Early Water Gardens

It is fortunate that in England, and later in Europe, the fad reached craze proportions, for it must have taken great enthusiasm to assemble a colorful collection in the early 1900'S. Nymphaea alba, Europe's most widely distributed hardy native species, has a delightful, cup-shaped blossom which floats gracefully upon the water, as delicate in appearance as it is robust in habit. Undoubtedly it brought much pleasure to all who grew it. Few other flowers of the world surpass the beauty of its spotless, white, dewy freshness, but it probably fell somewhat short of perfection for those with a taste for rich color. However, it was fragrant, especially on the first day of blooming, the receptive period when the stigma is filled with nectar to attract insects for pollination.

The native American species, which Europeans soon began to import, were, to a large extent, merely more of the same. One of them, Nymphaea odorata, generally known as the New England Pond Lily, thrives in both northern and southern states, and as far west as the Mississippi River. Nymphaea odorata has a most heavenly scent, which made it a real asset in a European water garden. The pure species, however, is also white, though the chance varieties and hybrid forms which sprang up here and there tended toward blush pink. One of these, N. odorata rosea, endearingly known as the Cape Cod Pink Water-Lily, became popular, although it hardly added a blaze of color to the water garden.

Another prominent American species, Nymphaea tuberosa, is a native of the West, particularly the Northwest. It is a vigorous, healthy grower and has a sweet fragrance, but it, too, bears only white blooms.

Colorful varieties were to be found in the world, however, and enthusiasts discovered them and brought them home. One of the first and most beautiful was Nymphaea alba rubra, a Swedish variety of a widespread European species having pale-pink buds opening in the course of a few days to deep-red flowers, the spectacular orange stamens in lovely contrast to all the changing hues of the bloom. This N. alba rubra, however, proved to be very temperamental. It could live only in cold water, and it shocked easily in transplanting. But the splash of color it made among the white blooms in the European gardens must have been worth the great effort required.

Nymphaea mexicana, the native Mexican species, was far easier to transplant and propagate. Its blooms are bright yellow and are carried several inches above the water.

Nymphaea tetragona, another early English import, is white, but with big, bright-yellow stamens that give it color. The flower is one of the smallest of all the hardy water-lilies, actually miniature, perfectly formed and no larger than the face of a pocket watch. Although well distributed in India, Japan, Siberia, and Australia, it is generally regarded as "the native Chinese species," probably because it offers a pleasant tealike fragrance.

Nymphaea pygmaea is another miniature species that found its way into English gardens more than a century ago. Many horticulturists today insist that this one and N. tetragona are the same; others insist that they are distinct species, the pygmaea flowers being the larger and the plant the stronger of the two. I shall list them separately, since the pygmaea and tetragona varieties that I have handled show very different characteristics.

These were the first species assembled, and from them descended most of the hardy varieties we enjoy today. Other species made brief appearances-Nymphaea fennica, the Finnish species, which produces its white blooms only in extremely cold water; N. candida, the white Bohemian species; N. flava, the yellow Florida water-lily; N. Wenzelii, the white, star-shaped Russian water-lily, and various others. Few of these species are worth collecting. Either they are too temperamental to grow or their inferior blooms are not worth the work involved.

Water-Lilies-Past and Present

Species and Varieties

Modern History

>Early Water Gardens

Latour-Marliac Varieties

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