APPROPRIATE BRIDGES 



either bank of the stream, making the waterway quite 

 narrow at the overflow. On one side the wall has been 

 left without vine planting; on the garden side, where 

 a sheltered resting place has been formed close to the 

 music of the water-fall, both vines and shrubbery 

 have been planted to obscure the rough masonry, and 

 the big trees springing from the water's edge have 

 their trunks well covered with billowy vines that 

 seem to sway and dance to the music of the dashing 

 water. 



The best hardy shrubbery for ornamenting such 

 bridge structures is the giant knotweed. This is a 

 tall growing plant, known botanically as Polygomum 

 cuspidatum. It frequently reaches a height of from 

 five to seven feet, and may be planted close to the 

 edge of the stream, where, with one foot in the water 

 and another on the land, it will take strong root-hold 

 and cover its branches with billowy masses of foliage 

 throughout the greater part of the year, displaying 

 misty clouds of bloom during August and September, 

 with numerous long drooping clusters of white flow- 

 ers developed at the axil of each leaf along the upper 

 half of the stem. This is a striking plant and especi- 

 ally beautiful when grown in its favorite moist 

 situation. 



The charm of appropriateness between the gar- 

 den stream, its planting and its bridges is also shown 



217 



