PREFACE 



6. Plant your alpines close to or at the 



foot of the rocks, for most plants like 

 the shelter and the damp of a rock. 

 Many plants should be wedged tightly 

 between stones, e.g. the saxifrages. 



7. Top-dress your plants two or three 



times a year and see that small plants 

 are kept firmly in the ground so that 

 their roots are not exposed. Once a 

 year top-dress with stone chips. 

 Plants like this dressing, and it keeps 

 the soil moist in summer. 



8. When planting spread out the roots 



well, giving them plenty of room, and 

 press down firmly. In dry weather 

 plunge the plant into water before 

 setting it in its place. 



9. You should always have one or two 



moraines for some of the more delicate 

 alpines, especially those with hair- 

 like roots which only flourish in such 

 soils, e.g., gentiana verna and the 

 androsaces. 1 



1 The enthusiast who wishes to grow the high 

 Alpine plants to perfection must make a small 

 moraine, and he will do well to look to the natural 

 conditions under which these plants live and which 

 he hopes to imitate. A friend gives the following 

 recipe : 



The moraines of the Alps are simply tumbled 

 vii 



