22 Special Features of the Garden 



limited, and the plant that can be transplanted 

 without harm had best be started in the hotbed 

 in paper cups or dirt bands and transferred to the 

 garden after the sun has warmed the soil in the 

 early spring. 



While the majority of the plants for the rock 

 garden should be of a spreading nature there is 

 always a place for tall growing plants such as the 

 dianthus, snapdragon, and phlox, and there will be 

 very apt to be nooks and corners which will need 

 some of the taller plants to serve as a background. 

 A variety of color should be planned and bright 

 reds, brilliant blues, and deep yellows should be 

 generously supplied, otherwise the dark rocks will 

 give the garden a more or less cheerless aspect. 

 Here probably more than in any other part of the 

 garden one should strive for balance in coloring. 

 The rock garden should be planned as early in the 

 season as the weather will permit, for most rock- 

 garden plants blossom during the early summer 

 months. The soil should be most carefully mixed 

 and a good composition is one part leaf -mold, two 

 parts of loam or turfy soil, and one part of sand. 

 A little lime can be added to advantage in the 

 places where edelweiss, saxifrages, primroses, and 

 poppies are planted, or the soil may become a bit 

 sour for them. 



