House and Garden 
Nymphaea stellata, a very fine species for culture in the 
indoor water garden 
The charming water hyacinth, a useful aquatic for corners 
ot the indoor water garden 
as seventy-five with advantage, and the warmth of 
the atmosphere should be well maintained. 
In the forefront of the aquatics stand, of course, 
the water lilies. There are so many lovely speci¬ 
mens now available that it is difficult to pick 
and choose; these rep¬ 
resent almost all colors 
and many of the shades 
are delightful in every 
sense of the word. All 
the forms of N. stellata, 
several of which, by 
the way, are nearly 
hardy, are exception¬ 
ally beautiful. The 
type is a clear blue, 
whilst JSf. stellata pur¬ 
purea is a rich mauve, 
bright red being repre¬ 
sented by JSf. stellata 
versicolor. Two bril¬ 
liantly colored stove 
species which may be 
strongly recommended 
are N. azure a and JSf. 
rosea', their respective 
colors will be gathered 
from the specific names. 
Of white and yellow 
varieties there is no 
lack; a very fine stove 
example of the former 
is N. lotus th ermali s, 
whilst JSf. Mexican a 
produces blooms ot a bright golden yellow. The 
above by no means exhausts the list of tender 
and halt hardy nymphceas available for cultiva¬ 
tion, and as well there are many charming hybrids. 
All water lilies revel in a rich loamy soil, and 
although some growers 
spread a quantity of this 
material over the bottom 
of the tank the writer 
does not recommend 
this method. By far 
the best way is to plant 
the roots of the nym¬ 
phceas in wicker baskets 
filled with soil, or even 
in ordinary pots, on the 
surface of the mould 
placing a number of 
heavy stones to keep the 
earth from washing out. 
The whole thing should 
then be lowered to the 
bottom of the tank. 
The best time of all for 
planting water lilies is 
in the late spring or the 
early summer. During 
the winter it is not amiss 
to drain away the water 
and pack supplies of 
fresh loam around the 
roots. The plants are 
more easily removed if 
they are planted in pots, 
A group of palms and other plants which thrive around the 
edges of basins; not below, but close to the water level 
48 
