ROCK AND ALPINE GARDENS 7 



in summer, damp and sunless in winter, these piaces 

 offer the worst possible opportunities for a race of plants 

 which is accustomed to the fullest exposure. In these 

 misplaced rock gardens we find a sad lack of variety ; 

 the smallest and most interesting plants gradually dis- 

 appear, and a dense growth of robust trailers covers the 

 earth spaces. Besides, if advantage were taken of 

 mounds and natural ridges, much labour and expense 

 would be saved, at any rate in districts where there are 

 rocks and mossy boulders cropping out of the earth. 



On high ground where the surface soil has been 

 washed away by rains, a minimum of labour will ensure 

 a beautiful rock garden. After all, it is for those who 

 live in favoured localities to make the best use of their 

 advantages ; certainly there is less excuse, in their case, 

 for bad or thoughtless work. 



The extreme hardiness of most Alpine plants is often 

 overlooked. The smaller and rarer the flower, the less 

 necessity for " coddling." It commonly happens that a 

 pocket of rich, loamy soil in a sheltered corner, is 

 regarded as a suitable spot in which to establish some 

 choice seedling : " It will give the plant a chance ' to 

 settle ' comfortably." But as a matter of fact the seed- 

 ling nearly always dies. If the same plant had been 

 given a fully exposed position in poor gravelly soil, 

 interspersed with small stones, it would probably have 

 survived and thriven. It is astonishing the numbers of 

 Alpines which are perfectly at home along the edges of 

 rough paths, between stones, and in the joints of rude 

 steps. The roots twist among broken stones and push 

 their way through the coarse grit, always finding 

 abundant moisture ; surface evaporation being far less 

 under these circumstances than in borders of good soil. 

 Many small plants thrive best when their roots are in 

 dry quarters during the winter : in the chinks of an old 

 wall or in a rock fissure, they escape altogether the 



