2668 



PLANTING 



PLANTING 



The last three must be taken in during the winter, 

 north of Washington, D. C.; all of them grow rapidly 

 and, if the season is favorable, will color up beautifully. 



With sticky hairs. 



All the species of Drosera have the curious habit of 

 catching and digesting insects. They are all small 

 plants which should be planted in masses on sphagnum 

 moss. All native species are quite hardy and many can 

 be secured from dealers in bog-plants. D. rotundifolia is 

 the best; and D. capensis is a good species, but hardy 

 only South. 



With contracting leajes. 



The Venus fly-trap, a low perennial with two valve- 

 like leaves that contract whenever an insect or other 

 irritation comes between them. Closing up rather 

 rapidly these leaves are among the most interesting 

 objects to see in the bog-garden. Not hardy north of 

 Washington, D. C. 



The darlingtonia, a Califqrnian insectivorous plant 

 allied to the eastern sarracenia, can be grown along the 

 Atlantic coast only with protection, but south of Wash- 

 ington it should be hardy. One of the most striking 

 bog-plants. See Vol. II, page 964. N. TAYLOH. 



Water-gardening. 



Water -gardening is the cultivation of water-lilies 

 and the other aquatic plants, those that grow in water 

 rather then in bogs or wet soil, particularly those that 

 have floating parts. 



Water-gardening is such a special form of plant- 

 growing that it should be attempted only in the per- 

 sonal parts of the grounds, and where all the conditions 

 of control can be secured. The species formerly known 

 were mostly collected from tropical climates and were 

 adapted almost exclusively for warm greenhouse cul- 

 ture and were to be found solely in botanic gardens and 

 homes of the wealthy. However, the idea that our 

 central Atlantic states were sufficiently warm to grow 



3009. Nymphaea tuberosa, a native water-lily readily grown in 

 ponds. The rootstock is shown in Fig. 2555 in Vol. IV. ( X M) 



some of the tropical varieties out-of-doors in summer 

 was tested in the early eighties of last century by the 

 successful flowering out-of-doors without artificial heat 

 of a plant of Victoria regia. 



For many years the aquatic gardens in Lincoln 

 Park, Chicago, the Shaw Botanic Garden in St. Louis, 

 Missouri, the New York Botanical Garden at the 

 Bronx, and Prospect Park, Brooklyn, as well as in other 

 cities, have paved the way for the advancement of this 

 popular and most interesting phase of gardening. 



But it was not until Latour-Marliac, of France, con- 

 ceived the idea of crossing species of the hardy 

 nympheas of the United States, notably the southern 

 species N. mexicana (N. flava) and N. tuberosa (Fig. 

 3009, from G. F.), that a great impetus was aroused 

 in the cultivation of water-lilies. The cost of maintain- 

 ing a high temperature for the cultivation of the tropi- 

 cal lilies, besides the necessity of having a glass struc- 

 ture and water-tight tanks, cisterns, and so on, seemed 

 still to impress the public generally that it was too 

 costly to construct artificial pools and fountain basins. 

 The products of Latour-Marliac found a ready market 

 in England and as rapidly as he introduced a new 

 hardy water-lily the more enthusiasm was aroused and 

 the more the demand increased; and their popularity 

 naturally spread to the United States. See also the dis- 

 cussion under Nymphsea. 



It has been demonstrated that water-lilies can be 

 grown successfully in the United States; not only the 

 hardy varieties and the hybrids but the tender tropi- 

 cal nympheas, the victorias, the Egyptian and Japanese 

 lotus are to be seen, during our summer season. 



Many gardens and plantings of water-lilies and 

 aquatic and subaquatic plants are too stiff and formal. 

 Nothing is so inartistic as regular lines on the margins 

 of some ponds and again of crowding too many varieties 

 in one small pond. Natural planting is in masses and 

 groups, and single plants are admissible only in small 

 ponds or artificial basins in small and limited gardens. 



Since it is found that reinforced concrete is the sim- 



8 lest means of construction and that water-tight and 

 ost-proof receptacles can be secured at moderate 

 expense, water-gardening is rapidly developing. Also 

 the number of species has so rapidly increased that it is 

 no longer difficult to select water-lilies for a miniature 

 garden, tubs, small pools, fountain basins, ponds, and 

 lakes; also for all seasons of the year, as it has been 

 demonstrated that these charming flowers can be had 

 in the depth of winter. 



For the small garden where there is but a limited 

 space, a miniature artificial stream terminating in a 

 small pool could be constructed; on either side of this 

 streamlet may be planted moisture-loving plants such as 

 calamus, calthas, Calla palustris, rushes of various 

 kinds, menyanthes, sagittarias, lobelias (cardinal flower), 

 Myosotis Scorpioides, and iris in variety; and in the 

 pool the miniature water-lily, Nymphsea tetragona (N. 

 pygmsea) (white) and Nymphsea tetragona helvola (yel- 

 low). This style of water-garden can be carried out on 

 a much larger scale where space will permit and a much 

 larger collection of subaquatic and moisture-loving 

 plants can be used as well as more nympheas and of 

 larger dimensions. 



Water-gardening on a small scale can be most suc- 

 cessfully carried out with the use of tubs t half-barrels 

 sunken in the ground, two, three or more placed as 

 thought best. In the rear of the tubs plant Japanese 

 iris, flags, and moisture-loving plants, making a pleas- 

 ing background, and between the tubs if ground can 

 be kept moist, parrot's feather (Myriophyllum proser- 

 pinacoides), or Myosotis scorpioides (M. palustris), or 

 Lysimachia nummularia, or dwarf trailing plants. For 

 tub culture nympheas of moderate growth are prefer- 

 able. N. Laydekeri var. rosea and N. Laydekeri yar. 

 lilacea are both charming varieties of pink rosy lilac, 

 changing to rose and carmine, very free flowering. There 



