THE GARDEN OF ALPINES 19 



the whole place looks like a botanical hospital. No 

 general effect is attempted ; of unity and purpose there 

 is no sign. When the true ideal of the garden is con- 

 sidered, how puny and pitiful this becomes. With these 

 same materials, or half of them, beautiful pictures might 

 be evolved. Brave masses of colour, stones and rocks 

 matted with jewelled mosses, drifts of snowy Saxifrage, 

 carpets of azure Gentian, a gleam of silver and gold 

 from clumps of Alpine Ranunculus, the deep green of 

 fern and the cobweb grey of Edelweiss. 



The Alpine garden should be situated on the highest 

 ground available, in fact the more exposed the site the 

 better. The summit of a rocky knoll, or the sides of an 

 earth ridge will generally ensure abundant sunshine for 

 the plants. But little rockwork is needed : in Devonshire, 

 Cornwall and other places where the geological formation 

 tends to produce natural rock features, no artificial work 

 should be attempted. In other districts, quite a large 

 garden may be laid out with the aid of a few cart-loads 

 of rough boulders, but small stones should be mixed 

 with the soil in order to secure free drainage and retain 

 moisture. Alpines, being of small, compact habit, 

 demand restrained treatment in their surroundings. 

 Besides, the use of comparatively few stones permits of 

 larger grouping and bolder masses of colour in the earth 

 spaces, than would be possible if a few chinks and corners 

 among piled up rocks were the only positions available 

 for the plants. So many Alpine gardens are all rocks and 

 no flowers ; the former thrust themselves on our notice, 

 for the latter we must search. 



A common cause of failure in the cultivation of Alpines, 

 is the unsuitable character of the soil to the varieties 

 chosen. Few classes of plants are more exacting in this 

 respect. It is true that certain kinds will accommodate 

 themselves to varying conditions, and make a brave show 

 even under adverse circumstance. But it is never wise 



