CHAPTER IV 



THE ROCK GARDEN IN SPRING 



With the first breath of spring bright patches of colour 

 will fleck the slopes of the rock garden, and with the 

 lengthening days the flowers from mountain and hill 

 clothe themselves in summer garb. Quite early, though 

 the keen winds check all tender vegetation, the 

 Alyssum and Rock Cresses shake out their banners of 

 purple and gold. A little later the Cushion Pinks and 

 snowy Arabis mantle the ledges with rosy blossoms and 

 cascades of virgin white. Now is the rock garden at 

 its brightest and best. After the barren greyness of 

 winter, when the flowers in garden borders have 

 scarcely roused themselves from sleep, here is the 

 fulness of life and colour, the fulfilment of the eternal 

 promise of spring. 



To which class of spring flora are we most indebted 

 for the freshness and charm of the rock garden at this 

 season .'' Surely our chief cause of thankfulness is to be 

 found in the myriad bulbous plants, the Alpine Irises, 

 the Fritillaries and Muscari, the Narcissi from mountain 

 pastures, the Snowdrops, Chionodoxa, Snowflakes and 

 Scilla. If rock gardens were formed for these flowers 

 alone, they would still be worthy of our care, and in 

 this chapter only bulbous plants will be considered. It 

 will be a good day for English gardens when the 

 practice of growing spring bulbs in ornamental lawn 

 beds is regarded with the same disfavour as parterres 

 of broken brick or the once-belauded carpet bedding. 



