Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-01
Anes De7el1ped Years Ago. BY War Veteran
Come Within Range Of East Potomac
Expansion, and Their Brilliant Product,
Knozon Throughout Eastern Part Of the
Country, Is Believed Destined for Public
U,e-WorN Has Contributed to Varietv.

in shallow bowl of water so that they seem
TO float
The Shaw gardens have been kept true to
nature. Where practicable the native trees,
shrubs grasses and plants have been retained
and encouraged to grow. Beautiful weeping
willows dangle their graceful branches into
the sluggish waters. The birds fill the hours
of early dawn with their silvery songs. In
sects and butterflies drone and hum as they
fit about and sip the nectar from rare and
beautiful lilies assembled here from many far
away lands. .:tt +.
There are the common hardy plants of
North America, the blue lilies of Egypt and
Africa, the lotus from China and Japan, and
the huge Victoria Regia of South America.
The ponds are different shapes-round, oval,
square and oblong. They scorn engineering
precision. Even the little footpaths through
the gardens accentuate the natural surround
ings. A few feet from the Office is the big,
one-acre pond filled with Shaw's favorte-the
hardy white pond lilies Of America. At first
glance it does not seem a pond at all. The
water is completely hidden by the green leaves
and many beautiful tinted blossoms that float
on its surface. All leaf and flower stems are
tucked under the water out Of sight. The
leaves are large. The various shapes re-
semble fans. hearts, pies and even pans.
THE hardy lilies are in their glory during
July and August. They begin to bloom
early in June and continue until late in Sep
TENDER. There are both single and double
varieties with colors to tempt the brush Of
any artist. They range from pure white to
flesh color: shell-tinted pink to sunset rose;
from coral to blazing garnet; and all shades
of yellow. from cream to sulphur and orange
One Of the hybrids Of the Shaw Gardens
Is the Rose Arey. It's glowing rose tinted blos-
SONS are about eight inches in diameter. This
is the largest hardy lily in the gardens. It
blossoms profusely. This plant was awarded
silver medal by the New York Horticultural
Society in 1922.
Radiance is another new lily attracting at
ten.ion. It is So-caled because its delicate.
rosy petals seem 10 radiate light rays and
they sometimes seem transparent.
The AIargie Is another new flower; its color
Is like soft glow at sunset This lily Is named
for Mrs. FowlerS niece.
The Pink Opal was so named because its
thick, waxy flowers resemble huge pink opal.
This plant has two pecularities. The buds
form in tight round balls, and the cut blooms
keep longer than any other water lily, which
gives them an appreciate commercial prestige.
The Eugsnia Deland was named for the
artist of that name 1t was awarded the sill
yer medal in 1918 for the best new lily at the
Newport Horticultural Society. These bright
blossoms are delightfully."- fragrant. Their thick.
pink petals shine like iridescent porcelain.
The bright red lilies attract many visitors.
Each large or small blossom rides gracefully
on the water and invites US to see that its
tintS are different from all others.
Nearby floats family of yellow blooms dot
ting the water like huge h1ttercups
Farther away, little apart, swim myriads
of white blossoms, large and small, all with
bright, yellow Stamens surrounded by pure,
waxy white petals and filling the air with o
delicate ..:zfNc.c These are the hardy pond
lilies of America. There are many varieties
of the hardy lilies
In concrete-!ined ponds. little apart from
the others, are the blue lilies. The blue lilies
are harder to grow than the hardy pants, be-
cause they are too tender for this climate.
They are started in greenhouses then trans
planted in the ponds when summer Is well
on It's way.
They begin blooming in our climate in late
June Originally the blue water lilies all came
from Africa and Egypt.
One of the chief blue lilies in the Shaw
Gardens is Mr.. Shaw's own lily, called the
Izetta Jewell. named for Mrs. Izetta Jewell
Brown, who was frequent visitor to the lily
ponds when she was playing in a stock COM
pany at Polls Theater.
Another blue lily is the Mrs. Edward Whit
aker, the largest day-blooming blue lily there
Is.
The blue lilies are all interesting because
they are importations. Their colors range from
pale sky-blue to rich purple. The petals are
longer and slenderer than the American va
rieties. Their mystic blues and seductive odors
carry us in fancy to the ancient pyramids
and the cool waters of the Nile.
The king Of blue water lilies is the Zanzi-
bariensis. 1t, too. comes from Africa. This
superb plant we'll deserves lis name-King.
THESE royal purple blossoms are from six
to eight inches wide. The pctals are thick
and The center of each blossom is as yellow