586 



Gardening for Amateurs 



fresh compost of loam, leaf-soil or peat, and 

 sand, in about equal proportions, should be 

 added. The stones are then placed firmly 

 in position, and inclining slightly towards the 

 bank. The plants may be put in as the 

 work proceeds, but if the crevices are large 

 enough they can be planted later. 





tola J>. G. TiUard. 



The beautiful creeping Gypsophila repens, having grey leaves 

 and pinkish flowers. 



A Pool or Bog Garden. The amateur 

 must remember that all alpine flowers do 

 not need to be planted on rockwork. Many 

 are moisture lovers, and in their native 

 haunts flourish in a meadow or bog, where 

 there is always an abundance of moisture, 

 such as cannot be secured on a rockery. 

 He need not, however, deprive himself of 

 the pleasure of cultivating such as these, 

 for they are easily accommodated by the 



margin of a pool or in peaty soil in a half- 

 shady nook. The pool or bog may be formed 

 at the base of, or in some depression in, the 

 rock garden, where one might expect to find 

 a moist place among natural rocks. A 

 hollow 12 to 18 inches deep is easily ex- 

 cavated, and the bottom cemented or paved 

 with bricks or stones 

 grouted with cement so 

 as to keep in water. 

 The sides, which should 

 be of irregular outline, 

 should also be built up 

 near the surface in a 

 similar way, leaving, 

 however, at the lower 

 end a hole stopped with 

 a plug leading into a 

 drain to draw off any 

 water from the bog if 

 required, and an outlet 

 at the upper part of 

 the sides to permit the 

 escape of surplus water. 

 A good layer of rough 

 drainage is then put in 

 and the remainder filled 

 up with peaty compost, 

 which should be elevated 

 here and there for plants 

 which like to have their 

 crowns well above the 

 wettest part and with 

 depressions for the lovers 

 of more moisture. Such 

 a bog, though only a 

 yard or two square, will 

 be found very fascinat- 

 ing. If so built that 

 surplus water from the 

 rockery can reach it, 

 probably little more will 

 be required, but a 

 watering-can or hose will soon supply it 

 with sufficient moisture to last for some 

 days. The writer grows such plants as 

 the various bog Primulas, Cypripediums, 

 Summer Snowflake, Musk, the Bog Bean, 

 the Grass of Parnassus, and many others 

 in a small bog bed such as is suggested. 



The Choice of Plants. The reader who 

 takes up a catalogue will be amazed and 

 puzzled at the number and variety of rock 



