CULTIVATION OF ALPINE PLANTS 55 



from drought in England if grown on the south side 

 of the rockery, and tightly packed among the rocks; 

 while, if they are placed on the north side, they often 

 refuse to flower. The best plan with them is to grow 

 them in little hollows on the south side where the rain 

 will not all run away off the surface, and where they 

 can be watered with some effect and get a little shade 

 from the rocks about them. This applies also to 

 Morisia hypogaea, a pretty little tufted cruciferous 

 plant, with yellow flowers that often appear at the 

 end of February and continue for months; also in a 

 less degree to Erodium Reichardii (or Chamaedrioides) , 

 a very minute prostrate plant with delicate white 

 flowers, which sometimes suffers from drought if 

 placed on a dry slope; also to Aquilegia pyrenaica, 

 the smallest of the Columbines, and a plant which 

 often suffers from drought in English rock gardens. 

 There are also some larger plants which need the same 

 kind of treatment such as Daphne Blagayana and 

 Atragene (clematis) alpina. These also like a good 

 deal of sun, and yet will not often endure the dryness 

 of steep slopes in the rock garden. 



It is easy in most rock gardens that are properly 

 planned and constructed to protect plants from ex- 

 cessive moisture. The real difficulty usually is to 

 protect them from drought and to know how much 

 drought they will endure. On this point only experi- 

 ence can bring certain knowledge; but the gardener 

 can often guess a good deal from the nature of their 

 roots and of their growth. Shallow-rooting plants, 



