The shallows of our lakes abound with a variety of elegant aquatic plants:  I know not a more lovely sight than one of these floating gardens.  Here you shall behold near the shore a bed of azure fleur-de-lis, from the palest pearl colour varying to the darkest purple.  Nearer in shore, in the shallowest water, the rose-coloured persecaria sends up its beautiful spikes trailing below the surface; you see the red stalks and smooth dark green leaves veined underneath with rosy red:  it is a very charming variety of this beautiful species of plants.  Then a bed of my favourite white lilies, all in full bloom, floating on the water, with their double flowers expanding to the sun; near these, and rising in stately pride, a tall plant, with dark green spear-shaped leaves, and thick spike of bright blue flowers, is seen.  I cannot discover the name of this very grand-looking flower, and I neglected to examine its botanical construction; so can give you no clue by which to discover its name or species.

Our rice-beds are far from being unworthy of admiration; seen from a distance they look like low green islands on the lakes:  on passing through one of these rice-beds when the rice is in flower, it has a beautiful appearance with its broad grassy leaves and light waving spikes, garnished with pale yellow green blossoms, delicately shaded with reddish purple, from beneath which fall three elegant straw-coloured anthers, which move with every breath of air or slightest motion of the waters.  I gathered several spikes when only just opened, but the tiresome things fell to pieces directly they became dry.  Next summer I will make another attempt at preserving them, and it may be with better success.

The low shore of the lake is a complete shrubbery.  We have a very pretty St. John’s-wort, with handsome yellow flowers.  The white and pink spiral frutex also abounds with some exquisite upright honeysuckles, shrubby plants about three feet in height; the blossoms grow in pairs or by fours, and hang beneath the light green leaves; elegant trumpet-shaped flowers of a delicate greenish white, which are succeeded by ruby-coloured berries.  On gathering a branch of this plant, you cannot but be struck with the elegant arrangement of the flowers along the under part of the stalks.  The two blossoms are connected at the nectary of each in a singular manner.  The Americans call this honeysuckle “twinflower.”  I have seen some of the flowers of this plant pale pink:  on the whole it is one of the most ornamental shrubs we have.  I transplanted some young trees into my garden last spring; they promise to live and do well.  I do not find any description of this shrub in Pursh’s Flora, but know it to be a species of honeysuckle, from the class and order, the shape and colour of the leaves, the stalks, the trumpet-shaped blossom and the fruit; all bearing a resemblance to our honeysuckles in some degree.  There is a tall upright bush, bearing large yellow trumpet-shaped flowers, springing from the extremities of the branches; the involucrum forms a boat-shaped cup that encircles the flowers from which they seem to spring, something after the manner of the scarlet trumpet-honeysuckle.  The leaves and blossoms of this plant are coarse, and by no means to compare to the former.