ROCK, WALL AND BOG GARDENS. 



Objections 

 to artificial 

 rockwork 

 considered. 



Natural 



rock 



gardens. 



Quarries. 



Moisture- 

 retaining 

 hollows. 



Bog 

 gardens. 



for that which it copies, whereas artificial rockwork, if properly executed, is equal in 

 aesthetic value to native rock. Experience proves that this is the case, for, when one 

 knows that the bold masses of rock in the little dell or dingle have been placed there 

 by hand, its laminae produced by the use of a toothed tool and the gurgling spring over 

 which the ferns bend so lovingly is fed by hidden pipes, one's admiration for the picture 

 of Nature at her best which is put before us is not lessened, but, on the other hand, 

 one rather feels that sympathetic admiration for work which shows such artistic apprecia- 

 tion of Nature on the part of its creator which we experience in examining any other 

 work of art which is good and worthy the name. 



This is the real test, which may be applied equally to any other form of garden 

 decoration. Does familiarity breed appreciation or contempt ? Where there is real 

 deception, as in the case of the sham ruins, churches, and other stage scenery which 

 were so extensively used a hundred years ago, immediately the fraud is discovered, 

 they cease to please and convey to the mind a sense of the ludicrous. 



Nevertheless, however carefully it may be done, artificial rockwork can never be 

 quite as satisfactory as the original virgin rock. Where this can be obtained by the 

 removal of a few feet of soil, the best of all rock gardens may be produced at very 

 little expense, though even here, in some cases, it may need a little aid from the rock 

 builder in the way of providing for rough, rock-hewn steps and the provision of rocky 

 pools where the natural formation would not allow of these. In illustration No. 265 is 

 shown an Alpine garden which is most effective, and which has been constructed merely 

 by baring the natural slate-rock of the English Lake District. 



He who in his domain possesses an old disused quarry is fortunate indeed. Here he 

 has the groundwork for a rock garden of most exceptional possibilities, especially if, as 

 so often happens, there is a pool of water in the bottom. The aim would then be to 

 have a tiny streamlet tumbling over the edge of the quarry into the pool below and, if 

 possible, at a point where there is a recess in the face of the rock, so that the combina- 

 tion of moisture and shade may encourage the growth of ferns and mosses. Rough 

 hewed steps will perhaps be possible winding up the face or one flank of the escarpment, 

 in which, case, favourable sites may possibly be found for every class of rock or water 

 plant, Alpines on the face of the rock, other plants in the fissures of the rough-hewn 

 steps, ferns in the hollows, flags, reeds and rushes in the shallow portions of the pool, 

 with water-lilies and other aquatic plants in the deeper parts, while, in a sunny position 

 on its margin, a small swamp garden may be contrived in which marsh marigolds, 

 bachelor's button, gunnera, saxifraga peltata, and the marsh-loving ranunculi may grow 

 to perfection. 



Where no quarry exists, a moisture-retaining hollow may easily be contrived in a 

 suitable spot merely by lowering the level of the ground by excavation. There will be 

 very few gardens where, if this is done, an ideal site for a swamp pool will not be 

 obtained. Then, by the formation of rough steps, after the manner of those shown in 

 illustration No. 265, and the addition of a little rockwork, most charming effects may 

 be produced. This having been done, the rest is more or less a case of careful planting 

 and upkeep, though a good deal will depend on the nature of the material of which 

 the garden is formed. The true bog garden is, of course, composed of black bog earth 

 and peat, but often one has to be content with clay, or some other impermeable subsoil, 

 overlaid with leaf mould, or such material as may be available, and this will have a 

 direct influence in determining what we shall plant. 



The great charm of the bog garden is its appearance of luxuriant, rampant, and 

 almost tropical growth and the brilliant greens of its foliage, ranging from long-stemmed 

 moss of almost pure lemon-yellow, down to the grey-greens of the iris, against which 

 brown reeds stand up in strong colour relief. It therefore follows that we must plant 



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