Encyclopaedia of Gardening 1 29 



It is almost impossible to describe the best plan of building rock- 

 work, as a good deal depends on the configuration of the ground 

 and the nature of the stone; but a few hints may be of service to 

 beginners, (i) A sunny position should be chosen, as Alpine plants 

 are accustomed to 

 unrestricted light. 

 (2) If the ground is 

 variable in contour its ~ f 

 outline may be util- ///'/ t 

 ised to form natural '"//? 

 mounds and dells; if 

 level, the outline may 

 be broken by form- PLANTS miD RQCK Sxps 



mg mounds with the 



larger stones. (3) The rock garden should not run in a straight 

 line, but should advance and recede, so that bay succeeds promon- 

 tory. (4) The body of the rockery should consist of soil rather 

 than of stones, because the plants will not thrive under the condi- 

 tions which they have to face unless they have abundance of good 

 soil for rooting in. (5) The rock garden looks well if formed in 

 irregular masses on both sides of a winding path, which should 

 itself consist of stones, large, flat pieces being chosen, and dwarf 

 plants put in crevices between them. (6) Given such a path, the 

 rockery might be carried up on either side of it in low, flat terraces, 

 each 3 or 4 ft. wide, and rising above the one below it at a height 

 of about a foot. This style of rockery building has several advan- 

 tages: (a) small stones may be used, (b) if a mistake is made it can 

 be rectified without the laborious shifting of large masses of rock. 

 (7) An effect of height can be got in a small compass so long as 

 everything is kept in proper proportions. Any trees and shrubs 

 which are used on a small rockery must be small themselves, or the 

 proportion will be lost. (8) When stones, whether large or small, 

 are put in a sloping mound or bank of soil, care should be taken to 

 set them in such a way that the rain and water supplies may fall 

 inwards instead of outwards in other words, 

 the stones should deflect the moisture towards 

 the plants, not away from them. Soil for 

 rock plants : In making up the body of a rock 

 garden with soil it is generally convenient to 

 draw from soil in the neighbourhood, but 

 while this may be good enough to form the 

 nucleus it may not be suitable for actual 

 contact with the plants, either on account of 



its being heavy and damp, or because it is 



GOOD ARRANGEMENT OF very poor and fibreless. The difficulty can 



STONES FOR A ROCKERY. be t over b importing a few loads of 



Ramcan^mbetween spedal ^ {m surfacing> and especially for 



the " pockets " among the stones in which 



the plants are placed. Here a mixture of good fibrous loam 

 and limestone grit will be very helpful. The great majority of 

 Alpines love a ring of chippings around them. Planting Alpines : 

 The rockery maker should have before him the desirability of 



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