THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



309 



roots being sure to liml their way into the soil of tlie 

 rockery and rob the plants of fuud and water. The 

 drip from trees is also detrimental to the alpine sec- 

 tion of rock ])lants. It should be in an open situation, 

 not near the walls of a building and not join or be 

 part of a closely-cut lawn or other formal environ- 

 ment. If possible it should l)e so placed that it is not 

 seen imtil actua!l\- reached; in other words, it is bet- 

 ter not to make it part of the landscape. The more 

 airy the spot chosen the better, especially for alpines, 

 and its surroundings should be as naturally jiictur- 

 esque as possible. In its immediate neighborhood 

 dwarf subjects having compact roots may be used, 

 such as the prostrate Junipers, dwarf species of na- 

 tive Rhododendrons, Andromedas, Heather and such 

 like, with things of a taller nature farther away. Of 



troulile and expense, but in all cases the site must be 

 thoroughly cleared of everything likely to grow 

 through and cause trouble in the future. 



It is not necessary that a rock garden should be 

 made into mounds and miniature mountains. A slight 

 elevation above the imme(liate surroundings is not 

 out of ])lace ; in fact, desirable, but a pile of earth and 

 rocks, with a flat surface extending all ri lund is un- 

 natural and therefore inartistic. 



It the ground of the site decided u|)on contains much 

 clay it should be entirely removed and the drainage 

 secured by tiles. Above tlie latter should be placed 

 a few inches of stones, arranging so that the top of 

 the stones is 3 feet below the surface of the soil in 

 which the plants are to be placed. 



The s(iil in which the |)lants are to grow should be 



THE C.\MER.\ DOES NOT DO FULL JUSTICE TO THIS SCENE. IT CANNOT REVE.AL THE TRUE SPLENDOR OE THE FOLI.\(;E 

 .\ND BLOOM. .\NOTHER VIEW OF THE ROCK C.VRDEN OX THE L.\TE T. .T, GOODWIN EST.\TE. 



course one has to make the best of the conditions 

 they have, but jarring notes must l)e avoided, and 

 simplicity and naturalness, which are too often lost 

 sight of in general landscape work, made the guiding 

 principles. 



The drainage of the site must be absolutely perfect, 

 as stagnant moisture is fatal ; even when rock plants 

 are found in nature growing among rocks in moist 

 situations or where there is apparent constant dri]} 

 from rocks above them, it will he found that there 

 is complete drainage and that the dri]j is only there 

 during the short summer, which in alpine regions is 

 not more than three months, and there is no drip at 

 all during the rest of the year because everything is 

 frozen up and the plants under a mantle of dry snow. 

 Upon some estates naturally rocky positions exist 

 which can be adapted with comparatively little 



such as to easil}- drain itself and at the same time hold 

 plenty of moisture. To the uninitiated this may seem 

 a ]oaradoxical statement. Drainage is for the purpose 

 of preventing the existence of stagnant, unabsorbed 

 moisture, and a well-drained soil will absorb more 

 moisture than an undrained one. .\ sponge, for ex- 

 ample, holds a large quantity of water, but absorbs 

 |)ractically none. A ])roper!\- drained and constituted 

 soil absorbs much water, but holds nont- in a free 

 state. 



.\ de].ith of three feet of soil is not too great for 

 rock ])lants, and it cannot be too rich. It should con- 

 tain plenty of humus in the form of leaf mold one- 

 fourth : old cow manure, spent hop or mushroom bed, 

 one-fourth: another fourtli good fibrous sod that has 

 been ])iled for at least two years and turned five or six 

 times during that period; the remainder sharp grit, 



