ROCK, ALPINE, FERN, AND WILD GARDENING. 



75 



ROCK, ALPINE, FERN, AND WILD 

 GARDENING. 



ALPINE PLANTS. 

 Bt Edwakd "W. Badqbr, F.E.H.S. 



ALPINE PLANTS may be described popvOarly 

 as the plants of lowly growth which naturally 

 occupy the nioimtainous regions in most parts of 

 the earth. In their native homes they are usually 

 during a part, often a large part, of every yeai', pro- 

 tected by a thick covering of snow from the effects of 

 the inclement weather which almost invariably pre- 

 vails for mziny months at a time at high altitudes. 

 The plants of these regions, which are so prized and 

 admired for their gem-like qualities, are, for the most 

 part, only a few inches high, and yet their roots 

 usually penetrate to a great depth, whereby they are 

 able to withstand the burning sun of the short, but 

 trj-ing, summers which prevail in most Alpine re- 

 gions. Ignorance or forgetfulness of these circum- 

 stances is probably a chief cause of frequent failures 

 to grow these lovely, diversified, and interesting 

 plants in many English gardens, where they are often 

 placed on ill-made rockeries, in which neither suffi- 

 cient root-room is provided, nor suitable protection 

 afforded to compensate for the absence of the condi- 

 tions which prevail in their natural habitats. 



The plentifulness of these plants in their native 

 homes is a striking illustration of the Darwinian 

 generalisation of the " survival of the fittest " ; their 

 lowly stature and their compact growth, which keeps 

 them dose to the surface of the soil or rocks, are, 

 doubtless, conditions secured for them by the sifting 

 processes of nature, which during long ages have 

 eliminated from the Alpine flora all the plants in- 

 capable of existence under conditions which, however 

 congenial to the plants which are found to thrive at 

 high altitudes, are destructive of others of larger size. 

 The struggle for existence which goes on everywhere 

 limits the vegetation of elevated regions for the most 

 part to such plants as those now under consideration, 

 and yet there is scarcely one of them which may 

 not be grown in most English gardens if suitable 

 conditions are provided for them. It is our purpose 

 to set these forth briefly and plainly, and to mention 

 some of the plants which are best adapted to adorn 

 the gardens in which they are grown, and to yield 

 much pleasure to the intelligent cultivator. 



-4.1pines grow naturally on the surface and among 

 the crevices of mountain-sides, where a great depth 

 of soil affords ample space for the roots to ramify as 

 far as necessary to obtain a sufficient supply of 

 suitable food. The natural position of these plants 

 is usually such, that an annual top-dressing of soil is 

 brought to them by rain or melted snow. The suc- 



cessful amateur bears these facts in mind when he un- 

 dertakes to grow Alpines in his garden. He so makes 

 his rockery as to provide abundance of soU of the 

 right kind, that the plants may not lack food; he 

 makes it deep enough to enable the roots to travel 

 away from the surface, so that spells of dry weather 

 may not hm-t the plants ; where necessfirj', he gives 

 an annual top-dressing of suitable soil ; and he so ar- 

 ranges stones — ^limestone, or sandstone, or whatever 

 kind is obtainable and fit for the purpose — that the 

 conditions most favourable for the plants may be se- 

 cm-ed. In forming a rockery, he does not build up a 

 miniature mimic mountain range, but rather as fair 

 an imitation of such a piece of Cumberland fell-side 

 or of some mountain dope in Wales, Scotland, or 

 Switzerland with which he is familiar as suits thb 

 place he has to fill, and the special circumstances of 

 his surroundings. He always keeps the type cha- 

 racteristics of his pattern-piece of natural hill-side 

 well in mind, and adapts them as best he can to his 

 own requirements, which will, of course, vary more or 

 less in every case. 



Soil. — The first requisite for success is good soil, 

 in sufficient abundance, and of such kinds as the 

 varied requirements of the plants he wishes to grow 

 may necessitate. One of our best authorities says that 

 a depth of " three feet is not too much for most species, 

 and it is in nearly all cases a good plan to have plenty 

 of broken sandstone or giit mixed with the soil. 

 Any good free loam, with plenty of sand, broken 

 grit, &c., win be found to suit the great majority of 

 Alpine and dwarf herbaceous plants, from Pinks to 

 GromweUs or Gentians; but peat is required by 

 some, as, for example, various smeJl and briUiant 

 rock-pleints like the Menziesias, Trillium, Cypripe- 

 dium, Spigelia marilandica, and a number of other 

 mountain and bog plants. Hence, though the general 

 mass may be of the soil above described, it will be 

 desirable to have a few masses of peat here and theie 

 . . . The soil of one or more portions might also 

 be chalky or calcareous, for the sake of plants that 

 are known to thrive best on such formations, as the 

 pretty Polygala caJcarea, the Bee Orchis, Rhododen- 

 dron Chamaeistus, &c." This is admirable advice, and 

 may be safely followed. Our own practice has been 

 just that described above, and we have grown Alpines 

 of almost all kinds with nearly unvarjTUg success. 

 The plan of growing Alpines in "pockets," which 

 will be described further on, enables the special 

 requirements of any given plant to be provided for at 

 the smallest possible cost in money and trouble, and 

 in a ver)'' simple manner. 



Situation. — The best position for the larger 

 number of these plants is one fully exposed to tho 

 sun. There are some which delight in partial shade. 



