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THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



348. A grassy margin is always pleasanter (han the hard, while, unnatural line of raised cement with 

 which so many people ruin the whole effect of their water gardens. In both pictures on this page the mo- 

 notonous shore line could be made highly interesting by a succession of striking plants. IiKe the giant reed, 

 through which one would get glimpses of the water plants 



is little plant food in either, and the standard 

 soil for water lilies is two parts of good rich 

 loam to one of well-decomposed manure. 

 For the best results this material should be 

 composted the autumn before it is wanted. 

 Since a muddy pool is a nasty and often a 

 slimy and bad-smelling thing, it is best to 

 cover the soil with an inch of sand so as to 

 keep the water clear and sweet. The most 



scientific way is to grow each plant in 

 a box three or four feet square and a foot 

 deep. Then you control conditions. 



One of the commonest mistakes is to set 

 out too many plants. Ten of the tender 

 water lilies will cover a thousand square feet 

 — an area twenty by fifty. A single plant of 

 any of the night-blooming species will meas- 

 ure twelve feet across. 



349. At the height of the season, when the surface is nearly covered by lily pads and the leaves 

 crowd so close that some are forced a few inches above the surface. The tall plants are the Indian lotus, 

 everywhere called the Egyptian lotus. This error is now too firmly fixed to be easily displaced 



WHEN AND HOW TO PLANT 



Hardy water lilies may be planted any 

 time from the first of April till the first of 

 September. If planted early they will 

 bloom the first year. Lotus and the tender 

 water lilies are best planted in June, or when- 

 ever the conditions are favorable for starting 

 into growth at once. They have to be 

 started indoors and grown under water in 

 pots, from which it is easy to transplant 

 them. The roots of hardy kinds have to be 

 pressed firmly into the soil and a brick must 

 be put on each root to hold it down until 

 it anchors itself. It is sometimes more 

 convenient to plant them in old baskets that 

 you do not care to keep. Fill these with soil 

 and sink the whole thing under water. 



RECIPE FOR A LOUD WATER GARDEN 



Make a large, circular basin with a con- 

 spicuous, elevated cement rim. In the 

 centre, place a $200 iron dolphin which 

 spouts water from many pores. Start a 

 colony of dazzling yellow water poppies in 

 close proximity to a large clump of purple 

 Japan iris. Punctuate the lily pods with 

 numerous sword-thrusts of variegated sweet 

 flag. Plant three bananas nearby for tropi- 

 cal effect, being careful to select a spot 

 where the wind will whip the leaves to 

 tatters. Border the pond with eulalias, 

 avoiding the green and choosing the striped, 

 checked or Anglomaniac varieties. In front 

 of these make a circle of castor-oil plants and 

 elephant's ears (alternating them), in order 

 to get the public or park effect. Spice with 

 spotted cannas and measly blue ageratum. 

 Garnish with coleus, using no two of the 

 same kind (this will give a brilliant Joseph's- 

 coat effect), and serve piping hot with mos- 

 quito trimmings. 



THE BEST VARIETIES 



The best water lilies for general planting 

 are Marliac's hybrids because of the number 

 and size of the flowers. Any improvements 

 on them are likely to be new and high-priced. 

 The most distinct colors are white, flesh pink, 

 canary yellow and deep rose; known to 

 nurserymen as N. Marliacea, vars. albida, 

 carnea, chromatella and rosea. No collection 

 is worth mentioning that does not contain 

 these. 



The best for small basins and for tubs are 

 Laydeker's hybrids because they require less 

 room than the Marliac hybrids. The 

 flowers are smaller — two or three inches 

 across. The favorites are N. Laydekeri, 

 var. rosea, the first and last to bloom and the 

 most reliable ; and var. lilacea, which has the 

 fragrance of a tea rose. Other colors are 

 reddish yellow, crimson-magenta and rosy 

 crimson. 



Blue water lilies are all tender day bloomers. 

 The best sky-blue kind is S. Capensis (six 

 to eight inches across). The biggest flowers 

 are "Tricker's big blue (5. pulcherrima, 

 pale blue, ten to twelve inches), and the 

 Australian blue (S. gigantea, dark blue, 

 shading nearly to white). The best purple 

 is the Zanzibar. The Egyptian and Indian 

 blues (N. candea and stellata) are worth 

 growing for their historical interest, but they 



