nSz ALPINE FLOWERS AND ROCK GARDENS. 



relative of the Guelder Rose, is one of the most glorious 

 shrubs of Rhododendron time. It enjoys a moist, 

 peaty soil. The habit is naturally neat and compact, 

 so that very little restriction is needed. 



Broadly speaking, the value of the flowering shrubs 

 lies in their suitability for making charming pictures 

 around the rock garden rather than for planting actually 

 on rockwork. For this purpose the smaller evergreens 

 are better. Of the Pines, the Swiss Stone Pine, Pinus 

 CembrUj is one of the best, as it is a very slow grower, 

 and does not therefore get out of bounds quickly. 

 It has green fohage streaked with white, and erect 

 cones. It is shown in one of the coloured plates, in 

 association with the hairy Alpen Rose {Rhododendron 

 Mrsutum). A form of it called pumila is much smaller. 

 Few things are better than the Junipers, and of these 

 Sanderiy and the small forms of Sabina called procumbens 

 and prostrata, are the best. Another capital Httle 

 plant is the glaucous Spruce Fir Picea (often called 

 Abies) pungens glauca. Nurserymen stock plants of 

 these and other small trees, such as Picea excelsa 

 pygmcBa (see photograph), Cupressus Lawsoniana alba 

 spica nana, C. L. erecta viridis, Retinospora obtusa nana 

 and aurea, and Thujopsis dolabrata aurea, of a suitable 

 size for planting on rockwork. They will all thrive 

 in ordinary soil. 



The famous dwarf trees of the Japanese are, of course, 

 well adapted for the purpose. They have become 

 pretty familiar to most people interested in gardening 

 by this time, in great part because of the displays of 

 them which have been made by nurserymen at some of 



