FLOWERS ON WATER SIDE AND SURFACE 119 



the soil in place, and even then they should not be 

 laid like a wall, but as near on a natural slope as 

 possible to the water's edge, with plenty of pockets 

 left to plant, so that eventually the stones will not 

 be seen, but will have the appearance of a natural 

 bank. What we need most is some natural bits of 

 planting near our ponds or lakes. As a rule we 

 have too much trimming and clearing up around 

 them, often destroying the shrubs which were 

 really beautiful, and turning what was a beautiful 

 bit of Nature into desolation. I have seen ponds 

 and bogs where all the natural shrubbery and native 

 planting was cleared up to the water's edge, and 

 the trees in the park trimmed up like so many 

 sentinels, thus destroying all the charm of the 

 once natural woods and river banks. We know, of 

 course, that in public places we cannot have all 

 such places decorated, but we could have more 

 than we do. We surely have material enough to 

 plant such places with perfectly hardy plants, and 

 when once planted I am sure the public will 

 appreciate them. A lake or pond properly planted 

 can be made a thing of beauty from spring to 

 autumn, and even into the winter. Those places 

 need not all be planted, mossy openings can be left, 

 but when it is planted the planting should be 



