280 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



January, 1906 



varieties and N. exquisita will do well. But 

 the great majority will not do their best on a 

 water surface less than four feet square. 



The first named (chromatella) is decidedly 

 the hardiest and most satisfactory of all the 

 garden water-lilies. It is also one of the 

 oldest, dating from about 1888. The flower 

 is bright yellow, and on its first day sits like a 

 golden cup on the water. It has other very 

 decided claims to favor: A single stock will 

 give a continuous bloom from the first of 

 June until frost, and often there will be two 

 flowers open at once. The leaves usually 

 float on the water, and are beautifully mottled 

 with reddish brown. But in shallow water, 

 or when crowded, both leaves and flowers 

 rise several inches into the free air and grow 

 with a look of rank luxuriance. The plant 

 increases rapidly in favorable circumstances, 

 so that the possessor of a single shoot will 

 soon be able to supply his neighbors. It is 

 perfectly hardy, even in water so shallow 

 that it must certainly freeze to the bottom. 

 The fragrant yellow water-lily (N. odorata, 

 var. sulphured) is more delicate, and is easily 

 distinguished when out of flower because the 

 blotched leaves are always floating. The 

 flower is composed of slender spreading 

 petals. Its chief interest lies in the fact that 

 it is the offspring of two native species {N. 

 odorata and N. Mexicana). 



? SOME REALLY GOOD WHITE HYBRIDS 



Among whites none of the wild species 

 is sufficiently free-flowering to win a place 

 in a small collection. We have, how- 

 ever, some superb varieties. I think N. 

 Gladstoniana is the best of these. It is 

 thoroughly hardy and a stronger grower. The 

 leaves are of a rich green color, and may 

 reach ten or twelve inches across. Of the 

 flower what shall I say? Its many snowy 

 petals stand out in all directions, making an 

 airy sphere of glistening whiteness six or 

 eight inches in diameter. The flower opens 

 early in the morning and does not close until 

 two or three o'clock in the afternoon, and 

 often reappears on four successive days. 

 The plant will give a goodly number also 

 from a single shoot in a season, though there 

 must be three or four shoots to insure con- 

 tinuous bloom. The only quality that this 

 water-lily lacks is a sweet scent. 



N, Robinsoni, one of the yellow-red flowered group. 

 The flowers of this float on the water 



lames Brydon has a gorgeous garnet-red flower. Notice 

 the open centre. A young flower 



Similar to this in its flower is the white 

 Marliac lily {N. Marliacea, var. albida), a 

 very rank grower, which often raises its 

 dark-green leaves and flowers well above 

 the water. 



A GROUP OF REDS AND ROSES 



There are two red-flower Marliac lilies of 

 identical habit with the preceding, but one 

 (N. M., var carnea) has light, pearly, pink 

 flowers, the other (N. M., var. rosea) is deep 

 rose. None of the three can be said to bloom 

 freely. N. Wm. Doogue resembles N. M., 

 var. carnea, but has larger flowers, sometimes 

 six inches across, and rather more of them. 

 It is of American origin, while all the Marli- 

 acea and Laydekeri varieties are French and 

 take their group names from their raisers. 



THE CAPE COD WATER-LILY 



The flowers have the slender, graceful 

 petals of the common white pond-lily and the 

 delicious scent of that species, but are of a 

 beautiful rose pink color. As in the type 

 species the flowers open about six A. M. or 

 earlier and close about noon, but this variety 

 has the peculiarity of keeping its sepals 

 continuously open. The closed flower there- 

 fore forms an ovate mass of pink, stand- 

 ing on a four-rayed star of dull white. 

 It is a shy bloomer, and must be raised in 

 considerable numbers to give a good effect. 

 It is impatient of the summer heat of Phila- 

 delphia, but does well in its chief habitat, 

 Cape Cod. One of the Marliac group, 

 called N. exquisita, is a more vigorous and 

 more floriferous variety. 



THE DEEP RED WATER-LILIES 



The flowers of the deep red varieties are 

 more or less cup-shaped, i. e., the petals 

 are erect and concave. From a pale pink 

 on the outermost petals the color deepens 

 toward the centre of the flower to a 

 deep crimson. The stamens are crimson 

 or deep orange red on the outer face, with 

 bright orange or yellow anther cells. In full 

 sunshine the effect is rich and striking. The 

 plants are strong growers for the most part, 

 but slow to propagate. They produce a 



fine circle of large round leaves and a goodly 

 number of their magnificent blooms, which 

 often reach five or six inches across. The 

 splendid coloring of this group is derived 

 from the Swedish water-lily (N. alba, var. 

 rubra), which is very hard to tame. It has been 

 grown with tolerable success in northern 

 New York and in Massachusetts, but is not 

 to be recommended. N. sanguinea has 

 flowers of rosy, purple-spotted carmine; 

 Laydekeri purpurata is rosy crimson with 

 orange-red stamens; Wm. Falconer, bright 

 garnet and as much as seven inches across, 

 perhaps the most gorgeous of the lot; James 

 Gurney, smaller and dark rose, and James 

 Brydon are among the best known of these. 

 A distinct and beautiful series of varieties 

 in which red and yellow are blended has been 

 produced by combining the Swedish water- 

 lily with our native yellow water-lily (N. 

 Mexicana). The effect of the deep red in 

 the centre of the flower with pale yellow on 

 the outer petals is extremely striking. The 

 brown blotching of the leaves which is seen 

 in most of these red-yellow water-lilies is 

 inherited from the American parent. For 

 small gardens or where one does not want 

 to get off with a minimum of labor these are 

 ideal plants. They do not spread rapidly 

 but maintain a single strong shoot, from 

 which an ample supply of leaves and flowers 

 arises. N. Robinsoni and N. Seignoreti are 

 the oldest and best known of this group. 

 The former bears a peculiar "ear-mark," by 

 which it may always be recognized. As in all 

 the nymphaeas, the leaf is round, and attached 

 to the petiole near the centre. On the basal 

 side a deep cleft divides the leaf from the 

 margin, nearly or quite to the petiole. The 

 borders of this cleft are very constantly smooth 

 and entire. But in N. Robinsoni there is a 

 peculiar crimped notch on each side, midway 

 of the cleft ; it also has floating flowers, where- 

 as those of its companion stand six inches 

 above the water. The bright combination of 

 yellow, orange and red which, characterizes 

 the flowers of this group is suggested by the 

 name of one of the most recent members, 

 N. Aurora, the flowers of which, opening 

 with a yellowish color, get redder and redder 

 as they age. 



The flower of N. cAurora opens yellow and gradually 

 becomes redder as it ages. An old flower 



