144 ALPINE FLOWERS AND GARDENS 



pression in the rockwork, where, although exposed 

 to all possible sunshine, it may benefit most by 

 the rains. 



The science of putting two and two together in 

 order to make four is nowhere more essential than 

 in the culture of Alpines away from their wild 

 conditions. If thoughtful common-sense is a sine 

 qua non of successful gardening, it is certainly 

 never more so than of rock-gardening. Hardy as 

 Alpines would appear, and as, indeed, they are 

 usually styled, they often prove to be delicate 

 subjects when removed from the severe yet logical 

 conditions of their home-life ; and those of them 

 which flourish under the poorest, severest conditions 

 in the Alps are those which, generally speaking, 

 are the most difficult to deal with in captivity. To 

 succeed in keeping a plant alive is not always the 

 same thing as growing it successfully. Some plants 

 may know how to adapt themselves more or less to 

 unusual conditions, but this adaptation is not evolu- 

 tion ; it is of a kind which lays siege to, and saps, 

 vitality, and the life and character of such plants 

 must suffer. In this domain a visit to a garden in 

 the Alps can be of the very greatest assistance. 



In these gardens, also, it may be seen that 

 rock-gardening does not consist in simply putting 



