Water Garden

Perhaps the best thing about the summer of '99 was that it was too dry for Japanese beetles. The summer drought was a whopper, followed so far by a wet, blustery fall. Plants withered, flowers died and trees crashed to the ground.Gardeners are accustomed to dealing with nature's force, but these days have tested even the hardiest among us. Yet good gardeners know there are lessons to be learned from the earth -- and elements -- even during challenging times."The most important thing we've learned ... is that water is a luxury," says William Stine, chief horticulturist for Baltimore's Department of Recreation and Parks.

Are your daisies drooping? Have your watermelons withered on the vine? Do your peppers look parched? Howard County gardeners are weathering the drought with varying degrees of success.The state is in the midst of one of its worst droughts, which is taking a toll on lawns, vegetable and flower gardens, and trees and shrubs throughout the region. Mandatory water restrictions imposed two weeks ago will make it even tougher for plants to survive the summer and for gardeners to save expensive landscaping.

HELPING THE Chesapeake Hospice House on Camp Meade Road is a continuing project for the Linthicum Lions Club.As the need arises, members have done yard work, mulching, weeding and planting. The club also maintains the water garden, making sure the pump is operating and the water is clear, said member Beth Sandifer.The club held its July 24 meeting in the back yard of the hospice. Members had a picnic and invited hospice residents and staff members to join them for lunch.A quilt wall hanging depicting lighthouses, the hospice symbol, was donated by the club.

THANKS TO Patti Cannaday's fifth-grade class, the front lobby at Mount Airy Elementary School has become home to a thriving aquatic ecosystem -- better known to most of us as a water garden.A permanent display, the 50-gallon water garden is representative of a balanced water habitat. Featuring living and nonliving things, the water garden, designed by the children, includes water plants, rocks, Japanese pond snails, tadpoles and goldfish.The pupils worked together to design the water garden in conjunction with a science unit on populations and ecosystems.

Gardening is for mortgage holders.Gardening is for mortgage holders with rich topsoil.Gardening is for mortgage holders with rich topsoil and green thumbs.Question: Which, if any, of these statements is false?Answer: All of them, because container gardens can deliver on green-thumbers' dreams. The solution to their poor-dirt/no-dirt circumstances is only terra-cotta pots away. Yards and fields can be replaced by peat-based soil in pots.So, all you renters and other soil-deprived homeowners, a garden can be yours if you contain it.And we're not talking just about those pedestrian indoor plants.

Take the kids into the garden this spring and give them something to do. Children warm quickly to the pleasures of gardening because it gets them outside and playing in the dirt, two things they instinctively relish. If you have kids, your garden should be designed with them in mind, too.Gardeners love to tell stories about their first garden or the precise moment they discovered an abiding interest in nature and growing things. Sometimes the tale involves someone who was kind enough to allow a curious child to harvest carrots.

I can't wait to come home from work and unwind beside my water garden. But my hardy waterlilies are closed by late afternoon. Is there any way to prolong their blooming time?Night-blooming tropical waterlilies would be perfect for your water garden. Blossoms remain open from late afternoon until midmorning of the next day. Many are fragrant, their sweet scent perfuming the night air. They also make wonderful cut flowers.Tropical waterlilies are not cold-hardy, however, and should be considered annuals.

Before we answer today's questions, we'd like to introduce ourselves. We are the horticultural consultants of the Home and Garden Information Center, state employees whose job it is to answer all of your questions about plants in the house and garden.The center, in Howard County, was created six years ago to meet homeowner needs that historically had been met by each county's cooperative extension agent. (Yes, extension agents still exist, but they don't deal with homeowners anymore.) We are a toll-free phone service operated by the University of Maryland's Cooperative Extension Service.

Swimming pools, ponds, water gardens and fountains bring something intrinsic to the human psyche. Just looking at water seems to soothe the weary soul and spark within one a kinship with nature. For centuries, landscapers have been aware of this phenomena and have responded to it by creating gardens with water features."I think there are a lot of different reasons for adding water to a garden," says landscape architect Carol Macht. "On the practical level, water brings color, light, movement and sound to a garden.

Flower shows, egg hunts, sunrise services and steeplechase races receive top billing Easter weekend.The heady aroma of Easter lilies stimulates the senses at the indoor garden display at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pa. The Easter Display opened yesterday and runs through April 23. Easter lilies, long-stemmed white calla lilies and other colorful blooms of the season create a perfect picture along the walkways of the conservatory.The outdoor gardens are also full of spring color with daffodils, pansies, wildflowers, magnolias and flowering cherries all in bloom.