1 879.] MAKING AND PLANTING ROCKWORK. 345 



will require a sharp shingly soil, as the Dianthus, which can be sup- 

 plied in the shape of the smaller broken chips of the rock, giving an 

 opportunity of varying the construction of the surface. Some plants 

 require a stiff holding soil, such as the Primulas, which can be supplied 

 in little flat terraces formed to catch all the rains. Others, as the dwarf 

 Veronicas, such as taurica, will thrive on dry sloping ledges : the vari- 

 ous Thymes, Aubrietias, Erodium, and some Geraniums are of this class. 

 Many of the smaller shrubs are most appropriate as rockery plants. 

 Ivies of the finer class, such as the variegated, may be made to creep 

 over large blocks, or the pretty Ampelopsis Veitchii in the same way. 

 Muhlenbeckia complexa, which has stood the late winter on the 

 rockery, is a choice plant for fringing a ledge. The Kilmarnock Weep- 

 ing Willow, in a dwarf form, will spread its long slender branches over 

 a peak of rock, as well as the Savins and Periwinkles, Helianthemums 

 and Genistas, and many more of a woody nature. In writing the fore- 

 going, we have supposed the formation of a rockery on a somewhat en- 

 larged scale ; of course, the extent and form of the rockery must be 

 determined by the requirements of the owner, and the nature of the 

 position to be occupied. It may be of a curved form either outwards or 

 inwards, it may be of a long ridge shape and undulated, or it may be in 

 the form of a group of hills and valleys, and need not after all cover an 

 extravagant area, and need not require by any means an extravagant 

 amount of stones. One of the best managed of this last kind we have 

 seen is in the grounds of the Down House, Dorset — the scale not very 

 large. Whatever be the shape, if the rockery has any pretension to be 

 anything more than a toy by the side of the walk, provision must be 

 made to give access to the different parts, in order to be able to clean 

 it and attend to the plants, and particularly that the owner may con- 

 veniently at any time enjoy an examination of his plants. This can be 

 managed by introducing a pathway, curving and undulating about, 

 among the compartments of the rockery. These pathways can be made 

 a feature of the rockery itself, and far from spoiling its appearance, can 

 be made an improvement. The pathway itself, of course made with 

 pieces of rock, should be planted with Sedums, or Stellaria, or prostrate 

 Pyrethrum, or any creeping plants not easily destroyed. 



Sometimes a rockery can be made more imposing, if the scale is large, 

 by having groups of the smaller Pines planted on the higher parts, such 

 as Pinus Pinea, Abies orientalis, or any of the dwarfer pendulous forms 

 of Abies excelsa, or plants of the common Sumach, Spiraea Lindleyana, 

 or indeed any of the Spiraea, where they would not interfere with the 

 wellbeing of the choicer plants below. 



When a rockery abuts upon grass, it is always well to have a narrow 

 margin of rough gravel following the undulations of the base, for the 

 sake of tidiness. 



The Squire's Gardener. 



