 world as huge, considering their root-hold, as 

 most water plants. It takes very little space 

 comparatively to afford a water-lily support, the 

 allowance per plant in cubic feet ranging from 

 four to ten — the latter being for the tender kinds 

 which are more luxuriant growers than the 

 hardy va^^ieties. This, being interpreted, means 

 a box of earth from two feet square by one foot 

 deep to three by three-and-a-half by one foot. 

 But a plant growing in a box of this size will 

 cover a water surface ten by ten feet; hence in 

 a pool no larger than this there is actually no 

 room for even a single ordinary water-lily if the 

 water itself is not to disappear ! There is happily 

 however a pygmy variety from Japan that may 



