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stick “alpine and saxatile.” One enthusiast vehemently asserts 
‘that nothing should be grown in the rock garden that can just 
as easily be grown under ordinary garden conditions.” But such 
a definition, if accepted, would eliminate many plants that are 
considered essential in the well-furnished rockery. One thing is 
i acme of foolishness to go to the trouble of con- 
structing a rock garden and then furnish it, as is oftentimes done, 
with such florists’ flowers as geraniums, petunias, and nasturtiums. 
Bearing in mind the fact that bedding plants do not belong in the 
rock garden and remembering that among the chief characteristics 
of alpine plants, which in general do belong, are their dwarfness 
of habit, quality of bloom and brilliancy of color, let us agree with 
the late Reginald Farrer that our conception of acceptable plants 
‘includes everything that will look well in a rock garden.” 
Although many of the alpine plants are difficult of cultivation 
in the lowlands, there is no lack of appropriate material that will 
thrive, if given a reasonable amount of care. 
Amongst the easily grown rock plants one might mention many 
species of Savifraga, a genus that is predominantly alpine and 
saxatile. S. Cotyledon, S. cochlearis, and S. Macnabiana, be- 
longing in the group whose leaves show encrustations of lime, can 
readily be grown by planting them in well-drained soil in which 
there is a liberal mixture of broken limestone. The mossy varie- 
ties of Saxifraga are not difficult provided they are given a well- 
drained, stony soil with plenty of humus. They also appreciate 
a little shade. The surface of the soil about the plants should 
be covered with small stones to prevent evaporation of moisture 
and to keep the ground cool. 
The hardy Pinks never look out of place in a rock garden pro- 
vided that one excludes the florists’ varieties. The most desirable 
of them all is the Glacier Pink (Dianthus neglectus) and the Al- 
pine Pink (Dianthus alpinus). This family contains many other 
excellent rock plants that can be grown with very little trouble, for 
example: Saponaria ocymoides, Gypsophila repens, and several 
species ee Arenaria, Silene, and Cerastwum. 
Of course, everyone who has a rock garden will want to grow 
the Edelweiss, and fortunately this can readily be accomplished 
by providing a well-drained soil, plenty of limestone, and an open 
