ROCK, WALL AND BOG GARDENS. 



nothing which will not do exceedingly well, especially that anything which appears in the 

 slightest degree hyper-cultivated or of the nature of a garden specimen plant will clash 

 with the general scheme. There should be a huge mass, the bigger the better, of either 

 the common English yellow flag or the German iris with its purple flower, which has 

 been naturalized in this country, and is now quite at home. Those persons who have 

 only seen this plant under the somewhat uncongenial conditions of the ordinary mixed 

 border can have no idea of the beauty of broad masses waving in the breeze. Another 

 consideration which makes for foliage effects in the bog garden is the large scale of the 

 leaves and rampant growth of most water-loving or aquatic plants. Gunnera, iris and 

 nymphese may be quoted as typical examples, and, in Nature, one never sees them mixed 

 up indiscriminately, so that, in the bog garden, each should be given a congenial place 

 in the scheme, and be kept well within bounds so as not to displace other kinds. It is 

 a great mistake, however, to try to plant too many sorts in one garden, unless it is 

 big enough to allow of certain varieties being placed where they cannot all be seen at 

 once. Reference to any of the illustrations in this work which show bog plants will 

 prove that the best effects are obtained by careful grouping of a few kinds which are 

 of a class to harmonize with their surroundings (111. Nos. 259 and 264) . 



All such gardens but the very smallest will need the help of a background of such 

 moisture-loving trees as willows and alders. There are literally dozens of native or 

 naturalized varieties of the former which are all useful, and their catkins, which are the 

 very first harbingers of Spring, make them additionally welcome. Whether they shall 

 be pollarded or left to grow naturally will depend on circumstances, and especially 

 whether they are throwing too much shade over the whole garden. The aim should 

 be to have it so contrived that part is in shade, a portion in partial sun, and another 

 in full sun. 



Where no stream of water exists, enough for the decoration of such an arrangement Streams. 

 may often be obtained from the overflow of a fountain placed in the more ornamental 

 portions of the grounds, or by draining pasture or other land at a higher level than the 

 garden, when a little dripping well or bubbling spring may be contrived, and the cool 

 sound of falling water be added to the other delights of the place. 



We may, of course, be troubled with too much water. In such cases, to prevent 

 aquatic plants from being washed away, large deep pools should be constructed, in the 

 backwaters of which still places will be found wherein to arrange the vegetation. The 

 most difficult case of all is where the supply varies very much, being now a rushing 

 torrent and, at another time, almost drying up. This may necessitate the formation of 

 a weir connecting with a culvert, which may have its opening at such a level as auto- 

 matically to relieve the water garden of the surplus when the stream exceeds a given 

 flow. Needless to say, such an arrangement should be kept out of sight. 



Grass, either shelving down into the water or ending in a broken bank on its margin 

 will form a part of all bog gardens. In one case, the wildness of the other portions 

 will demand that it shall be in rough tussocks with rushes growing out of it, while in 

 another, it should be the velvet carpet of the English meadow. In either case, 

 primroses, - cowslip, oxlip, bird's eye, snowdrop, violets, lilies-of-the-valley and, most 

 charming of all, the blue forget-me-not, will all be found congenial positions where they 

 may grow. The crocus, while it will grow well in grass, is a little too showy for 

 the wild garden, and is better kept for the lawns near the house. As a rule, a rich 

 peaty loam which retains the damp will give a rank grass, while a very light, almost 

 pure sand will sustain only dwarf close-growing sorts, which will not form tussocks. 

 That portion of the greensward which is close to the water, especially where there is a 

 more or less steep bank, should be turfed, not sown, and the turf pegged into the bank 

 by thrusting through it sharpened stakes about nine inches to a foot long, and three 



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