BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN RECORD 
VOL, XX MAY, 193! NO. 3 
THE ROCK GARDEN 
OF THE BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN! 
By Montacur FREE 
Rock gardening is a branch of ornamental horticulture that has 
Jong been popular in Europe, more especially in the British Isles. 
Of late years it has made rapid strides in the favor of garden 
lovers in North America. 
The Rock Garden of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden was con- 
structed in the spring of 1916. It is believed that this was the 
first rock garden of any considerable size to be constructed in a 
public garden or park in the United States. The rocks used in 
its construction are, for the most part, glacial boulders which 
were uncovered in the course of grading operations on other 
parts of the grounds. These boulders are very unprepossessing 
material for the construction of a rock garden, their rounded con- 
tours almost prohibiting any natural and artistic effects from 
being obtained. Their hard, impervious surfaces are far from 
ideal from the standpoint of the cultural requirements of the 
alpine plants, which revel in rocks of a rough, porous nature that 
will hold moisture and to which their roots may cling. In spite 
of these disadvantages, one is cheered by over-hearing visitors 
commenting on the “wildness” and natural appearance of the 
garden. In order to provide quarters for plants that delight in 
rock crevices, a number of the larger boulders were split and the 
fissures filled with suitable soil. The fact that in 1918 over six 
hundred species and varieties were growing in the garden, many 
of them alpines considered very intractable in this part of the 
country, is testimony that the difficulties of cultivation have, in 
part, been overcome. The number of species represented today is 
at 
— 
Plant nomenclature in this guide is based, as far as is possible, on 
Hortus, by L. H. Bailey and Ethel Zoe Bailey. The Macmillan Co., 1930. 
187 
