Nile Beauties in a Tub— By Lilian Baynes Griffin 



SOME WATER-LILIES ARE CERTAINLY BETTER THAN NONE AT ALL- 

 THEM TRY A TUB— WHEN THE WATER-LILY BLOOMS FORGET THE 



IF YOU CANNOT HAVE A POND FOR 

 TUB AND THINK OF THE FLOWER 



FOR two years after I started my garden 

 I was warned off from trying water 

 lilies by the following "culture note," which 

 I read in a catalogue: "Hardy varieties of 

 lilies may be planted as early in the spring as 

 one can stand to work in the water." And I 

 pictured myself waist deep in the chill water 

 of a New England pond in early spring, the 

 muddy bubbles gurgling derisively around 

 me while I endeavored to anchor a lily bulb 

 under my feet. A trip to Egypt where I might 

 stand dry-footed on the banks of the Nile and 

 gaze at the glories of the lotus seemed a slight 

 undertaking compared with the courage re- 

 quired for beginning home culture. 



One warm May morning, however, I saw 

 an old gardener standing on the edge of a 

 large pond tying lily bulbs to stones and 

 placidly throwing them here and there into 

 the water. 



"In a couple of months or so," he volun- 

 teered, noticing my interest, "the middle of 

 the pond will be as green as the lawn, and I 

 can pick a pail of lily buds every' morning 

 without one of them being missed." This 

 was inspiring, and I began to ask a few ques- 

 tions on lily culture. 



"Get a tub or old cask, have it sawed in 

 two and you can grow them," he said. "All 

 the water-lily needs, is still, warm water, sun- 

 shine and good soil." 



This recipe seemed so much more cheerful 

 than the one I read in the catalogue that I 

 purchased a cask and had it sawed in two. 

 I followed the gardener's directions faith- 

 fully in regard to the sunshine, the still, warm 

 water and good soil. With the amateur's 

 impatience to see the lilies in blossom, I dug 

 and pulled half-grown plants from a back- 

 water and filled my tub with these. This 

 experiment was not a success. In the first 

 place I was unable to keep the casks from 



leaking, and, too late, I found that into one 

 cask I had put enough lily plants to supply a 

 small pond. That summer I saw one suc- 

 cessful lily tub filled with flowers and beau- 

 tiful shiny green leaves. To my surprise I 

 learned that this tub contained but one root. 

 This was my first experience. 



The tub garden shown in the illustrations 

 is made of beer vats sawed in half and sunk 

 into the ground about two and a half feet. 

 They are covered inside and out with cement 

 of a neutral tint ; cement also is used to knit 

 them together; the tubs have a warm, sunny 

 place, and are filled two feet deep with earth ; 

 the water is supplied by hose. When the 

 water reaches about seventy degrees Mr. 

 Peck begins to plant his lilies. This is usu- 

 ally about the middle of June. Experience 

 has taught him that no time is saved by 

 starting them earlier. 



Outside the tubs grow marsh plants, and 

 here and there are great clumps of native rice 

 grass which reaches the height of six or seven 

 feet as early as the first week in August, 

 while marsh forget-me-nots flourish in the 

 moisture surrounding the tub and make ex- 

 quisite patches of blue against the gray 

 cement. 



In another part of the garden grows a 

 beautifullittlepatchof the Japanese water-lily. 

 The leaves of this lily are of deep green, firm 

 and shining, growing into a circular mat. With 

 every breath of wind that ripples the surface 

 of the water they drift about, bearing their 

 cargo of blue blossoms, until like a tiny fleet 

 they huddle together in some sheltered place. 

 It is grown in large zinc pans made for the 

 purpose. They, too, are sunk into the earth 

 about half a foot, so that nothing but a narrow 

 rim five or six inches high extends above the 

 level of the lawn. 



In still another part of this garden is a zinc 



tank with a deep centre constructed for the 

 purpose of growing a night-blooming lotus, 

 and about once a year this gardener has the 

 pleasure of taking his neighbors by moon- 

 light across the grassy paths of the garden 

 to see the great pink head of the lotus flower 

 resting on the top of the water. 



For the beginner in tub gardening, the 

 following plants are safe enough and long- 

 suffering enough to save him from disap- 

 pointment: 



The sweet-scented water-lily (Nymphcea 

 odorata); the variegated sweet flag (Acorus 

 Calamus, var. variegatus), which has leaves 

 with deep yellow stripes when young but 

 fading as the summer advances; the pickerel- 

 weed (Pontederia coradata), a lusty perennial 

 with flowers of a delicate blue; the water 

 snowflake (Limnanthemum Indicum, some- 

 times spoken of as Villarsia Humboldtiana) , 

 whose flowers last but a day, but are borne 

 in such profusion that there is never any lack 

 of bloom throughput the'' season; and the 

 Egyptian paper-plant (Cyperus antiquorum, 

 usually spoken of as Papyrus antiquorum), 

 which, if it has a chance, will fill any tub 

 or pond in Christendom. 



The water hyacinth (Eichhornia speciosa, 

 or E. crassipes of the florists), will succeed 

 admirably in the tubs, but care must be taken 

 to keep it within bounds as it spreads very 

 rapidly. There are bladder-like growths at 

 the base of the leaves which keep them afloat. 

 Numerous spikes of blue flowers which last 

 but a day are borne in rapid succession. 



The parrot's feather (Myriophyllum pro- 

 serpinacoides), a graceful half-hardy aquatic 

 with weak stems reaching six inches above the 

 water. It must be planted in a shallow place. 



The floating moss {Azolla Caroliniana) 

 is a very pretty little plant of a deep green 

 color but in full sun assumes a reddish hue. 



Was there ever such an odd receptacle for water lilies ? These are beer vats 

 sawed in two and cemented outside. They belong to a gentleman who lives on 

 Nile Street, Hartford, Conn. • 



A zinc tanK in which Mr. Peck of Hartford, Connecticut, grows one of the 

 ender, night-blooming species of water lily. He also grows wild rice, Japan 

 iris, etc. 

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