i:a-2 



ROCK GARDENS 



larLM-b-aved saxifraj^-f-s, surli a^ -S. rm.^si folia , S. Ugn- 

 I'lhi, ;S'. Strachetji and S. i>n rinwi srrus . (^Juite at home 

 ami iu suitable positions wrr^ alpiin- laiinitlas. auriculas, 

 and (.'velauiejis. Tlioiv wn-p Icfiaud p^pidus. lliinalayau 

 p..l.[.iVs \JI.^r<n>"i'SKs \\\illi.-hi and.^".7'W/<■*^s/^■|. ^tnitialis 

 tn,ni thi- tiiiv liluc ^'< /W'-mm^ rrnn> to l!n' tall O^. -st^-- 

 Iruili'hi, aiufiiiadv kiiiiU of Fmil-,ia. Fritiilaria, Erica, 

 E|iiiiuM|iuin, (Jv|iri'|M-diiiin. < Irrlii-, !, ilium, Erythronimii, 

 Allium, AlysMiui, A.iui;'a.. Afhilloa. Aruirria, Sa-ina. 

 Soiu|i('rvivum ami (.-roc pin l;' Voronica. I.csidos oilier 

 l)lai]Cs too iiumi_-i-ous to luoutiou. J 'ait icularly in-omi- 

 lifuit positions, as on to], <.f tlu- ror-ks, or at a turniui;- 

 point in the patli. wre o..-ruiiiod l.y sour- stately 

 l.lant. such as ],-!n,<ui jhiUhuUiih, AraHllnis ij>'>/U.s,vr 

 0'ii,nnr-< »nn>ir,ihf. or .^<-.ihr</. wliile fnx,iJ,-]o\cs, vcr- 

 hascums ami su(di llko phmts would lill u]) the recesses 

 ill th(. shrul.s oil ilio top (d' Ihe rockery. ( hie end of tin.' 

 roid^erv beneath the -bade of (..verbaui: Iul;- trees Avas 

 devoted to hardy ferns, ^vJiich i^vw wilh wonderful 

 luxuriance. "With the varicdy of ]-arc and interesiiiiL.^ 

 plants, together with the artistic y- t iiaiuia! ai)|iearanee 

 of the whole rockery, a neu'e beautiful phice it would be 

 diriicnlt to conceive. 



With these ph'asant renieinbran-'es in mind the 

 writer built a roekerv in ],s!):s, in t)ie ]^>otauir Gardens 

 of Smith Colleire. Northauiptun, i^lass., s(mie\vhat after 

 the paitern of t)ie om- at Kew. hut at i)resent on a very 

 niiicli more limited M-de. The position chosen (tin- 

 only one available I i-, near the outskirts of the g-ar(h_'n 

 ]n-oper. <'n what was forimu-Iy a .Li'rassy southern sloju-. 

 A ruttinu- was made tbroui;'b tin- slope in ]nuch the 

 Name nnmner as the nm.- at Kew. hut to secure j^-oed 

 northern aspects flu- soil was all lianked on the south- 

 ern >ide. The path, whieh is quite |e\'el, varies in width 

 fr(.m :i to G tVi-t. The liei;j:ht of tie- b:inks iu wliich the 

 rocks a.re jdaced raiiLies fr^.un 2 feet at tin.' entrances to 

 siuiie H or ]0 feet at 'In- lii-hest point. Forr-irks we used 

 lari;-e, water-worn benlders rollecteil in the A'iciiiity. (.bn.- 

 shaded recess, with a northern aspeet, is dev<.ited to na- 

 tive ferns, which at the present time, lUOl, numher 

 soun? 40 species. Tlie v/hole rockery outside is banked 

 with dowering; shrubs, and on the southern hank out- 

 side are planted souie trei-s, chielly c.atal(tas, for the 

 jinrpose of shading tlo- southern aspect of the rock- 

 ei\v. as well as for ornament. Water is kiid on so that 

 the jdauts nii^dit not suffer in dry weatlier. The writer 

 ha^- not been success ful with ali)ine primulas, mossy 

 saxifra.LTes, tufted .^n-ntiaus, and several other suVjjects 

 wlLich deli.L'-ht in a cn(d. moist climate, perhaps from, his 

 not liaviui^ pro\-hled tin.- ideal r-otidJtions for such 

 plants, lait more ]nohaidy due to <iur extremes of cli- 

 mate. Slill Ihert.' is a lar,LL-e varief>' \\'liich <loes well 

 here. Thu writer has found nnist of the low-growin;j,- 

 veronicas, sedums, sempervivums, arabises, alyssums, 

 achilleas, alsines. erysimums, a(|nile^■ias, campanulas, 

 Stella rias, pad ly sand ras, the heautiful shruhby little 

 J>'ijiJn'i- C lufiinnn , ami many others, do very well in the 

 more sunny cu' soutliern aspects of the rockerj', while on 

 the northeriL aspects cerastiunis, iberises, ajugas, Ice- 

 land po])pies, rosettc' and large-leaved saxifrages, moss 

 pinks, e]uinc-diuins, iierniarias, arenarias, cardamlnes, 

 armcrias, dianthusi.'s, native orchises, cypripediums anil 

 many older ])hints do wi-Il, On tin.' top of the rockery, 

 to till in recesses in the shruhhery, are planted fox- 

 glov(.-s, verhascunis and tall ver'.)nicas, while at cons])i(^- 

 uous points are planted clumps of Borronln cordu/i/, 

 Tr!<-ki<i s/icrios(f, ArinirHs ^Sul rcsfrr. i>r any herbaceous 

 plant which looks wi.dl as an isolated ,-pecimen. Iu 

 amon;^ the plants in irregular colonies are i>binted hardy 

 bulbs, such as crocuses, scdllas, ornithogalnras, nar- 

 cissi, snowdrops, chioimdoxas, and grape liyacinths; 

 these come up tin' Ilrst thing in the spring and blossom 

 before the other [dauts ^-et well started into growth, and 

 are a decided ac'.piisiti<m tr) a rockery. 



Almost all aljiine plants may be readily propagated 

 by seed, cuttings or division of the plants, The writer 

 raises soiue from seed each year to fill up any vacancies 

 in the s[>ring. Jlis plan is to sow the seeds in 4-inch 

 pots early in February in a flnely-prepari'd li^dit soil, 

 and place the pots in a )noderately warm greenhouse; 

 here they soon geniiiuate, and as soon as large enough 

 to handle they are transjilaiited either into other p(d.s 

 similarly prepared, or into small, shallow boxes. They 



EGDRIGUE2IA 



grow vigorously throu,u,ii the early spring months, and 

 by the first of :\lay tln.-y may be i)hinted out perma- 

 nently. Seeds may als(. be sown in some shaded frame 

 in spring and the plants transferred to the rockery iu 

 the fall. All the plants in the rockery should have a 

 li^ht coverhig of leaves or light strawy manure to |u-o- 

 tect them from ex<-essive freezing and thawing during 

 the winter, esjiecially those xjlanted on the southern 

 i-xp(.'sure, or they may be protected with a few hemlock 

 In-auches laid lightly over them. These should be re- 

 moved as soon as the weather will permit in early 

 spring. In planting a newly made roekery it is a mistake 

 Jo ])lant too thick. Each plant should be allowed room 

 to develop so as to show its true character, and the 

 idant should then bi- limited iu a measure to that s])ace, 

 esiiecially if a iiiiicb nmre rampant grower than its 

 nei,::,hiHirs. As in olbi.-r jKirts of the garden, weeds will 

 insinuate themsehes wherever they can gain a foot- 

 hold. These must be removed as soon as they appear, 

 and the vhole rockery should be g.uie over at least once 

 in teji davs to keep each plant troni encroaching on it.s 

 neighbors, an. I to ke-ei- all in go.Ml order. 



Edwaki.i J. Canninc;. 



ROCKET. See /[rs/u:rl.-.. 



ROCKET CANDYTUET. See Jhrris corviniria. 

 ROCKET, YELLOW. B.rrharct rifjgaris. 

 ROCK ROSE. See Cistits : also Ilvlin xtlitmiDH. 



ROCKY MOUNTAIN EEE PLANT. 



Ch'i. 



ndifijri- 



fulia. 



R0DG:£RSIA (Gonnnodore Eodgcrs, U, S. Navy). 

 Saxlfraijarcir. A genus of one species, a bardy herba- 

 ceous perennial for which ihe following names have 

 ]icri\ proposed: K'ldgers' Bronze Leaf, Bronze Leaf of 

 JaiKiu and Stately Five-Leaf. It j^rows ;-!-4 ft. high, and 

 the leaves are finger-shaped, the '> lobes being bold in 

 outline, angled and serrate. In the spring the foliage 

 is liglit green; in summer it assumes a metallic Vn-onzy 

 hue. The plant is a vigorous grower, and under favtn-- 

 able circumstances has been known to make a clump li 

 ft. in diameter, the largest Ivs. being a yard across and 

 liorne on stalks H ft. long. The fls. are borne in ndd- 

 sumraer on stalks 4-5 ft. high. The general style of 

 inflorescence is that of the popular Astilbe, to which it 

 is closely allied. The fis. are very small, but make a 

 feathery spray of Huffy white bloom. The panicle is a 

 foot or more louii- ami as wide at the base. Technically 

 the fls. have no petals; what seem to be petals are the 

 white calyx-segnn-iits. As a flowering plant it has been 

 said by enthusiasts to be superior to Astilbe, but the 

 bloom is scantier, )-ather greenisli at first, and perha]'s 

 does not last as long. It may not be so amenable to 

 forcing. Rodgersia is a native of the subalpine regions 

 of Japan and is presumably hardy in our nortl[H:-rn 

 states. It is offered by importers of Japanese plants. 

 The plant is highly esteemed by English connoisseurs, 

 but seems to be nearly unknown to American gardens. 

 Although any deep, rich garden soil will do, it is said 

 to prefer a moist peaty soil. It should be placed in a 

 sunny position, with plenty of room, where high winds 

 cannot damage the foliage. Easily ]n'oi"iagated. 



Botanically Rodgersia is ch.'se to certain species of 

 Astilbe, having 10 stamens and no jietals; it differs in 

 having connate carpels, scorpioid inflorescence and 5- 

 cut rather than thrice ternate folia;;'e. Other generic 

 characters are : cal) xdobes .l: o\-ary 2-3-loculed; styles 2 

 or ;.i; stigmas capitate: ovules many. 



podophylla, Gray. Rhizome thick, scaly: radical Ivs. 

 fi-lobed; stemdvs. iidobed : cvnu's scorpioid, f<u-miuiJ: a 

 large panicle. B.M.GOUl. G.G. 11. 20: Ul. G.M. :!:!:477> 

 Gn. H(i, p. 171; 38, p. 125; lb, p. 4;i4. ^^_ ^,i_ 



EODRIGUEZIA (Emanuel Rodriguez, Spanish bot- 

 anist and apothecary). OrcJii/Jilrcn'. A small genus of 

 Smith American orchids, a few of which are cultivated 

 for their graceful racemes of delicate flowers. The 

 flowers are nearly always fragrant. The plants vary 

 somewhat in habit. Some species Uirwi neat, compact 



