ALPINE, ROCK AND WALL GARDENS 



chink in an old wall; dwarfed and small they may be, but none the 

 less beautiful for that, and often sturdier and stronger and longer- 

 lived than when growing upon the ground. The Cheddar-pink, 

 the WaMower, the Toad-flax (Linaria), the Wall-erinus, and the 

 dwarf Valerians (though these last have an unpleasant odour), will 

 all do well in such a position, as well as many small ferns, such as 

 the evergreen Polypodiums. 



Of course the rough stone walls, constructed without cement, 

 as seen in the Isle of Wight, in Wales and in the Lake . 

 District, lend themselves most readily to this embelhsh- ^l^*g 

 ment; their cracks and crannies, their broad and 

 spacious irregularities, provide just what the plants require. But 

 even a brick wall when it is old and decaying, the mortar dropping 

 out and a brick here and there worn away, may be made beautiful 

 to look upon by a covering of plant growth; nor will such a growth 

 hasten the destruction of the waU, but rather retard it. 



Where there are sloping banks in a garden, or where portions of 

 it are at different levels, it is often worth the trouble 

 to build a rough stone wall — especially if stone can be Sin'^fif 

 easily obtained in the neighbourhood — as it not only 

 adds the charm of variety to the garden by accentuating its irre- 

 gularity, but may also serve a useful purpose in supporting the banks 

 and in making a desirable division. With a wall to support it a 

 bank may, of course, be cut at a much sharper slope than could 

 otherwise be allowed, thus providing an additional space of level 

 ground and giving an appearance of enlargement very valuable 

 in a circmnscribed area; while the wall itself, loosely built of rough 

 stones and buttressed by a bank of sandy or calcareous soil, becomes 

 an ideal spot for many a beautiful plant that would perish on level 

 ground. 



Here the dehcate Alpines are free from that excitement to winter 

 growth which, being foreign to their nature, tends to 

 their exhaustion and premature decay, and in fact Vf^^"'™*^ t_ 

 there is an almost limitless supply of rock and Alpine ^""^ 

 flowers — ^the Alpine Violas and the pretty creeping Blue Bindweed 

 of North Africa may be mentioned — ^which will flourish to perfec- 

 tion in the " Wall Garden." 



Ill 



