WATER PLANTS 



73 



able, though they should be avoided as much as possible 

 in the wild garden. Where the ground is so steep as to 

 render walking difficult, and a deviation of the path to an 

 easier gradient would carry it away from a spot from 

 which some pleasing prospect is opened out, the least 

 laborious means of ascent and descent must be provided, 

 and steps become imperative. In a wood, where there is 

 no rock in sight, stone steps appear incongruous, and 

 here they should be fashioned out of rough branches 

 fixed securely in the ground, each holding behind it a 

 level platform of solid earth. On stony slopes, among 

 rocks, or near cliffs, stone may rightly be used. Care 

 should, however, be taken that the steps convey as little 

 suggestion of formality as possible. No squaring should 

 be done. Rough, fiat-topped masses of undressed stone 

 should be firmly imbedded in the sloping ground, but 

 not in an exact line directly above one another. It is 

 often possible, in an ascent not too steep, to arrange 

 the steps in series, which greatly modifies their formality, 

 thus two steps may be succeeded by a gentle slope, fol- 

 lowed by three steps, and so on, but in very sudden rises 

 this is impracticable, and the steps must be continuous. 

 In a short space of time the steps themselves may be 

 made beautiful with rock-plants tufting their edges and 

 flowering at their sides. Saxifrages, Linaria, Erinus, and 

 other dwarf-plants will soon become established in the 

 sun, and in the shade the little Arenaria balearica will 

 cover the angles with its creeping foliage and tiny white 

 flowers, and small ferns flourish. The following list of 

 water-plants includes the most attractive of those hardy 

 in this country. 



Nymphaa. — Water Lily. These, which give us flowers 

 of the rarest beauty, should be grown in water, not 

 overhung by trees, at a depth of from two feet to four 

 feet according to the vigour of the species or variety. 

 They are best planted in old baskets filled with rich 



