Hints on Grouping jj 



cease to be at a certain point, then a foil, a rest for the 

 eye, and presently a complete change. If, for example, 

 the plant grouper were working with such well-known 

 subjects as Aubrietia Dr. Mules and Saxifraga cam- 

 posii (Wallacei), violet-purple and pure white respec- 

 tively, on a single bank or slope, the termination of the 

 one should be determined by a depression by the inter- 

 vention of an irregular, undulated grassed bank of 

 sufficient proportionate size to catch the eye, to act as 

 a foil, and to mirror into greater life and beauty what 

 is above and beyond. The marginal termination of 

 any such grouping should never be formal or rounded 

 as though moulded into shape ; a broken line fashioned 

 by the presence of rock here and there will^ be much 

 more in keeping, and the plants presently finding their 

 way over them will afford a picture as nearly ideal as 

 any true landscape gardener could desire. That the 

 lower or succeeding groups in such arrangements 

 should not be in slavish imitation of the first is a warn- 

 ing hardly needed after what has been urged against 

 formality; indeed, each group, whether large or small, 

 might well provide a feature alone. 



Generally, it will be found advisable in the case of 

 families of plants — e.g., Aubrietias and subulata 

 Phloxes — containing many varieties each, to work with 

 the more distinct, the best results being secured in that 

 way. Such indispensable rock gardening subjects as 

 Saxifragas apiculata, Elizabethse, and sancta (yellow- 

 flowered), and Burseriana Gloria (white-flowered) will 

 be found invaluable in the winter or spring section, 

 while the many forms of S. cotyledon and C. cochlearis 

 will fittingly represent the genus during the summer 

 months. For both the spring and summer sections 

 there is a great wealth of material awaiting intelli- 

 gent use. 



For the Rock Garden in Autumn there is a lesser 

 wealth of material, though the variety is greater than 

 many suppose. In the past, generally speaking, the 

 best use has not been made of the things that exist. 



