CHAPTER III 

 A ROCK GARDEN IN THE MAKING 



IN the making or fashioning of a rock garden the 

 operator gets into immediate touch with serious 

 work, which, in the not distant future, must of neces- 

 sity reflect credit or the reverse. Hence, much thought 

 and care are needed at the outset. Such fundamental 

 questions as "Form and Outhne," the all-supreme 

 question in some instances of "Drainage," and the 

 "Disposition of the Rocks" should be carefully con- 

 sidered in the order named. Each in turn, however, 

 must of necessity incline to circimistances. For 

 example, the " outline " of a rock garden may resolve 

 itself into nothing more than its boundary line, while 

 within that area "form" in its many phases, aspects 

 and variety may everywhere abound. There is, of 

 course, that type of it which, for lack of a better name, 

 one may style "a rock garden over all," where path, 

 stepping-stone, crevice and fissure each contain its 

 quota of plant life, and, while not entirely effacing rock 

 in any instance, playing its part by life-affording effects 

 and charm in all directions. This, indeed, should be 

 the aim and object of the true rock builder, since it is of 

 a type which most nearly approximates to Nature's 

 own. And it may be ours on either a large or small 

 scale, just as miniatures are also true to their kind 

 though in reduced degree. All this and much more 

 is but the outcome of study, sympathy and foresight 

 at the beginning or later on. It is, indeed, work of 

 this kind, in conjunction with pulling down and putting 

 up, which secures the best effects in the end. The rock 

 garden that is " begun, continued and ended " in a week 

 may be something to boast of at the moment. It is 



