LILY TANKS 79 



some of the handsome forms of Clematis, Magnolia, 

 Roses, and sweet-scented Jasmine ! Truly beautiful 

 would be this garden picture when the surface of the 

 pool scintillated with the jewelled forms of the hybrid 

 Nymphaeas — ruby, topaz and silver. 



It is a common idea that tanks must be built of con- 

 siderable depth, and that unless protected by a low wall 

 or parapet they are dangerous. For this reason hundreds 

 of garden pools have been emptied and filled-in with 

 soil. Only in exceptional cases is it necessary for the 

 tank to be more than two and a half or three feet deep, 

 this being ample for the class of plants that will find a 

 home there. It is a good plan to excavate the soil to a 

 greater depth in the middle than at the sides ; a shallow 

 ledge round the margin will keep the roots of the water 

 plants from spreading towards the walls. Most lilies 

 and other aquatics look better if kept somewhat in the 

 centre of artificial basins, and are more effective if 

 entirely surrounded by water than crowded against 

 the walls and corners. 



Deep tanks have a further disadvantage in that they 

 are seldom properly filled. Nothing looks more un- 

 sightly than a tank in which the water scarcely rises 

 half way. The walls cast a heavy shadow over the 

 surface, the plants are unhealthy, and the water cold. 

 Besides, the lily-tank should form a definite note in 

 the scheme of design, a centre which inspires the 

 arrangement of plant grouping around. Sunken water 

 surfaces are useless as reflectors, and are lacking in 

 those colour values which in sunlight are so precious. 

 Even in quite large tanks the distance between the top 

 of the kerb and the water-line should not be more 

 than two feet ; in smaller basins twelve inches is 

 sufficient. 



If the ground surrounding sunk tanks has an upward 

 slope it should be laid out in a succession of terraces. 



