124 ROCK GARDENS 



these may be, if necessary, made secure by a 

 little cement or mortar, which, however, should 

 not be visible. Into the holes thus prepared 

 a compost made up of finely sifted loam, leaf- 

 mould, and a little sand should be packed, every 

 care being taken that all nooks and crannies 

 are well filled and that no empty spaces are 

 left. 



The top of the wall will most probably be 

 covered with grass and weeds. This should 

 all be carefully removed, and then as many 

 pockets as possible made, using, as described 

 above, pieces of slate or stone to keep the soil 

 in position. It is well, when making the 

 pockets in the face of the wall, to vary their 

 position as much as possible. By this I mean 

 avoid having the protruding stones immediately 

 one above the other, for the rain will be pre- 

 vented from reaching the lower one, a state of 

 things that should be carefully avoided. One 

 of the chief difficulties to contend with in wall 

 gardening is the liability of the plants to suffer 

 from drought when young and tender and be- 

 fore their roots have had time to work back 

 into the cooler regions behind. As the space 



