80 JOTTINGS OF A GENTLEMAN GARDENER 



general maxim that the more true love and care bestowed 

 on them the more will they thrive. 



It will not be possible to go into the subject here so fully 

 as it deserves. I must leave moraine gardening, wall 

 gardening, bog gardening, and water-gardening, which are 

 all closely allied to rock-gardening, for the present. 



The Site of the Rock-Garden : A natural bank, not too 

 steep, in a sunny position, is quite a capital spot for a rock- 

 garden. In the suburban garden a sunny corner between 

 two walls will do. The position should not be in the shade 

 of either buildings or trees, for a free access of sunshine is 

 necessary for most rock-plants. The drip of trees is 

 extremely injurious to any but the commonest, moreover, 

 the roots of the trees may come up into the soil of the 

 rock-garden and spoil it. 



The position should be an open one, with free access of 

 air, rain, and sunshine. 



The general character of the rock-garden must depend 

 largely on the site. A rock-garden in a corner between 

 two walls is generally merely a raised mound of earth and 

 stones, quite simple, yet pretty. A rock-garden made in a 

 long narrow border is generally a continuous ridge, or a 

 series of ridges and dips. A rock-garden made of a natural 

 bank will be more or less crag and slope ; a path may be 

 run midway up the bank and then there will be crags above 

 and slope below. But if there is a flat piece of ground for 

 the site it is better still, although more work will be needed 

 to obtain the desired result. Making a rock-garden on a 

 large flat piece of ground is more wonderfully interesting 

 than any other form of the work, for it is in this that the 

 individuality of the gardener can be shown to the best 

 advantage. On a bank one is naturally hampered by the 

 general lie of the ground but if the ground is flat, there are 

 endless possibilities. 



The Stone to Use : Geologists tell us that in no other 

 country in Europe is there such a large variety of rocks as 

 in England. And this seems true if one goes about a little 

 and taps off bits of rock in quarries and stone pits as I have 



