Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-06-15
POND-LlLY GARDEN
IMMATURE LAKE FOR THE
FRONT YARD.
What Can BE Done With Limited
Resources and Space OUTFIT
and the Plants Required.
Written for The Evening Star.

Written for The Evening Star.
Variety is the spice of life. This holds good
Of Horticulture as well Of any ology or
ISM spasm of interest in gardens re-
Gently swept the country when certain
paper took the trouble to cable to this side
bit of news years old in England-viz.,
that the Countess of Warwick had gar
den of friendship" wherein grew flowers,
shrubs and trees planted only by the hands
of friends.
The love of country life among English
people of refinement is so widespread that
| it Is often spoken Of a national trait.
The Englishman's love of open-air life and
rural scenes is the real secret of his sturdi-
ness in character and physique. 1t is hard
ly too far-fetched in his case to say that
oxygen is the backbone of the empire.
! English homes, with their beautiful parks
| or more restricted gardens, are the sources
of inspiration for American landscape gar
deners, who have steadily grown in num-
bers and prosperity as wealth and culture
have increased in the United States.
| Travel has partly served to form the taste
| of the American people in this respect, and
! education has had its share in improving
them. American women, however, have al
| ways been fond of flowers. Even the Puri-
| tan women, although other vanities were
| eschewed loved to plant about their bleak
| dwellings the dainty blossoms which re-
minded them of their old homes across the
| ocean.
There is not a cottage or a vile in the
suburbs which does not make some preten-
sions toward having garden. Flowers are
luxuries in which rich and poor may, if
| they will, share with about equal success.
Question of Taste.
| While the rich womans garden may be
| larger and may contain more expensive
plants, it can be no prettier or more inter-
esting than that of her next-door neighbor
who tends her flowers with her own hands,
with only taste and good sense as her as
| sistants
| While it may not be possible to emulate
the English women who have their gardens
of friendship and their Shakespearean
plots, in which grow every plant mentioned
| by the bard of Avon, any one NAV follow
some original idea.
| Possibly one of the oldest gardens of all
is the mermaid's garden. AS any one
might guess the mermaid's garden is one
| containing only aquatic plants.
| 1t is popularity believed that a water gar
den Is possible only to the rich, who can
afford to build expensive glass houses to
| cover the tank in which the water flowers
bloom only after high-priced gardeners
have exercised infinite skill in their devel-
| opment.
Anybody Can Try 1t.
| On the contrary, any one who has small
plot OF ground and a water-tight tub cask
or a stout box may enjoy the distinction of
| owning a water garden.
If a tub is selected, a coating of tar put
around the outside will protect it from the
damp soil, which, of course, in time will
| cause it to decay. A spade scoops out a
hollow in the ground just large enough to
| accommodate the tub, and the earth is
packed around it.
The tub should be two-thirds filled with
well-enriched soil which is then covered
with an inch or two of sand. and the yes
sci is filled with water 1t is not necessary
to sink the tub into the ground as that is
done merely to give the plants the appear
ance of growing in small pool of water.
A half barrel or hogShead will also make
an excellent receptacle for the plants The
water supply must be so regulated in the
tank or barrel that stagnation will not be
possible. In a small vessel the water NAV
| be dipped out and renewed by the pourine
in of an equal quantity
| Larger vessels be made by a carpen-
ter Stout planks are nailed together so
that the sides afford a slipping surface and
the cracks are carefully filled with some
| cement that will keep the water from
Wasting away Then the tank is ready for
its preparation With soil and water.
More Ambitious Ways.
When larger tank is required, a space
| can be dug directly in the ground and filled
in with closely laid bricks The ground
| should be taken out to the depth of about
| three feet, the bricks covering the earth to
| the depth of about nine inches The sur
face of the bricks should then be covered
with good cement. In the center of such
pond there may be put up a small rock
cry, which will diversity the appearance of
| the water garden. When the artificial
pond is large one, the water supply must
be managed by means of pipes. through
| which the water may be supplied and
| drawn off at will AS this necessitates the
services of plumber such a garden is
| somewhat expensive.
| Although every one cannot attempt the
| cultivation Of the magnificent Victoria
| regLa whose leaves are like dining room
| tables, the lily family presents a great va
| rlety OF plants from which to choose Anv
| OF the hardy nymphaeas is easy to cuti-
Fate so. too, are the lotuses or hardy
| nelumbiums. The water hyacinth wild
| rice, water snowflake and the water nonnv
may all be raised successfully by the ana,
| teur.
| Watch the Weeds.
Water weeds must be carefully taken ont
| OF the tank or pond, and the inroads of
| insects must be watched. Washing off
with water will usually effectually settle
| these pests.
Altogether there is no more fascinating
| form of Horticulture than the water gar
den, and the fact that now almost every
florist has or can supply on order any va
rlety of aquatic plant indicates that it's
| popularity is increasing.
UP-TO-DATE JAPAN