Villa Gardens 79 



It is best, however, to avoid complexity in 

 such small gardens as we are considering, and 

 to be content with the same soil throughout. 



Having settled the general contour, proceed 

 to add your rocks or burrs, disposing them so 

 as to form a series of irregular pockets at 

 varying levels, always remembering the im- 

 portance of good drainage and the necessity 

 for an unobstructed depth of soil of at least 

 three feet, which is none too deep for some of 

 the plants you may wish to introduce. 



The masses of rock should be partly buried 

 in the soil, and arranged squarely ; not in a 

 series of scallop-shaped enclosures. Let some 

 pockets contain two square feet of soil, some 

 a quarter that amount of surface, and so on 

 in apparently a naturally careless manner. 

 Use no cement, but simply bed your rock 

 masses in the soil, filling up all crevices with 

 earth, well rammed in. You will, of course, 

 add soil as you go on, to make the surface 

 approximately level in each pocket. 



It is useful, and adds to the picturesqueness 

 of a rock garden, to make rough steps at one 



