ioo GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



produce a masterpiece of art, with the result that their rock- 

 gardens must remain till the end of time places of rocks, and 

 not of flowers. 



In Forming a Rock-Garden it must be borne in mind that 

 the object in view is to grow beautiful plants, and to display 

 to the best advantage, amid appropriate surroundings and in 

 robust health, the flowers that enamel the rugged Alpine 

 slopes, and streak the creviced crags with colour. The mission 

 of the rocks is to afford congenial crannies for the roots to 

 explore, and to provide surfaces for trailing growths to veil 

 with greenery and blossom. They are there to act as a natural 

 setting for the flowers, which should spread in tinted breadths 

 over the spaces as freely as on their native ledges. The 

 nearer Nature can be approached the more natural will be the 

 effect, and rocks should therefore emerge from the soil in such 

 a manner as to give the idea of an outcrop of the living rock 

 from a mountain side. Where rock-masses are built by plac- 

 ing stones against one another, either in a horizontal or sloping 

 position, those having flat surfaces should be used in order 

 that the form of natural rock-stratification may be presented. 

 On no account should cement be used in the rock-garden, but 

 all fissures and seams between stones should be crammed with 

 soil, great care being taken that no vacuum exists between the 

 rock-faces. Should these occur, losses are certain to ensue 

 through the dry air entering the crevices and parching the 

 roots. It is well to excavate, where the rock-garden is to be 

 formed, to a depth of eighteen inches, in order that thorough 

 drainage may be insured, since stagnant moisture at the root 

 is fatal to many Alpines. A depth of fully three feet of soil 

 should be provided, as many rock plants send their roots 

 downwards to some distance between the masses of stone, 

 where they remain cool and moist during the hottest weather, 

 while foliage and flower enjoy the full benefit of the sunshine. 

 Sandy loam mixed with some peat, to which a good proportion 

 of sandstone chips and grit has been added, will be found suit- 

 able for the majority of rock plants. Some, however, prefer 

 peat, while others like a calcareous soil, in which case broken 

 limestone should take the place of sandstone. The mixture 

 of stones and grit with the soil is a great help to Alpines, as it 

 prevents rapid evaporation. It is generally best to use country 

 stone that is, stone easily procurable in the locality in the 

 construction of the rock-garden, unless the stone be of a 

 nature likely to crumble away. No spar or carved stonework 

 should be employed, while old tree roots should be rigorously 

 excluded, as these breed fungi. Simple paths only are neces- 

 sary in the rock-garden. 



