A YEAR'S GARDENING 



The first and perhaps the most important of these requirements 

 .... . is hght and air, for bearing in mind the natural environ- 

 Ai? *" ment of Alpine plants it is evident that they must not 



be subjected to any overshadowing by trees or plants 

 of large growth. The site chosen for the Alpine Garden should be 

 well open to the sun; exposed to the four winds of heaven, if need 

 be, but free from cutting draughts and not under the shadow of a 

 wall, and such a position may usually be found even in a compara- 

 tively small garden. 



The next requirement is that the site shall be properly prepared 



for the plants. It may be that the ground already so lends itself 



to what is necessary that nothing need be done beyond 



'^/3?f'**'*'° clearing the place and adding here and there a few 



' * loads of good soil, at the same time making use of the 



natural rock wherever it crops out by planting its crevices and crests. 

 But whatever means may have to be taken to embellish the site, 

 the golden rule is to avoid all appearance of artificiaUty. The stone 

 jj f h f th^t i^ ''^s^'^ should be that of the neighbourhood, not 

 is there'' * ^^y ^^ being the easiest to obtain but as the most 

 suitable — almost any kind wiU do, though such as are 

 slaty and liable to crumble away should be avoided. Every en- 

 deavour should be made to take advantage of the opportunities the 

 site may afford — a bank of chalk, for instance, may be most useful, 

 as many plants, such as the Dwarf Harebells and Rock Roses, would 

 do well there.. 



But even assuming that the ground is devoid of any of these 

 natural advantages, the case is not hopeless. Elevations may be 

 Artificial made artificially, though there is a right and a wrong 



Elevations — way of making them. The wrong way is to pile up 

 Right and an ugly mass of stones, burrs, clinkers and vitrified 

 Wrong bricks — ^giving the appearance of a rubbish heap ^ot 



on the ground at random — and then to strew them with soil and 

 make " pockets " for the plants. The right way, as might be ex- 

 pected, is more laborious, but its result is permanent and satisfactory. 

 The elevations should be made by masses of soil, into which the 

 rocks should have their bases buried, and wherever a seam occurs 

 it should be crammed with earth and the plants put in with the 

 earth, thus gradually building up together earth, rocks and plants 

 into a consolidated whole. No space should be permitted beneath 

 the surface of the soil, lest the roots of the plants become exposed 

 in their crevices to draughts of dry air, and broken stone and grit 

 should be used to fill up any hollows which may appear. In this 



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