PLANTING 



PLANTING 



2G69 



are several other nympheas of moderate growth and 

 pleasing shades of color suitable for tub culture. Main- 

 persons make serious mistakes by selecting strong and 

 vigorous plants suited only for large ponds or even 

 lakes. The plants may live and be very thrifty but will 

 not flower. 



^ 



used in outdoor planting. The fibrous-rooted exotics, 

 such as palms and tree ferns, are grown in greenhouses 

 for the full year, either in permanent beds or in pots 

 and tubs. The larger and more perfect the specimen, 

 the greater its value. Usually in such a collection of 

 plants under glass there are numerous species each 



3010. The native fish-grass, Cabomba caroliniana; sometimes confused 

 with Myriophyllum. ( X Xt) 



A better and very satisfactory water-garden for a 

 small place can be had by constructing a concrete 

 pool 4 to 5 feet, or any size desired, bearing in mind 

 that a large pool in a small garden is inconsistent. A 

 pool or basin 4 to 5 feet in diameter and 2 feet deep will 

 accommodate three nympheas. The surroundings may 

 be similar as recommended for tubs, but no two gardens 

 are alike. 



Other aquatics may be found under the genera Alisma, 

 Aponogeton (Ouvirandra), Azolla, Brasenia, Butomus, 

 Cabomba (Fig. 3010), Ceratopteris, Eichhornia, Elisma, 

 Elodea, Euryale, Hottonia, Hydrilla, Hydrocharis, 

 Hydrocleis, Lemna, Limnobium, Limnocharis, Lud- 

 wigia, Myriophyllum, Nelumbo, Nuphar, Nymphoides 

 (Limnanthemum), Pistia, Potamogeton, Riccia, Ric- 

 ciocarpus, Sagittaria, Salvinia, Utricularia, Vallis- 

 neria. See also the articles, Aquarium, Aquatics, 

 Nymphxa, Victoria; also Bog-gardening, page 2666. 



WILLIAM THICKER. 



Subtropical-gardening. 



Under this denomination are included all those 

 gardening efforts that aim to introduce into cool or 

 cold climates the plant forms and the foliar luxuriance 

 of tropical and semi-tropical regions. The subtropical 

 garden may be permanent if it is under glass; but the 

 term is usually employed to denote the summer effects 

 secured by transferring glasshouse plants to the open 

 and combining them in such a way as to produce a 

 harmonious composition. It is not often that an 

 approach to real tropical effects can be made in a 

 northern garden, and yet it is well to have these effects 

 in mind; Figs. 3011/3012, reduced from Garden and 

 Forest, show real tropical vegetation. 



Subtropical plants are represented by the lush- 

 leaved caladiums and cannas, the brilliant-colored 

 foliage of crotons and dracenas, the towering plumes 

 of palms, the succulent leaf or stem of century plant or 

 cactus, and the dense rank ground-cover of selaginellas 

 and todeas. The interest in such plants is chiefly in the 

 foliage, rather than in the flowers. In the plant groups 

 they stand at the opposite extreme from the rock-garden 

 plants with tufts, cushions, and mats of miniature 

 foliage that in the blossoming season are nearly covered 

 with flowers, and thin films of mosses, lichens, and 

 algae on the rock and earth surface. 



The subtropical plants of each of the climatic regions 

 of the United States are usually from a warmer region, 

 although natives having a like character may well be 



represented by one or a few plants, all grouped together 

 in a crowded mass. Such a collection is not a subtropical 

 garden and does not represent the most effective use 

 of the material. 



The potted plants that have foliage tough enough to 

 withstand summer winds and sun, such as palms, cycas, 

 ficus, and crotons, are often used in the garden in sum- 

 mer, or under the protection of trees, as subtropical beds 

 or garden compartments. Each plant is valued for 

 itself, just as it is in the greenhouse in winter, size and 

 perfection of form being its chief attractions. Each has 

 no relation to the foliage about it, except that its unu- 

 sual character of leaf and growth makes a striking con- 

 trast to the normal native vegetation. For this kind of 

 planting a few well-grown specimens give the desired 

 summer appearance to the garden. 



One of the very best of indoor subtropical gardens in 

 America is the tropical house at Garfield Park, Chicago, 

 where a comparatively few species, such as the tree- 

 fern overhead and selaginellas as a ground-cover, are 

 used in large numbers to make bands of foliage to arch 

 paths and hide the glass roof, and to frame in vistas to 

 glimpses of water, with carpets of green below. Here is a 

 consistent and exquisite example of subtropical-gar- 

 dening, the dominant note is light with the artificial 

 construction that supports and protects it all, so cleverly 

 disguised as to make it appear like a real glade in the 



3011. A tropical planting. Entrance to the botanic garden, 

 Peradenia, Ceylon. 



