184 THE GARDEN, YOU, AND I 



there, and a crowbar for making pockets, would work 

 wonders. You might even exchange the surplus rocks 

 for leaf-mould, load by load ; at any rate large quantities 

 of fern soil must be obtainable for the carting at the 

 reservoir woods. 



Imagine the effect, if you please, of that irregular 

 line of rocks swathed in vines and sheltering great clumps 

 of ferns, while it will afford an endless shelter for every 

 sort of wild thing that you may pick up in your rambles. 

 Of course you need not plant it all at once, but having 

 made the plan, develop it at leisure. 



You should never quite finish a country place unless 

 you expect to leave it. The something more in garden 

 life is the bale of hay before the horse's nose on the up- 

 hill road. Last year, for almost a week, we thought 

 our garden quite as finished as the material and sur- 

 roundings would allow, it was a strange, dismal, hollow 

 sort of feeling. However, it was soon displaced by the 

 desire that I have to collect my best roses in one spot, 

 add to them, and gradually form a rosary where the 

 Garden Queen and all her family may have the best of 

 air, food, and lodgings. You see I feared that the knoll, 

 hardy beds, and rose garden were not sufficient food for 

 your mind to ruminate, so I add the fern fence as a sort 

 of dessert ! 



