is comparatively easy to create a design that looks just right,
particularly if simplicity is the keynote in both pool and planting.
Simple shapes are safer and more effective than intricate ones; few
plants, well placed, are better than many; water spraying from a
concealed pipe is often more desirable than a formal fountain or
statuary.
Depending on architecture and terrain, garden pools may be of formal
design--a perfectly regular shape; semiformal--the shape balanced but
not usually regular, often in severe contemporary style; or informal,
completely asymmetrical, and integrated so naturally in the landscape
the pool looks as if it has always been there. Each type of design
can be executed in so many different ways that, even for tiny pools,
there’s good reason to study photographs and articles in gardening and
homemaking magazines. There’s also inspiration in the designs in books
about water gardens, plus detailed information on various types of
construction that I’ve had to omit. I’ve built miniature rock gardens
but never a pool. Someone who fathoms the mysteries of water levels and
understands the intricacies of cement work can give much more reliable
advice than I.
_Formal Design._
Small square, rectangular, circular, or oval pools can be extremely
effective in almost any kind of landscape except one so rocky and
untamed as ours. They’re usually best in level ground, and most
harmonious with borders and other plantings of fairly formal pattern.
And, of course, they’re constructed of materials that give a formal
effect, such as concrete, tile, or brick.
A raised pool in the center of a small terrace, with a foot-high wall
of tile or brick, can be scaled down from classic designs of other
eras. A wide coping on the wall provides a place to set potted plants,
or to seat yourself to feed the goldfish and dabble your fingers in the
cool water.
A quadrant-shaped pool in the corner where garden walls meet can be
either raised or level with the ground. Its water might reflect the
image of a saint in a shrine above it, or might catch the constant
stream from a lovely fountain.
At one end of a narrow garden a rectangular or oval pool becomes a
striking focal point. A path may lead to a bench on a far side, between
the pool and a background of shrubs.
At the end of a garden path a fountain may spout from a mortared wall
into a projecting pool set at convenient dipping height from the
ground, for filling watering cans. The planting underneath can be
permanent, or an arrangement of potted plants.
And why not a tiny, formal pool in the center of a miniature rose
garden? Or under a piece of traditional garden statuary? Or simply in
the center of a garden path that splits to make room for it? If it’s
of proper proportion, a formal pool can even be set in the center of a
garden, sometimes even in the center of a small lawn area.
_Semiformal Design_
Here’s where the popular kidney-shaped pools are most useful.
They’re neither formal nor informal, but especially attractive with
contemporary architecture. Planting is usually sparse but dramatic,
making extreme use of contrasting colors and textures, and of unusual
lines. Construction materials are simple to keep them subordinate in
interest to the over-all design.
A refreshing sight outside a picture window is a small pool recessed
in the patio floor. A recirculating pump sends up a spray of water
from a pipe that ends just below the surface of the pool. These pumps
make it possible for fish and plants to coexist with fountains because
they reuse water in the pool. Fresh water from a spring, a stream, or
the pipes that supply the house is too cold; and it may lack the small
organisms on which fish feed.
Pools of contemporary design can also be placed in a corner of the
property, with a tasteful grouping of shrubbery behind; on the bottom
level of a series of terraces; in a depressed spot in the lawn; in the
curve of a path; or at one side of a breezeway. They can be illuminated
dramatically with the new underwater lights available in many sizes and
styles.
_Informal, Naturalistic Design_
These are either adaptations of existing streams or pools, or designs
of uneven form deliberately created to look as if they had been
there all the time. They’re best suited, of course, to naturalistic
landscapes where slopes, rocks, and hidden springs give them a reason
for existence. The water-holding basin may be of any material, as long
as it is not noticeable. Any edgings, copings, or nearby trimmings
should be just as natural as the pools.
A rock garden on a slope is a perfect setting for a pool with rocks
that jut out over the water and, if possible, a rock or two coming up
through the water from below. Or two small pools, one above the other,
can be joined by a miniature waterfall. If there’s no water supply on
the spot, use a recirculating pump. But be careful that the waterfall
doesn’t resemble man-made steps. It should be as craftily haphazard as
if the elements had worn it into the rocks.
A dripstone is another delightfully musical device--an overhanging rock
from which water drips down onto the surface of the pool. The sound has
more resonance when there is an empty chamber behind the dripping water.
A meandering brook can be widened to make a pool. Or a completely
artificial brook can be constructed of cement, like a pool, with
drainage and overflow pipes and similar appurtenances. This isn’t
easy to execute effectively, but it can be completely intriguing. It
might be wise to try to re-create part of a real stream in the nearby
countryside.
One small boulder half-sunk in the ground can inspire an irregular,
shallow pool that makes a natural birdbath. A miniature shrub may back
up the boulder; rock-garden plants may grow at its base.
Many nooks and corners in the naturalistic landscape spontaneously
suggest the creation of a tiny pool, and become exciting little garden
surprises. These can often be so simply made that there’s not even a
drainage hole in the bottom. Scooping out the water, as needed, is no
chore at all.
CONSTRUCTING MINIATURE POOLS
There are as many materials and methods for building pools as there
are sizes and shapes. The depth depends on the requirements of the
aquatic plants to be grown, and so does the location in sun or shade.
Pygmy water lilies, for example, need all available sun, and at least
ten inches of water--four inches for the container that holds soil and
roots, eight inches above the crowns or growing points. Other miniature
water plants are satisfied with much less.
One vitally important construction detail is that the sides of even
the smallest tub garden be perfectly level, parallel with the water
surface. Otherwise, there will be an unattractive expanse of bare wall
at one side--one of those awkward errors that quickly catches the eye
and spoils the whole effect.
Some pools are simply sunk flush with the surrounding lawn or other
surface, without edging or coping of any kind. This can be messy and
sometimes disastrous to plants when surface water collects and floods
the pool during heavy rains. Extending the rim an inch or so above the
surrounding area usually avoids this problem, but then the rim should
be concealed with a coping of some sort--bricks and tiles in formal
pools, well-arranged rocks, gravel, or flagstone paving in informal
design.
_Tubs and Other Containers_
Attractive but relatively impermanent miniature pools can be improvised
or specially planned with many kinds of containers--metal or wooden
tubs made and sold for the purpose; half-barrels or half-kegs;
discarded tanks, kettles, dishpans; even discarded sinks and laundry
tubs. These last can be eyesores, we found out, if their ignominious
origins are not kept carefully secret. Rubber-base paint is the only
way we found to conceal the pristine white porcelain, and it was tricky
to use so that it wouldn’t peel off. The rim at the top of the sink
is an unpleasant giveaway that must be covered with something such as
overhanging rocks. Finding a plug or stopper that fit the drainage hole
wasn’t the least of our problems.
For the welfare of both aquatic plants and wildlife such as fish and
scavengers, some containers need special treatment before they can be
used, and some should not be used at all. Wooden kegs and barrels that
have held oily substances such as gasoline, roofing compound, and wood
preservatives can’t be cleaned sufficiently to be safe. Copper poisons
fish; so do paints with oil or lead bases. Steel, lead, iron, and other
metals should be protected against rust and corrosion with sound coats
of rubber-base paint.
Containers freshly made of new wood (except white cedar) can be
unhealthy for fish. Let them stand out in the weather for the winter,
or season the wood by filling the container with water, slaking a chunk
of lime in it for a few days, and rinsing well before using.
_Prefabricated Pools_
These are now available in metal or plastics of a sturdiness that
varies with the cost, in a wide range of sizes and shapes. Many of
them make lovely miniature pools which, because they’re small, are
not necessarily calamities if they don’t last forever. Most have been
designed after consultation with experts on fish and water lilies. And
most are simply installed by digging a proper hole and setting them in
place.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
_Permanent Pools_
Permanency increases, of course, with sound construction. Concrete
laid on a gravel or cinder base and strengthened with wire-mesh
reinforcement is usually considered best. But the new concrete must
be cured and the alkalinity of its lime neutralized before the pool can
be safely used for plants or fish. Leaving the pool open to the weather
for the winter will usually accomplish this purpose. Or the pool can
be drained and refilled several times, then thoroughly cleansed with
household vinegar, as in the “quick cure” recommended by G. L. Thomas,
Jr., of Three Springs Fisheries.
[Illustration:
Steps in constructing a no-cost pool out of materials on hand:
a. An old kitchen sink
b. Placing rocks that were a nuisance anyhow
c. Finished pool with goldfish, and an interested cat]
Bricks, cement blocks, tile, puddled concrete--for each type of
material there are detailed procedures to be found in readily available
and up-to-date reference books. Prefabricated pools can be found in the
catalogues of most water-lily specialists.
CARE OF POOLS
Miniature pools are easy to scrub in the spring and to keep clean
through the summer season. Floating dead leaves or other organic debris
that can give off poisonous gas are skimmed off with your hands.
Discolored or dying leaves of lilies and other plants can be cut away
cleanly. Plants can be thinned out by removing superfluous leaves or
pulling out portions of weedy varieties. The pool is kept nearly filled
with fresh water--but without adding so much at one time that the water
is dangerously chilled.
Permanganate of potash will control slimy, green algae. To one gallon
of water add about two teaspoons of permanganate; let it stand until
there is little residue at the bottom. For every gallon of water in the
pool, add one teaspoon of this saturated solution whenever algae become
unsightly. Don’t make the solution too strong. It might kill the fish.
Insects such as the black aphids common on water lilies can be sprayed
off with the garden hose to make a juicy meal for the fish. Spraying
pool plants with insecticides or fungicides is dangerous unless you
use a preparation made specifically for pools, and use it strictly
according to package directions.
In winter, most tubs and other containers should probably be lifted
and stored indoors. I should think this would lengthen the useful life
of small prefabricated pools, too. Small permanent pools should be
drained, so ice will not form and crack the construction. This means
that the pool must remain empty; either the drain must be kept open or
a roof of canvas or boards should be fitted over the top.
FISH AND SCAVENGERS
Goldfish earn their upkeep--a pinch or two of food a week--by gobbling
up mosquito larvae the minute they start wriggling. In pools where the
mud at the bottom does not freeze, they’ll winter safely out of doors.
Several kinds of snails, tadpoles, and other scavengers offered by
specialists consume impurities in the water, including algae. Frogs are
just for fun. They’ll often make themselves at home in a pool without
any invitation. A grandpappy bullfrog lived in our tiny sinkpool all
last summer, retreating to a dark cave between the rocks when the dogs
came down for a drink.
It seemed to me the epitome of modern efficiency when I first learned,
as a city-dweller, that full-grown frogs could be bought by mail. That
purchase made us the most popular family on the block. But we couldn’t
offer them comfortable winter quarters in the city; and the last I
saw of the frogs, in early fall, they were hopping down the gutter of
Fortieth Avenue toward the sewer drain.
MINIATURE AQUATIC AND POOLSIDE PLANTS
Obviously, the location of a pool (in sun or shade, warm climate or
cool), its size (some plants would smother a miniature pool in a few
weeks), and its design should be considered in selecting plants to grow
in or with it. In fact, very tiny pools carefully placed to catch an
artistic reflection may be better without any plant embellishment.
A frequent error is overplanting, with the water surface covered by
a confusion of foliage and flowers, the perimeter a jungle. In small
pools one pygmy lily is plenty; it needs clear, open water to set it
off.
For pools of all designs--formal, contemporary, informal--plants are
seldom arranged in neat rows, groups that repeat themselves regularly,
or matching masses in perfect symmetry. The closest to formal balance
might be adding accent and height by placing the tallest plant in the
center of a formal pool. More often, it’s effective in one corner or at
one side.
Few plants offer such striking variation in the forms available to
create interesting patterns and dramatic contrast. There are flat,
leathery leaf pads and slim, spiky swords; glorious china-like cup
flowers and fluffy plumes; modest creepers and bold elephant leaves.
Seldom does a flower-arrangement artist have such a wealth of exciting
material with which to make her prize-winning compositions.
_Miniature Water Lilies_
Of the two general types of water lilies--tropical and hardy--the
tropicals are least likely to be in scale with miniature pools. The
leaves and flowers are larger, the leaves spreading out wider and the
flowers standing out higher. The tropicals need lots of sun and warmth,
can be shocked into dormancy if the water chills, and are usually
treated like annuals and planted fresh, each summer. Some can be
propagated from viviparous plantlets that grow on the leaves.
Among hardy water lilies there is a selection of pygmies with four-inch
leaves and two-inch flowers in many colors--white, yellow, pink, red,
and bicolors, some with attractively marbled foliage. Given generous
sunshine, warm quiet water, and good nourishment, they will flower from
July to frost, and can be held over the winter either outdoors or in.
In our area we set out hardy water lilies in late April or early May.
If a late cold snap occurs when the plants arrive by mail, we keep them
moist until it’s over. Since the roots are hardy only if they do not
freeze, and since it’s difficult to keep small pools from freezing,
each lily is planted in its own box, which is set on small stones or
blocks so it is raised off the floor of the pool. Or plant in soil at
the bottom of a tub-pool that will be taken up in fall. Lay the rhizome
horizontal, with its growing tip out of the soil. Cover the surface
with a web of clean sand, to keep the soil from muddying the water. If
the plant is leafed out and the leaves don’t reach the surface of the
pool, they’ll lengthen their stems in a few days.
For best growth and flowering, a pygmy lily needs at least a third
of a bushel of soil and about eight inches of water over its crown.
Soil can be heavy and clay-like, or average garden loam. If possible,
add one-fourth the quantity of well-rotted cow manure--no other kind.
Experts recommend strongly against the use of other-than-cow manures,
swamp muck, leaf mold, peat moss, sand, or lime.
Lacking cow manure, you can get fertilizers prepared specially for
water lilies, or you can use commercial garden fertilizers like those
with 5-10-5 analysis. Supply nourishment at planting time, and once
again a month or so later. Wrap balls of rotted cow manure, or handfuls
of commercial fertilizer, in thin paper (a paper napkin will do) and
thrust them down into the soil around the roots. Water lilies have
voracious appetites, and even the pygmies eat heartily. On a starvation
diet, they’ll stop growing and flowering.
In winter, store the rhizomes in an unheated cellar or garage where
they will keep cool but not freeze. Don’t let them dry out completely.
Keep the soil in the container barely moist; or if the rhizome is not
in soil, wrap it in burlap that can be kept moist.
Hardy water lilies are propagated by planting divisions of the roots,
with each section having at least one growing point.
In the wide selection of available varieties, the following pygmies are
suitable for most miniature pools.
=Nymphaea= _Nymphaeaceae_ Pygmy Water Lily
_adorata minor_--Pint-sized variety of the native pond lily
with fragrant, dainty, white three-inch flowers in generous
profusion; leaves lined with red beneath. ‘Helen Fowler’ is a
fragrant pink-flowered variety.
_aurora_--An old hybrid, more dwarf than miniature, but
suitable for small pools. Changeable flowers open soft yellow,
darken to rusty orange in the second stage, then to deep red
in the third stage. The small leaves are mottled with wine-red
lines.
‘Jo Ann Pring’--True pygmy with three-inch leaves, dusty-pink
flowers lighter in the center.
‘Patricia’--One of the few small tropicals with crimson flowers,
brown-metal buds. Young plants are borne on the leaves.
_tetragona (pygmaea)_--Smallest of all, with long-lasting
two-inch white flowers with a fragrance like China tea,
four-inch soft green leaves. Easy to grow, even in shallow
water. The variety alba, or white pygmy, seems the same to me
as the variety helvola, an old hybrid usually listed as yellow
pygmy, and is even smaller than the species, with brown-blotched
leaves and glowing yellow, star-shaped flowers.
‘Royal Purple’--A new red-purple, tropical lily.
_Floating Plants_
Another advantage of miniature pools is that any of the attractive
surface plants that multiply too fast can be easily scooped out as
often as you wish. And they are unusually attractive in forms, colors,
and textures. Feeding from nutrients in solution in the water, they
make shade for fish, and their dangling roots provide a safe place for
fish to spawn. Simply drop the plants in the water and let them grow.
Or, if you want them to raise a family, put some soil in a shallow spot
where the roots can anchor. Most are annuals, to be bought each year.
_Oxygenating Plants_
These are aquatics that grow down in the water and help keep it
sweet and clean. Bunches of some can be simply dropped in the pool.
But all will grow better and save you the trouble of replacing them
if their roots are in soil, in pots set on the pool floor. Although
they’re mostly perennials, we prefer to start each season with a fresh
supply. They’re available in variety at pet stores or by mail from
lily specialists. Since they’re neither true miniature plants nor
as decorative as they are functional, separate descriptions are not
included here.
_Other Aquatic Plants_
With the water lilies and other aquatics, these are the only plants
that can grow with their roots standing in water--some in deeper water
than others. With few exceptions, this does not mean sour, stagnant
water. Even in bogs there is some circulation. Adding chunks of
charcoal that absorbs impurities will often help keep the water fresh
and healthful.
Some of these plants are hardy, some are not; some need their roots in
soil; some can do without it; some are better growing in the water of
the pool; some in the boggy soil beside it.
Earlier in this chapter I said I had never built a pool. I meant that
I had never done it personally and worried about water levels and
the general engineering. But we have had several pools, little more
than puddles, which my husband constructed. Small though they were,
they gave us the chance to enjoy water lilies and bog plants. It was
then that I began to realize the delights and magnitude of this sort
of gardening. Someday I hope to have a pond of some size--a spot for
lilies, frogs, and goldfish and all of those things G. L. Thomas, Jr.,
writes about so charmingly in his book, _Garden Pools, Water-Lilies
and Goldfish_. I also get great pleasure out of the catalogues
several suppliers send out. They are most delightful reading. Read
that book, and the catalogues, and I know you will be converted to
water-gardening.
_CHAPTER 13_
MINIATURE WOODLAND
GARDENS AND PLANTS
For ten years we lived within the boundaries of New York City in a
big, old house that occupied more than a third of the squared, bare
eighty-by-hundred-foot lot. Now we have a smaller house, and the
gardenable land is completely surrounded by woodlands where native
plants grow as they please. In both places we’ve had small woodland
gardens; and no matter how pleasurable our other plantings, we’ve loved
these best.
If your idea of a pretty garden centers around statuesque delphiniums,
precise rows of roses, bold splashes of boisterous color, you may call
insipid what we find enchanting. But if your senses respond to the
fresh, sharp aroma of moist woods soil, the whispering of trees, the
patterns of cool shadows, the shy delicacy of the spring beauty, or the
gnome-like pomposity of a Jack-in-the-pulpit, be sure to have at least
a tiny woodland garden, whether you have to create a spot for it or
have it naturally. Once established, it gives more refreshment for less
care than any other garden I know.
NATURALISTIC DESIGN
Here, of course, there is no place for classic or contemporary formal
design. The single purpose is to create, or re-create, a small
section of the woods with the shade, humus, and other environmental
conditions woodsy plants can’t live without. The essence of the
tiniest planting--even a colony of trillium at the foot of a spreading
evergreen--is its naturalness. It doesn’t look planted, it belongs;
it’s been there all the time. And it looks natural, of course, because
it’s been planned that way.
Planning a woodland garden for the informal landscape is simplified by
the fact that you begin with what you have--a shaded spot (preferably
shaded by trees that drop needles or leaves, to enrich the soils) where
hot, dry summer winds can’t parch the plants. There may be a natural
stream, rocks, a slope, a hollow; or a place to put a rustic bench,
rotting log, small pool--a focal point harmonious with the naturalistic
theme. Or the size, shape, or contour of the garden may make it the
object of interest without additional accent.
I know of one design that began with pruning a stunted sapling to
reveal its bonsai-like lines, another that featured the trunk of a
rheumatic, old, lightning-shattered evergreen. A soggy, low spot can
be planted as a bog and backed up by rocks and shrubs. A brook can
be coaxed to make space for a small, hummocky island. The narrow,
meandering, stepping-stone path through the sharp point of our land
invites you to take a walk in the woods.
Originality has challenging freedom in creating a woodland garden
for level, regularly shaped grounds. You may replace the ubiquitous
pachysandra in the needle-carpeted shade of a tall pine tree with
native plants. Or use one of those difficult areas such as the angle
of a hedge, wall, foundation or shaded patio; an unused corner of the
property; the space underneath an overhanging bay window.