i6o ROCK GARDENS 



of drought. To a certain extent this may be 

 guarded against by covering the bare spaces 

 with chips of stones, but plants are more beauti- 

 ful than stones, therefore endeavour to clothe 

 the ground completely. But while it is right 

 to aim at the ideal, it will require considerable 

 skill to combine the plants in such a way that 

 one will not crowd out the other ; we must 

 seek to eliminate, as far as possible, that 

 struggle for existence which is the pre- 

 dominant feature in nature. 



Another point to remember, and one which 

 does not help us in the choice of subjects to 

 plant together, is that alpines, when brought 

 into cultivation, in a great measure lose their 

 characteristic growth, and not unfrequently the 

 brilliance of their bloom. It will be necessary, 

 therefore, to know the habit of the plants 

 when growing in an English garden, to enable 

 one to combine them together successfully. 

 Therefore it should not be taken for granted 

 that those which live together harmoniously 

 on the Alpine slopes will do the same with us. 



One reason, and probably the correct one, 

 why some alpines, when brought into cultiva- 



