CHAPTER X 

 THE ALPINE HOUSE 



FROM December to April inclusive the alpine house 

 is unmistakably one of the most enjoyable phases of 

 hardy plant gardening, albeit it has been called in ques- 

 tion by a few — a very few. In its modernised form — 

 it is not an absolute novelty — it has become more 

 necessary than formerly owing to the great influx of 

 early-flowering plants, whose beauty it was impossible 

 to see or realise in the rock garden, or even in the 

 ordinary garden frame. We grow plants, I take it, for 

 our enjoyment. They afford pleasure and provide 

 relaxation from the common tasks of life. Hence it 

 becomes almost a duty that we do our best by them, 

 and get the most out of them. In no other way is it 

 possible to realise a tithe of their beauty or character- 

 istic charm. To grow a plant to the flowering stage 

 and see it dashed to pieces by rain or wind, or spoiled 

 by snow, is disappointing. To be able to view, the 

 same plant in comfort in the alpine house, and see the 

 best it is capable of giving for a fortnight or so, is the 

 reward of patient care and intelligent cultivation. In 

 winter-time in rock garden or frame not one-half of 

 the plant's beauty is ever seen, and particularly is this 

 true of the miniature growing class. In the alpine 

 house the plant is brought nearer the vision, and points 

 of interest revealed which, previously, were unnoticed. 

 For example, I grew the lovely Saxifraga burseriana 

 major for a score of years in rock gardens and frames 

 without realising the delightful fragrance of its 

 flowers. In the cold greenhouse this was detected at 

 once, and the plant is endowed with a greater charm 

 because of that fact. 



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