60 WILD GARDENING 



in the Serpentine, a plant that should never be seen near water." 

 I fear we are too often guilty of leaving a bare margin, setting out 

 beds of cannas or other tender plants by the waterside, and plant- 

 ing Colorado spruce, Waterer's spirea, or anything that seems to 

 us beautiful in itself. Such plants are beautiful in their place, 

 but painfully inappropriate by the water side. And it seems 

 like criminal stupidity to do this sort of thing when the moist soil 

 is yearning for the swamp rose mallow, the cardinal flower, Lilium 

 superbum, rhododendrons, mountain laurel, purple loosestrife, red- 

 twigged dogwood, and wild rice. All of these are native, and 

 therefore we ought to grow the finest masses of them in the world. 



Of foreign species we should use only those that demand an extra 

 good water supply, look wild, cost little, and require no care after 

 planting. We can no longer plead ignorance, for there are many 

 catalogues now which give separate lists of plants for the water side. 

 Some of the most splendid examples are the tall yellow iris of 

 Europe, the Japanese irises, the Siberian iris, the hardy evergreen 

 bamboo, the giant reed, the white and yellow loosestrife, and the 

 globe flower. 



One of the most charming water side effects at Gravetye is 

 that of the lemon lily (Hemerocallis flava), a bit of which is shown 

 on plate 25. Please do not confuse this with the coarse orange 

 day-lily (H.fulva). This lemon lily is a common garden plant, but 

 it looks its best at the water side, because its narrow leaves blend 

 with those of the tall grass and both can be cut in July, if necessary, 

 without harming next year's bloom. 



WILD GARDENING ALONG THE ROADSIDE 



The roadsides of England are often very dull to the pedestrian 

 because the high hedges of hawthorn often cut off the view. But 



