March 12 



1898. 



GARDENER 



MA G A ZINE 



165 



WATER IN THE GARDEN. 



Large Streams, Ponds, and Lakes. 



u ,«r aWdv described the various forms of water on a comparatively 

 HA ^cak and chiefly in connection with rocks, I will now deal with 



of greater extent and generally without rocks. Stagnant ponds of 

 . * <ize are even more repulsive than small ones, but ponds fed by a 

 Samlet or brook ensuring a constant supply of fresh water are most 

 33>Ie in the park or pleasure-grounds, and the water itself, as well as 

 i hanks should be full of life and beauty, and display that picturesque 

 rhirm which is the true character of a water garden. It goes without 

 savimr that the shore-line of such a pond, in order to be picturesque, 

 must be as varied as possible, and the water itself should contain plants 

 naturally grouped without being entirely covered with them. The 

 reflecting surface of water gives light to the landscape, and a sheet of 



Construction of Ponds and Lakes. 



Too often, unfortunately, we may still see ponds of circular or oval 

 shape with banks secured by stone walls or pebbles set in cement 

 concrete that show above the waterline. This may do for the 

 horsepond of a farmyard but it will not do for a water garden. If it 

 is worth our while to make a pond at all it should be also worth our 

 while to pay attention to Nature's most simple laws with regard to 

 beauty, and when an artificial pond shows in its shore line curves that 

 could not possibly have been formed by Nature the effect is repulsive. 

 When writing of water in the rock garden I mentioned that a pond in 

 most cases should be treated as an expanded streamlet, and the curves 

 of large ponds or lakes give no exception to that rule. A natural pond 

 with a bold projection or promontory on one side will almost invariably 

 show a still bolder recess on the opposite shore, and vice versa. If such 

 projections are covered by vegetation that hides a portion of the water, 



water entirely covered is monotonous. I recently saw a pond nearly an so that from no point the whole of the surface can be seen, the effect will 

 acre in extent in which the water is entirely obscured by the Cape pond be all the more picturesque. A good example of this may be seen in 

 weed (Apotiogeton distachyori). Beautiful as this plant may be with its the lakes at Birkenhead Park, which, in consequence of this partial 



" * i;—:.- ^£c~-s.zm obscuring of the water from certain points, appears much larger than it 



really is. 



In the case of a broad stream or river flowing through some meadows 

 within sight of the house, the simplest way to produce a pond or lake 

 would, of course, be to widen the stream or river to the size that would 

 seem most desirable. But, if the pond and its banks are intended for a 

 water garden I this course would "not be the most practical if the flow of 

 water(isat all rapid, because, after heavy rains, when the river swells and 

 floods its surroundings, there wouldjnot only be a danger of the water 

 plants being carried away, ibut silt^ravel and river mud would quickly 



delightfully fragrant flowers, when kept within proper limits, the effect is 

 simply dismal when the plant is allowed to spread over the whole of 

 the surface to the exclusion of i every other plant. Variety is charming, 

 and when we have an enormous number of suitable plants of all shapes 

 and sizes to choose from, there is really no excuse for monotony. 



A beautiful example of a picturesque pond is the one at Enys, Corn- 

 wall, a portion of which is here illustrated. Enys, the property and 

 residence of Mr. F. G. Enys, is one of those delightful sheltered spots 

 within a few miles ifrom Falmouth, where sub-tropical plants, but 

 seldom met with out of doors, grow luxuriantly ; but one of the greatest 



VIEW IN THE WATER GARDEN AT ENYS, CORNWALL. 



TneVn^ ° t P e ' where Mr ' P ' Ho & bin has charge, is its pond. fill up all recesses and thus practically destroy the beauty of the pon 

 but th j WS ' of course > only a very small portion of this pond, and choke the plants. The best plan in such a case is to "tap " th 

 ran hl\ water garden is even more irregular and more picturesaue than ' " —--»-— ^ int*nH*r1 fnr th* snnnlv «f th* ™nrl «nm 



will KiveTn y £ by , th £ illl ]?tration. ™e sue of the figure in the boat 

 Wll » give an idea of the dimpns nnQ nf th* fin* .r,^; * c r 



d 

 the 



will piv* ,„ ;j r , -mc bizc or tne ngure in the boat 



toanicata in th* k °! the dimensions of the fine specimen of Gunnera 

 Cne leSJ™ backgrou r nd J this ranks among the finest .in Cornwall, 



Handfom* f* r n hT feet lon , S and leaves 0ver nine feet « width, 

 an except h? 1 hydran S eas > rhododendrons, and fine conifers supply 



itself are ^ a ^ kg ?* u ? d ° n the other side of the ^nd. In the pond 

 alba, and TeveS «f i ° M American Nuphar advenna, Nymphjea 

 lilies, a siJht n u' newe . r k,nds of Marliac's lovely hybrid water 

 that seen „ .1. gether un,que is met with on the shor e opposite to 



thousands of ftELSF ?m • Here ', ben ? ath the shade of lime trees, 

 brilliant crimed J a Ppnica, in luxuriant growth, rear their whorls of 



imposine hant pUrp 6 flowers > forming (close by the waterside) an 

 recently sDecmUc"^ .u" 6 , hu " dred and fift y X a rds in length. Quite 

 added WffSS* *S bnght ye,l0W Primula sikkimensis have been 

 ma ny other wat* 5 P r . omise to be a great success. There are 

 is one at Car^ gar J? ens m Cornwall, and perhaps the most extensive 

 parativelv rer2 eS aStle ' near St Austell » which, although of corn- 

 introductions in th constru ction, is furnished with all the latest 

 most picturesan* W ^ f ac i ua tics, and will in a few years' time be 

 the one owned h iu w y the finest water S^rden in Great Britain is 

 Marliac's matmifi " R obinson, at Gravetye Manor, Sussex. Here 



nourished t CCn HHes in a11 shades of colour were planted 



^ore thev wer* perfectl °n almost before they were in commerce. 



of them alreSt Y agl ° W with masses of these brilliant w 



y cove nng a space many yards in diameter. 



river conduct the water intended for the supply of the pond some 

 distance away from the original stream, and finally let the overflow rejoin 

 the river at a lower level If the water is first conveyed in pipes and 

 made to flow in an opposite direction to that of the river, the danger of 

 chokaee by mud or silt will be entirely avoided. When laying out some 

 grounds at Great Marlow a few years ago, I made a most successfu 

 nond in the way just described, by tapping the river Thames. In most 

 cases it may also be advisable to cover the mouth of the pipe by wire 

 nettine to keep out water rats and other vermin. There is no reason 

 why water drawn in this way from a river should not, at some little 

 distance from the « tapping place," reappear in the shape of a natural 

 streamlet before filling the pond and here and there its water-soaked 

 banks might become the home of all kinds of most suitable as well as 

 beautiful plants. In a like manner the water emerging as overflow from 

 the pond might form a picturesque brook of any desirable length with or 

 without waterfalls before rejoining the river 



In a case like the preceding where the water supply would be 

 practically unlimited, the comparatively small waste of water through 

 absorption by the banks and perhaps also by the bottom of the pond 

 would hardly need comment. But where the supply is scarce and the 

 bottom and sides of the pond are of a porous nature the latter would 

 have to be either " puddled " or covered with concrete to prevent waste. 

 Concreting on a large scale is always expensive work, and clay puddle, 

 especially on the sides or banks, is very apt to be injured by water rats, 

 to crumble away after severe frost, or be washed away by the ripples of 

 water moved by wind. Sometimes it so happens that the subsoil 

 consists at a certain depth of a tough clay, which no water could pene- 



