WATER PLANTS WITH LITTLE WATER 187 



deep and large enough around to hold a 12- to 18-in. sewer pipe. 

 Insert the pipe with the bell up ; this will give you twelve inches 

 of pipe above the sub-grade (that is, if the pipe is of the usual 

 length, twenty-four inches), six inches of cinders and six inches 

 of concrete. This, when your pool is finished will bring the upper 

 edge of the pipe even with the iottom of the pool. If you put a 

 4-in. layer of concrete in the bottom of the pipe, it should be water- 

 tight. Later on put in ten inches of good soil and decomposed 

 manure in which plant pink and white Nymphseas, one of each, 

 then fill it up with water. You still can, if desired, place 1- by 

 2-in. wooden strips over the pipe, fitting them into the bell, to 

 prevent any small child from falling into it. 



If you have provided the pool with a drain, you can, if you 

 like, let all the water out except what is in the sewer pipe. This can 

 be left alone and whatever hardy LiUes you have planted in it will 

 overwinter nicely as long as you place enough protection over the 

 pipe and at the same time keep the drain of the pool open so that 

 any rain or snow water overflowing the pipe will find a quick outlet. 



It hardly pays the florist to try and overwinter tender Water 

 Lilies. You can obtain started plants reasonably enough and when 

 planted out by or around the first of June they wiU pay for them- 

 selves weU the first season. There are two things Nymphaeas enjoy— 

 a good sofl, as long as their roots are confined, and a warm spot. 

 You cannot grow them in the shade. Always bear in mind that 

 your water garden should be located in a sunny spot, and don't 

 feed it with a constant stream of cold water. 



In constructing a LUy pond of any size, you won't be successful 

 with a sandy formation if you don't use concrete; but where there 

 is a clay subsoil, by puddling or plastering the bottom and walls 

 of the pond with the stiff clay, it can be made almost watertight 

 as long as water is kept in the pond so as not to allow the sun to 

 bake and crack the clay lining. 



A Short List of Water Plants 



The common hardy Water Lily is Nymphsea odorata, of which 

 type there are several improved sorts; A'^. odorata W. B. Shaw, 

 which has large pink, sweet-scented flowers, and N. odorata gigantea 

 are among them. Nymphsea gloriosa has deep pink flowers. N. 

 marliacea chromatella is a good yeUow, and there are several others. 

 If you can provide a Lily pond without too much expense it wiU 

 pay to grow almost any of the above sorts for cut flowers. 



Among the tender Nymphaeas there are some beautiful blue 

 and violet-blue kinds, such as TV. daubenyana, N. zanzibariensis and 

 N. Pennsylvania. N. zanzibariensis rosea and N. Mrs. G. W. Ward 



