THE ROCK GARDEN 159 



Making Having obtained the rocks and the 

 soil, and having selected a suitable site for the 

 rock garden, the forming of its contours may 

 be undertaken. In most cases a path will 

 pass through it, but this will have to be made 

 last. Bearing in mind the importance of drain- 

 age, the gardener must first decide whether 

 his rockwork shall stand above the general 

 surface or be partly sunk below it. On heavy 

 clay soil the former plan is best; on a 

 gravel, or other kind of porous soil, the 

 latter. A sunk garden has the advantage 

 that the excavated soil is useful for building 

 lip the banks, provided, of course, that it is 

 suitable as an ingredient in the compost just 

 described. 



The gardener may next proceed to mark out 

 the plan, by pegging or otherwise, and then 

 barrow the soil into place. Now comes an im- 

 portant part of the operation, for the final 

 effect is controlled by the way in which he 

 arranges his heaps. He should endeavour to 

 avoid a formal or symmetrical distribution of 

 masses, which is never seen in nature, by throw- 

 ing them up as if their shape and height were a 

 matter of chance. 



