890 THE BOOK OF GARDENING. 



cylindrical flower-spikes are densely packed with minute brownish- 

 coloured flowers; height about 6ft. T. latifolia (Great Reed 

 Mace or Cat's Tail) is a very familiar plant of our rivers and • 

 ponds ; the vigour with which it grows and increases only admits 



of its being 

 planted on the 

 margins of 

 large pieces of 

 water ; height 

 6ft. to 7ft. 

 T. Laxmanni 

 (T. minima) 

 (the Dwarf 

 Reed Mace) is 

 much smaller 

 in habit than either 

 of the preceding; 

 the flower-spikes are 

 short, forming ob- 

 long or globular- 

 shaped heads. It is 

 a very graceful-grow- 

 ing plant, and well 

 adapted for the 

 margins of small 

 ponds and tanks ; 

 height about 2ft. 

 T. stenophylla (Slender Reed Mace) is a slender - growing plant, 

 more vigorous than the preceding, but equally ornamental. 

 Height about 3^ft. 



Plants for the Waterside. 



The adornment of the waterside with choice vegetation is 

 equally as important as the embellishment of the water itself 

 with choice Aquatics, and the arrangement of the plants should 

 be such as to impart an additional feature to those plants that 

 decorate the water's surface. The numerous ornamental foliage 

 and handsome flowering subjects that are suitable for this 

 purpose, delighting in having their roots in a moisture-laden soil, 

 include many of our most graceful bold-foliaged and showy- 

 flowering hardy plants. In hot, dry summers, when plants in 

 'borders and flower-beds are languishing for the want of moisture, 

 the freshness of the waterside vegetation presents an enjoyable 

 contrast. 



The size and shape ■ ot a piece of water are to a great extent 

 the determining factors in the selection of the plants to introduce 

 and the positions they are to occupy. For example, in planting 

 the sides of large or moderate-sized ponds, large and 



Fig. 595. — Sagittarxa sagittifolia. 



