The bog pimpernel (Anagallis tenella) a British creeper that is covered with 

 hundreds of tiny pink flowers 



Mountain fleece {Polygonum amplexicaule) a Himalayan plant with spikes 

 about six inches long of rosy flowers in midsummer 



York 



English Effects with Hardy "Bog Plants"— By wilhelm Miller, 



THE UNIQUE CHARM OF ORCHIDS, PITCHER PLANTS, LILIES THAT GROW TEN FEET HIGH, 

 AND OTHER SUPERB FLOWERS WHICH WILL THRIVE ONLY IN SOIL THAT IS ALWAYS MOIST 



[Editor's Note. — This is the thirteenth and last of the articles in which Dr. Miller has shown what are the most important English effects that can be 

 reproduced in America with permanent material, and which ones are sure to be a failure. The series began with Conifers in January ioon.l 



HOPE I have no reader who imagines 

 -■■ for one instant that "bog gardens" 

 have anything to do with mosquitoes, malaria, 

 green scum, bad smells, wet feet, or anything 

 unhealthy or unpleasant. If so, let him read 

 "What England Can Teach Us About Peat 

 Gardens," in Country Life in America, for 

 January, 1910, and his prejudices will melt 

 away as "breath off'n a razor." Fifteen 

 minutes in Sir Henry Yorke's bog garden 

 ■would turn the most hardened skeptic into 

 -■an enthusiast for life. The man whose soul 

 •does not thrill at the sight of a colony of lady 

 clippers must be in a bad way. And these 

 ihardy orchids are typical of the wonders of 

 the bog garden, many of which are amongst 

 the shyest and most exquisite flowers in the 

 world. The bog garden is a notable institu- 

 tion in England, and it should be even more 

 popular in America, for, heaven knows, we 

 have pest holes enough that should be drained 

 and filled. 



The ideal thing to do with a bit of low, 

 wet land is to dig out enough of it to make 

 a little lake and, if the land be springy, a 

 brook leading to the lake. For then you can 

 solve the whole problem of mosquitoes and 

 malaria by simply putting goldfish into the 

 lake. The running brook will do away with 

 .scum and sour soil. The splendid water 

 supply will make every plant grow with 

 luxurious abandon. The lake will attract 

 birds to splash in the water and butterflies 

 to hover over the flowers. Every flower 

 that fringes the lake will have its loveliness 

 doubled by its reflection in the mirror 

 below. And, finally, the running brook will 

 make your garden musical the year round, 

 its every note brimming with suggestions of 

 happiness and health. Truly, a delightful 

 picture! 



Another advantage in having a bog garden 

 js that you can't help succeeding with it. 



The water insures that. The wonderful 

 luxuriance it will produce is a never-ending 

 delight. No matter how rare, costly or inter- 

 esting any plant may be, one cannot enjoy it to 

 the full if it looks starved, dwarfed, unhappy. 

 And waterside plants are so obviously pros- 

 perous and contented that it makes one happy 

 just to look at them. 



THE EFFECT OF TROPICAL LUXURIANCE 



For example, you have probably seen and 

 admired a border plant known as the giant 

 knotwood {Polygonum Sieboldii or cuspi- 

 dalum). In the hardy border it may grow 

 three feet high, but at the waterside it grows 

 six feet high and makes a huge, round bush 

 that is a perfect cloud of white bloom in July. 

 And this water-magic is even more remark- 

 able in the case of another knotweed, known 

 as sacaline {Polygonum Sachalinense), since 

 the latter is altogether too rough and coarse 

 for a formal garden. In the bog garden this 

 objection vanishes and the plant takes on 

 new interest. It is like the piece of stage 

 scenery which seems outrageously crude 

 when one stands right by it, but sufficiently 

 refined when one is at the proper distance. 

 In other words, the first aesthetic demand 

 that a bog garden makes is for a certain 

 number of plants on a heroic scale to illus- 

 trate the magical effect of water on vege- 

 tation. Of these heroic plants there are 

 about three types. 



First, the very tall plants. All the follow- 

 ing attain six feet, and some twelve: 



Chrysanthemum idiginosum. — * Eupatorium 

 purpureum. — Fenda Tingitana. — ■ * Helenium 

 aulumnale. — *Helianthus orgyalis. — Heracleum 

 giganteum. — Heracleum villosum. — *Hibiscus 

 Moscheutos. — *Hibiscus Crimson Eye. — Hibiscus 

 Mallow Marvels. — *Phrag?nites communis. — Poly- 

 gonum Sieboldii. — Polygonum Sachalinense. 



* All the plants marked * in this article are American 

 wild flowers. 



This will show, in a general way, how 

 much the English are indebted to America 

 for their best bog garden effects. And it 

 should encourage us, for there can be no 

 question about the hardiness of the plants. 

 Moreover, nearly all of them are very easy 

 to grow, and practically all can be had from 

 American nurserymen. 



Second come the plants with wonderfully 

 big leaves. Among these the greatest favor- 

 ite in England is the Gunnera, which has the 

 largest leaves of any plant in cultivation — 

 often six feet across, sometimes ten. 



Unfortunately, it is not hardy enough for 

 our Northern states. The nearest substitute 

 for it is Rheum Collinianum. Other water- 

 loving plants with big leaves are: 



Caltha polypetala. — *Saxifraga peltala. — Senecio 

 Clivorum. — Senecio Wilsonianus. 



Third are those plants which are a never- 

 ending marvel because of the uncountable 

 multitude of their stems and flowers. For 

 example: 



Lysimachia clethroides. — Lysimachia Ephem- 

 erum. — *Lysimachia punctata. — *Lythrum Sal- 

 icaria. 



GORGEOUS FLOWERING EFFECTS 



While luxuriant foliage seems to me the 

 first thing to provide for, the "man from 

 Missouri" will want to know what are the 

 showiest flowers he can have in a bog garden. 

 Here is a short list. 



Are these flowers large enough? 



Siberian iris, 4 inches. — Tall yellow iris, 5 incites. 

 — Japanese iris, 9 to 12 inches. — *Lilium Canadense, 

 4 inches. — *Lilium superbum, 4 to 5 inches. — 

 Hibiscus Crimson Eye, $ to 6 inches. — *Hibiscus 

 Moscheutos, 5/06 inches. — Hibiscus Mallow 

 Marvels, 6 to 10 inches. 



And if our Missouri friend still doubts 

 whether a bog garden is any good let him 



