1 62 



IRISH GARDENING 



far easier to err on the other side. It should 

 always be borne in mind that stagnant water 

 is absolutely fatal to all rock ])lajits ; so remem- 

 bering this, make ample provision to get rid of 

 all superfluous moisture, and the time to do 

 this is in the initial stages. The extent of 

 drainage required will, of course, entirely 

 depend on the nature of the soil and subsoil, 

 the subsoil especially ; contour of the land, &c. ; 

 so it can be easily understood no specific in- 

 structions can be given on this point, except to 

 make sure there is ample fall at the main outlet 

 or outlets, for an ineffective drain is worse than 

 no drain at all. 



Having firepared the ground as already 

 shown, the next operation is to place the rocks 

 in position. A great deal will, of course, depend 

 on the size ajid class of rock available for the 

 purpose. Sandstone or mountain limestone are 

 considered by many to be the best, but failing 

 either of these almost any kind of roughly-hewn 

 rock will do ; the greater the variety of shapes 

 the better, and as large as can conveniently be 

 handled. Avoid round boulder stones, or thin 

 slabs — the former because it will be found 

 impossible to fit one closely against the other 

 on account of their convex faces, and the latter 

 because it will be most difficult to vary the 

 formation as much as is desirable. Have 

 nothiiig to do with artificial rocks, clinkers, 

 bricks, or anything of a similar description, and 

 on no account use old tree stumps or wood in 

 any form. 



The main principle governing the construction 

 of rock work is to aim at copying nature. If 

 you study the face of a quarry you will find 

 that the rocks are laid in regular stratas, with a 

 general tendency to slope or dip in a well-defined 

 line ; so keeping this in mind try and maintain 

 throughout this dip in the rockwork. 



At least one-third of each stone should be 

 buried in the ground, and before doing so be 

 sure that the bed prepared for it is made quite 

 solid, for if not the first heavy rain will shift 

 the soil, and many hours hard work be undone. 

 The rocks should lie as close to each other as 

 possible, and endeavour to make each appear 

 as if it were part of those adjoining. Pay par- 

 ticular attention to packing in the soil all round 

 each rock ; if this is not done an air space may 

 be left which will ]»rove fatal to any plants 

 whose roots find it out. 



The following hints may be useful when 

 building the rock work : — 



Always bear in mmd that rocks are placed 

 not merely for appearance sake, but with the 

 primary' object of keeping up the soil and pre- 

 venting it being washed down by heavy rain. 



The banks mav be built into a series of small 



terraces ; these should vary in width, height, and 

 general contoixr ; and in order to get this 

 \^ariation they may in places merge into each 

 other, keejiing at the same time the general 

 di]) of the rockwork. 



It will, of course, be easily understood that 

 the steeper parts of the bank require more rocks, 

 and for this reason it is well to keep the larger 

 rocks for the most abrupt formation. The 

 gradient of the terraces should in no ]jlace exceed 

 6 to 8 inches in 2 feet ; if steeper than this the 

 soil will be washed off and the necessary moisture 

 will not reach the roots of the plants, for most 

 rock plants require am|)le moisture, ]irovided, 

 of course, there is efficient drainage. For the 

 same reason all rocks should slope towards the 

 bank, thereby insuring that moisture wdll be 

 directed towards the roots of the plants growing 

 over them, and also allow the rain to reach those 

 planted at their base. 



It will often be found impossible to avoid 

 havmg vertical fissures between rocks. These 

 fissures should ahvays be made so that the Avider 

 part is at the top ; if not, it Avill soon be found 

 that frost and rain will quickly remove the soil 

 that has been so carefully packed in between. 

 In large fissures small wedge-shaped pieces of 

 stone should be inserted, but here the thick erd 

 of the wedge should be at the bottom, so that 

 when the ground settles there is no danger of 

 an air space arismg. 



I advise making a certain number of these 

 vertical fissures, as many rock plants prefer to 

 grow in such positions. Horizontal fissures 

 should also be formed by laying one rock over 

 the other with flat pieces of stone between to 

 give the space necessary for soil ; be very careful 

 in the building to slope the upper surface of the 

 bottom rock well back towards the bank, and 

 the top rock should be placed so that the bottom 

 rock forms a ledge of at least 2 or 3 inches to 

 catch the rain. 



I always prefer building up th*^ general 

 formation of rockwork first, this being done, as 

 already pointed out, with the primary object 

 of keejnng the soil in position ; afterwards 

 smaller stones can be added to break a too 

 monotonous outline. 



Avoid too many rocks, better to err on the 

 other side : a few well placed look far better, 

 and are equally efficacious. 



In order to facilitate weeding and planting 

 operations, flat stones should be placed on the 

 surface of the ground here and there through 

 the garden. 



The sides of sunken ])aths may with advan- 

 tage be edged with rock, but again avoid 

 anytlung the least formal. 



[To be continued.) 



