146 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



walk at will, a pretty margin will result. There is no surface of 

 this kind that may not be thus adorned. Violets, Ferns, Forget-me- 

 nots, will do in the shadier parts, and the Stonecrops and many others 

 will thrive in the full sun. The whole of the surface of the alpine 

 garden should be covered with plants as far as possible, except a few 

 projecting points. In moist districts, Erinus and the Balearic Sand- 

 wort will grow on the face of the rocks ; and even upright faces of rock 

 will grow a variety of plants. Regular steps should never be in or near 

 the rock-garden. Steps may be made quite picturesque, and even 

 beautiful, with Violets and other small plants jutting from every 

 crevice ; and no cement should be used. 



In cases where the simplest type of rock-garden only is attempted, 

 and where there are no steps or rude walks in the rock-garden, the 

 very fringes of the gravel walks may be graced by such plants as the 

 dwarfer Stonecrops. The alpine Toadflax is never more beautiful than 

 when self-sown in a gravel walk. A rock-garden so made that its 

 miniature cliffs overhang is useless for alpine vegetation, and all but 

 such wall-loving plants as Corydalis lutea soon die on it. The 

 tendency to make it with overhanging " peaks " is often seen in the 

 cement rock-gardens now common. 



Soil. — The great majority of alpine plants thrive best in deep 

 soil. In it they can root deeply, and when once rooted they will 

 not suffer from drought, from which they would quickly perish if 

 planted in the usual way. Three feet deep is not too much for most 

 kinds, and in nearly all cases it is a good plan to have plenty of 

 broken sandstone or grit mixed with the soil. Any free loam, with 

 plenty of sand and broken grit, will suit most alpine plants. But peat 

 is required by some, as, for example, various small and brilliant rock- 

 plants like the Menziesia, Trillium, Cypripedium, Spigelia, and a 

 number of other mountain and bog-plants. Hence, though the body 

 of the soil may be of loam, it is well to have a few masses of peat here 

 and there. This is better than forming all the ground of good loam, 

 and then digging holes for the reception of small masses of peat. 

 The soil of some portions might also be chalky or calcareous, for the 

 sake of plants that are known to thrive best on such formations, like the 

 Milkworts, the Bee Orchis, and Rhododendron Chamaecistus. Any 

 other varieties of soil required by particular kinds can be given as 

 they are planted. 



It is not well to associate a small lakelet or pond with the rock- 

 garden, as is frequently done. If a picturesque piece of water can 

 be seen from the rock-garden, well and good ; but water should not, 

 as a rule, be closely associated with it. Hence, in places of limited 

 extent, water should not be thought of. 



In the planting of every kind of rock-garden, it should be 



