8 STUDIES IN GARDENING 



that are used on a bank, and the larger, the better. 

 But elaborate rockwork means trouble and expense, 

 and we are proposing to make a bank beautiful with- 

 out much of either. Luckily there are many plants 

 that will flourish upon a bank without any protection 

 of rockwork, provided they do not suffer from drought 

 when first planted. Planting, therefore, should be 

 done in wet weather in early autumn, especially if 

 the soil is very light. It should not be done, in any 

 case, later than October, as many of the most suitable 

 plants are apt to rot off in the winter if disturbed too 

 late. 



There are no plants which thrive or look better on 

 a bank than the stronger species of wild Pinks. They 

 are evergreen and of a creeping habit. They will 

 endure any amount of drought when once deeply 

 rooted, and, though their flowering period is not very 

 long, their leaves are beautiful at all seasons. The 

 strongest of all is the common Dianthus plumarius, 

 a species of which there are an infinite number of 

 varieties, and which has produced many hybrids 

 with other pinks, particularly with the Cheddar pink 

 (Dianthus caesius). This is much smaller and slower 

 in its growth and rather more delicate in constitution, 

 but it will usually grow on a steep slope looking to 

 the south without much trouble. Other very easily 

 grown pinks in the driest places are D. arenarius and 

 D. petraeus, the English D. deltoides (the maiden 

 pink), D. fragrans (or the plant which usually goes 

 by that name in gardens), and D. monspessulanus. 



