N, Pennsylvania, the most prolific bloomer. Bright 

 blue with a golden centre. Open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 



N. Zanzibariensis. var. rosea, the best bright rose water 

 lily for common use. Open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 



The most striking differences in water=lily flowers are only seen in their gorgeous coloring. In black and white they look very much alike 



N. Wm. Stone, one of the easiest to grow and Keeps 

 over winter. Bright blue flowers 



color of the petals. They are from seed of 

 the white flowered N. flavo-virens (known 

 in American gardens as N. gracilis but that is 

 different from the plant of that name in 

 Europe). The petals are narrow, and taper 

 to an acute point. The flower is "star- 

 shaped," the parts spreading out in all direc- 

 tions, like rays of a star. They are borne on 

 very tall stalks, a foot or more above the 

 water. The effect is very striking. 



A RED DERIVED ' FROM A BLUE 



Deserving of special notice is Nymphcza 

 flavo-virens, var. rubra (The "red gracilis" 

 of our gardens). It is much like Mrs. C. W. 

 Ward, but the purple tone of the latter is 

 eliminated, and we get a pure deep pink, 

 approaching red. This is at once a pleasure 

 to the cultivator and a notable triumph for 

 the plant breeder, for it came from a blue 

 parent N. Zanzibariensis. 



A GOOD PLNK FOR ANYBODY 



Another pink water-lily among the tender 

 day bloomers is in this country, though not 

 offered in catalogues. This is Nymphcea 

 stellata, var. versicolor. The flower is from 

 four to five inches in diameter, pure pink 



The leaves of tender water-lilies usually have 

 wavy margins liKe this (N. gigantea). The hardy 

 Kinds are always smooth. (A direct sun print) 



with few and rather narrow petals, rising 

 but a few inches above the water. The 

 leaves have wavy margins, are pink beneath, 

 and about eight inches in diameter. While 

 its size is not equal to that of many of its 

 relatives, this variety is very pretty, and gives 

 promise of value, as one easy to propagate. 

 In the fall, the base of each leaf, where it 

 separates from the short stem, develops a 

 little, hard tuber. This tuber may be kept 

 along with ordinary tender bulbs during the 

 winter, and will produce one or more plants 

 the following summer. The plant is native 

 to India, Indo-China, and the Philippines. 



THE LONGEST ENDURING — GIGANTEA 



If for massive, dazzling splendor the Zan- 

 zibar water-lily deserves kingly praise, cer- 

 tainly the giant lily (Nymphcea gigantea) is 

 the queen of water-lilies. Its flower is a 

 huge, airy head of soft azure blue, with a 

 centre of purest gold. The original speci- 

 men in the Kew herbarium is twelve inches 

 across. The blossoms are borne a foot and 

 a half above the water, on slender green 

 stalks, slightly bending with the weight they 

 carry. It is open on five to seven successive 

 days from 8 to g a. m. until twilight; 

 it is therefore of much longer duration than 

 any other species. The petals are twenty to 

 fifty in number, broad and rounded, and of 

 a slightly crinkled texture, like crepe. The 

 color shades from a deep blue at the point of 

 the petal to a very pale blue at the base. The 

 tints are exquisitely chaste and pure; the 

 flower is an embodiment of grace and dig- 

 nity. The leaves are large, a little more 

 oval than round, dark green above, but deep 

 Syrian purple beneath. The margins are 

 very evenly scalloped, each wave ending in 

 a sharp tooth. The plant is separated from 

 all others of its kind, by several botanical 

 differences, the most notable of which is that 

 there are no gradations from petals to stamens. 



Nymphaa gigantea is the most difficult of 

 the day bloomers to cultivate. It can hardly 

 be grown at Philadelphia without artificial 

 heat. The one plant I had there was of 

 good size when I procured it, and the sum- 

 mer happened to be unusually hot. It 

 flowered fairly well in a small tub in a still, 

 warm pond. If you try it, get a large plant, 

 322 



and have it shipped to you in the pot or 

 basket in which it was grown. Set it out two 

 weeks later than the other kinds, and hope 

 for warm weather at the time of its arrival. 

 Place it in your tank with the utmost care. 

 Any check in its growth is likely to cause it to 

 stop growing, and drop its leaves. It can 

 only be coaxed into growth in warm water 

 after a rest, and it will be too late for the 

 current season's use. The perfect plant is so 

 stately, so noble, that it is worth much 

 effort and risk. 



THE ONE POPULAR WHITE 



Of blues and whites we may have a con- 

 siderable assortment, inside the present 

 group. N. flavo-virens (commonly cata- 

 logued in America as N. gracilis), already 

 mentioned, is the only well-known white. 

 Its flowers are borne on tall, slender stalks. 

 They open quite widely, and are arranged 

 in a graceful star form. The very sweet- 

 scented flower opens on three successive days 

 from early morning until 5 or 6 p. m. The 

 petals are narrow and pointed, and of a dull 

 rather than a snowy whiteness. The leaves 

 reach a diameter of eighteen to twenty inches, 



The frameworK of the floating leaves is an inter-, 

 esting study in mechanics. The under sides are 

 often colored similarly to the flowers. N- Zanzibar- 

 iensis is a purplish blue 



