THE TYPES OF ROCK GARDEN 29 



almost impossible to get as much soil into the 

 pockets as the plants that are to inhabit them 

 require. Often, indeed, it is hard to find 

 pockets or ledges of any description where 

 they are wanted, and although rocks are 

 attractive in conjunction with flowers, still 

 they are only the means to an end, and that 

 end the cultivation of the plants. Effective 

 drainage may at times be found difficult 

 and expensive to carry out successfully, but 

 as this depends enormously on the texture 

 of the rock and other circumstances, it would 

 be a mistake to lay down any hard and fast 

 rules regarding it. 



It is a great fallacy to imagine that alpines, 

 because they are dwarf-growing, do not re- 

 quire a deep rooting medium, for there is 

 no class of plants whose roots penetrate so 

 deeply in comparison to their height. In 

 addition, as all the rockwork has to be artificial, 

 every description of pocket and ledge can be 

 made, as varied and numerous as the needs of 

 the plants demand, the benefit of which will 

 be found when the time comes for putting the 

 alpines into their home. 



