42 
House & Garden 
BROOKSIDE GARDENS AND FERNERIES 
The Man With a Trickling Stream on Ilis Country Place Possesses 
a Rare Opportunity for Naturalistic Gardening 
RICHARD ROTHE 
terests naturally turn to the semi-aquatic 
section and hardy herbaceous denizens 
of lowland regions. 
Representing a type which, under 
Congenial conditions, frequently assumes 
an almost tropical luxuriance in foliage 
and flowers, the possibilities for the en¬ 
joyment of arrangements of rare beauty 
appear propitious. Thus in setting out 
the plants we can observe the wonderful 
effects gained by contrasting the graceful 
forms of ferns with, for instance, the 
magnificent leafage of Senecio Veitchia- 
nus and Wilsoniamis. The massive 
growth and the metalic lustre of Funkia 
Sieboldiana and Funkia fortunei gigan- 
tea nowhere show to better advantage 
than along the brookside. Within the 
tempered atmosphere that lies near the 
clear running stream of water, one can 
use such types as Iris orientalis, pseudo- 
acorns and sibirica varieties. We will 
Where the stream becomes a tor¬ 
rent in spring and jail the banks 
should be supported by rocks or 
plants with especially rampant 
root systems that will hold the soil 
from washing out 
W AFER gardens are of varied 
types, and of them, none is more 
fascinating than a garden laid 
out along a brook. Fortunate indeed is 
the man whose country place can boast 
such a little stream; his water garden is 
already commenced. 
In gardening along the sides of brooks, 
we usually first have to face the problem 
of preventing overflows caused by heavy 
thaws in winter and violent rain-storms 
in summer. For the low and level shores 
in the plain the rampant root-systems of 
moisture-loving plants may prove suffi¬ 
cient safeguard, but the swiftly moving 
water that traverses rolling land districts 
often requires a more careful securing of 
its banks by rocks to prevent washouts. 
This security of structure must be as¬ 
sured before the plants are set out. W hen 
we come to the plant material that is 
available for brookside gardens, our in- 
Funkias of various kinds, hem- 
erocallis, ferns, Japanese and 
Siberian iris and some of the new 
and colorful Arends astilbe hy¬ 
brids have been planted effective- 
' ly here 
