FERN ROCKERIES INDOORS 99 



Walking leaf and the cheery little polypody 

 are used chiefly in filling the conglomerate. 

 Both species are properly rock ferns, but 

 Nature is an expansionist, hence her rules 

 are not always arbitrary. The polypody at 

 the right base is growing finely in a soft 

 filling of earth. The walking leaf on the 

 top is the only specimen of its kind that I 

 ever found growing in at least six inches of 

 rich leaf mould. Dormant roots of tooth- 

 wort (Dentaria dipbylla) were in the soil, 

 hence uninvited guests crown the summit 

 with pretty tri-foliate leafage. Lycopodiums 

 are of service, adding another shade or two 

 of freshness and variety to indoor rockwork. 

 Another wildling (Dalibarda repens), with 

 leaves like a violet and flowers of a straw- 

 berry, deserves to be better known, as there 

 is nothing more immaculate than its starry 

 white blossoms, which dot the mossy carpet 

 of damp woodlands in midsummer. The 

 plant is easily cultivated. 



Two points must be borne in mind in filling 

 any stone: we must follow natural outlines, 



