28o 



THE NATURE BOOK 



hurry and bustle and strife, leaving one 

 alone with that most refreshing of all 

 Nature's sights and sounds — running, 

 rippling water. \\'hether large or small, 

 the surface should be flecked with floating 

 Xvmphaeas, in crimson, pink and white, 

 with the wild yellow Xuphar, the flowering 

 Rush, Bog Bean and Crowfoot, that 

 moke such perfect water gardens of 

 roadside ponds and meadow pools. Here 

 and there the cool white spathes and glossy 

 leaves of the African Swamp Lily, Arum 

 or Calla, give picturesqueness to the 

 water surface, while the muddy edges of 

 the shore are a mass of flower-fringed 

 beauty. Here, gathered from among our 

 own wild blooms and those of exotic 

 lands, one should find the Yellow Flag, 

 the graceful blue of the Siberian Iris, 

 purple Loosestrife nnd rosy Willow- 



herb, the tall Yellow Lysimachia (of 

 Creeping Jenny family), the common 

 Toadflax and grey-leaved Potentil that 

 spangle the banks of English rivers, giant 

 grasses with graceful plumes. Close by, 

 with their roots in drier ground, are planted 

 Fo\gl()\-es, Pampas Grass, Spiraea or 

 Meadow Sweet in red and cream and 

 white, Brambles for flower and fruit, 

 Japanese Roses, that bear large single 

 blooms in early summer, and brilliant 

 fruits when the blackberries ripen. These 

 and other wild and stately plants should 

 be disposed about the water garden, 

 blending the latter harmoniously with 

 the garden landscape and half concealing 

 it. The water garden loses half its charm 

 if it is seen from a distance. The glamour 

 of the garden lies in the hidden, unsus- 

 pected beauties that show at every turn. 

 H. H. Thom.vs. 



THE KOCK GARDEN, SHENFIELD MANOR, 



NEAR BASINGSTOKE. 



