MY GUARANTEE 
And 64 Years of Customer Satisfaction 
This year is- our 64th. in. raising and selling water Wtes. 
You may be assured that the plants we ship are the.best, 
that our long experience and Caliiarnia sunshine. can pro- 
Californto's "tong, sun-drenched growing season of nine 
Months' produces'the finest -water HHes -iR'-the^'w-^< i *^' 
Strong heavy roots crammed to bursting wrth vigor.-These 
strong, California grown roots will assure you or a pool 
RTTY WITH CONFIDENCE. I guarantee to ship you only our -finest, healthiest 
ints true'16 name. 1 accept full responsibility that they reach you in good 
Hurry Johnson 
:omplaint \!or iropicai nines wi 
placements made tree with new orders. 
— 2 — 
Copyright 1940 by Hai ry Johnson. 
How to Get Most Pleasure from Growing Water Lilies 
Water Lily Growers 
Since 1876 . J . R 
Our .nurser^ is the m®t fully equipped 
jn the world to grow water plants and 
these adequate facilities are fully reeded 
to produce a oanjUnugris flow of mature, 
healthy plants into our packing rooms. No 
rouble or expense is jjpared to assure you 
of early outdoor grown specimens for sun¬ 
shine is as necessary to sturdy plants as 
it is to humisS^Bifts. Foi' the tenderer 
kinds we have steam heated pools covered 
with glass sash which are removed every 
morning so plants may have full benefit of 
the *qnsi*e. fl j ^ 
We have our own water supply system 
from deep artesian wells and acres at, con¬ 
crete-lined pool*, all of ^hich may be filled 
or drained at will through 8-inch concrete 
mains.«■ 
To dear the thousands of orders that 
descend on us during the spring months 
our office and packing farces also have 
ample modern facilities. It requires skilled 
workmen to promptly aatj efficiently handle 
your order*. Perhaps our greatest assets 
.ore our employees wiSiout whose willing 
'Service no 1 'such complicated business as a 
modern nursery MiWfunction smoothly. 
For 63 years we have been supplying 
v a ter lilies to private gardens, public 
oarks, arid botanic gardens throughout the 
iHrorld. A rec|i$ a| this length should be 
cm indication that our/lilies are good and 
that we strive to give you the best in 
quality Ot the lowest price that quality 
lelivered. 
MY POOL BOOK 
[ II This little booklet on pool 
j; building you will find a 
jf great help. With it you 
n may be assured your pool 
i is planned right and as 
economically as possible. 
Its detailed drawings show 
how a pool is made, how 
to put in drains, etc. Many 
of our customers' pools are 
illustrated also, which will give you a gen¬ 
eral idea of the various types. v f ■ 
EACH POSTPAID .-IIJC 
POOL 
BUILDING 
Can You Imagine Your Own Pool 
Being in Bloom Almost From th© 
Day It is Planted? 
Plant our 2-year-old Blue Triumph and Blue 
Beauty and start your pooloffwith P La ™ s 
that have already blossomed. They ao no 
stop flowering after transplanting to 1 Y°£r p °° 
but will continue blossoming all. ^ I h ‘ i 
the frosts of late autumn You will !™ ™ 
a welcome contrast to the small pot plan 
generally offered tor sale. 
SPECIAL BLUE TRIUMPH 
This Queen of blue water lilies is an espe¬ 
cial feature with us and tor Years we have 
offered our customers 2-year-old plants at 
than the average price of common month-old, 
poTgrown plants. If you have ever grown 
them you will appreciate their incomparable 
superiority. They are of course far hardier 
and more vigorous than any tiny greenhouse 
grown plants could possibly be. 
Day Blooming Tropical Lilies 
The blossoms of these beautiful lilies stand 
upright on strong stems above the water. 
Don't fail to plant them for only in them do 
you get the gorgeous blue lilies! They flower 
from June till frost, giving a glorious display 
and one few of your neighbors will have, lhe 
varieties are listed on pages 3, 5, 16, ib. 
ASSURING TRUE TO NAME PLANTS 
Our acres of pools are carefully cultivated by hand 
each season. Tliev are cleaned, fertilized and deeply 
spaded each year, being gone over three or four times 
to assure you of healthy true-to-name plants. No 
better lilies are produced and vve are particularly 
proud of our clean plants. 
ONE OF MANY GREENHOUSE POOLS 
In these pools we propagate our tender lilies. Dur¬ 
ing the summer they are set out in our outdoor pools, 
where they bloom and gather vigor for many months. 
THE HARDY WATER LILIES 
These are the lilies commonly seen in pools. 
They bloom early—often in April. Plant them 
for early bloom and for their fragrance, grace 
and brilliant red, yellow, orange and pink 
blossoms. The flowers generally are short 
stemmed or float upon the water. See pages 
7. 8, 13. There are no blue winter hardy lilies. 
TROPICAL STAR LILIES 
I think these are the most brilliant and 
charming of garden flowers. Certainly they 
are amongst the freest flowering and their 
spicy fragrance when used as cut flowers 
will scent up the whole room. Though they 
aTe Tropicals they may easily be wintered 
over in a pot of moist sand in any frost-free 
place. Turn to page 15 for their description. 
Night Blooming Water Lilies 
Amongst the most beautiful and exotic ap¬ 
pearing of all these lilies are not the easiest 
to grow and I recommend them only where 
given plenty of room. They will not stand 
crowding at least until they are well estab¬ 
lished. If you have plenty of room—25 square 
feet each—by all means grow them for their 
magnificent blossoms are freely borne and 
gorgeously colored. They need plenty of warm 
weather to give of their best. See page 14. 
EGYPTIAN LOTUS 
These stately plants from the far eastern 
tropics have huge rose-like blossoms. ihey 
will often bloom the first season. They like 
a box 2 or 3 feet square, for they are vigor¬ 
ous plants. See page 6. 
CONCRETE GROWING POOLS 
ASSURE WELL-RIPENED PLANTS 
Our water plants are all grown in large 
concrete pools under essentially the same con¬ 
ditions as in your own garden pool. Only in 
this way can we control their growth to as¬ 
sure you of well-ripened, vigorous plants to 
get your own garden off to a flying start. 
