THE ROCK GARDEN 179 



under one rock and its stems trail over another. When 

 the stems get long they should be pegged down just 

 under the surface of the soil, and they will soon root 

 and grow into a large patch. Geranium subcaulescens, 

 a fine mountain species from Greece, a little larger 

 and more vigorous than G. argenteum, also remains 

 long in bloom, so does Lychnis lagascae when the 

 plants are young, and so does Bellis caerulescens, a 

 pretty little daisy from North Africa which requires 

 a warm place. 



But the best way to ensure flowers in the rock gar- 

 den in the late summer and autumn is to retard the 

 blossoming season of certain plants by treating them 

 as annuals. This is really nothing else but bedding 

 out, and pedants who object to bedding out anywhere 

 will probably consider it impiety in the rock garden. 

 But bedding out is wrong only when it is contrived 

 so as to make plants look ugly; and there is no reason 

 why they should look ugly when bedded out in the 

 rock garden any more than in the border. There are 

 certain beautiful rock plants which will flower the 

 same year from seed, but later than if the seed is 

 sown the year before. Among these are Papaver al- 

 pinus, Linaria alpina, Calandrinia umbellata, Cam- 

 panula caespitosa and C. pumila (the same plant for 

 garden purposes), and Antirrhinum asarina. Papaver 

 alpinus and Linaria alpina will usually flower the 

 same year if treated as hardy annuals; but their 

 flowering may be ensured if they are sown in boxes 

 in a cold frame about the end of March and planted 



