46 ROCK AND WATER GARDENS 



garden had been deposited bodily in surroundings least 

 suited to it. By planting the approach with small 

 shrubs, interspersed with an occasional boulder, this 

 feeling is entirely overcome, and the eye is gradually 

 prepared for the wild beauty of rocks and Alpine 

 flowers. The ability to grow plants is but wasted 

 opportunity if no attempt is made to display them to the 

 fullest advantage. 



In the true Alpine garden our choice of shrubs is 

 necessarily limited, and any we employ must be kept on 

 the lower slopes and approaches. In the mixed rock 

 garden no such restrictions apply, and the heights may 

 be crowned with the fiery spikes of Gorse and Broom, 

 whilst glaucous patches of Rosemary and Lavender will 

 act as a foil to bright colonies of herbaceous flowers. 



The family of Heaths contains several beautiful 

 varieties, many of them especially suited to the rock 

 garden. These delightful shrubs from mountain and 

 moorland are among the best possible plants for the 

 rough grass and boulder-strewn approaches, and when 

 strongly massed among herbaceous flowers create a 

 welcome note of soft colour. The Alpine Forest Heath 

 (Erica carnea) is perhaps the hardiest of all, and thrives 

 in practically any class of soil. On the mountains of 

 Europe it is snow-covered throughout the winter, 

 bursting into myriad rosy blooms in the early days of 

 spring. The white variety should not be forgotten. 

 In warm districts the Tree Heath (E. arborea) may be 

 planted in the lower sections of the rock garden. A 

 native of Southern Europe and the Canaries, it is found 

 in oak woods, where its snowy flowers produce a 

 charming effect. In favoured spots it attains the 

 dimensions of a tree, but with us it is shrub-like. 

 Slightly peaty soil suits the Bell Heather (E. Tetralix), 

 which flowers freely in late summer. The Scotch and 

 Dorset Heaths (E. cinerea and E. ciliaris) are both 



