346 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



heaps where my choicest plants are grown, and 

 which they think will look very nice in a year 

 or two when they are as well covered as the 

 others. I have mentioned this to show that 

 those who can appreciate the beauty of the 

 smaller and more delicate alpines, and grow 

 them for their own sake, must be contented 

 to see their favourites surrounded in many 

 instances by bare stones; but the stones, espe- 

 cially if they contain cracks, may often be 

 clothed with plants without any danger of 

 overcrowding. 



I have said little about choice of stone for 

 rockeries, though I have tried many kinds, and 

 of all I have tried I prefer the carboniferous 

 limestone, common in North Wales, Derbyshire, 

 and the North of Lancashire. The loose blocks 

 of this which lie about the land are full of 

 cracks, and are varied in shape. These crevices 

 are the very place for some of the choicest 

 alpines. Paronychia shows its true character 

 in no other spot. Potent ilia nitida flowers when 

 fixed in them, and there only. They are ex- 

 cellent for Phyteuma comosum. The Spider-web 

 Houseleeks delight in them, and so do some of 

 the smaller Saxifrages. There are many alpines 

 which do well only on condition of resting upon 

 stone with their leaves and branches. It is so 

 with Pentstemon Scouleri, and with that most 

 charming dwarf shrub, Genista pilosa, which 

 rises hardly an inch off the stone, though it 

 may cover several square feet. 



The best aspect for alpines is east, and west 

 is the worst; but there is not a spot on any 

 rockery which may not be filled with a suitable 

 tenant. Some of the most ornamental flowers 

 abhor, in the atmosphere of my garden, even 

 a glimpse of the sun. Ramondia pyrenaica is 

 withered up by it in an hour; so is Cyananthus 

 lobatus; and these must be shaded on every side 

 but north. As a general rule, I find all Hima- 

 layan alpines impatient of sunshine; they may 

 endure it in their own home, where they live 

 in an atmosphere always saturated with wet. 

 However, it is only the deep recesses of the 

 rockery towards the north which get no sun at 

 all, and plenty of things are quite contented on 

 the north side of the slope. 



Bulbous plants generally, I find, do as well 

 or better elsewhere. Their leaves are untidy 

 just at the time when the rockery ought to be 

 most gay and neat; and watering in summer, 

 which other plants require, is bad for them, so 

 I have not included them in my list. 



"Weeding, carefully done, is a necessity on 

 rockeries, for weeds will come. Plants which 



seed about freely are to be avoided. The Hare- 

 bells and alpine Poppies, pretty as they are, 

 must be excluded on this account; so must that 

 weedy little plant Saxifraga Cymbalaria, which 

 can be grown on any wall. The fewer weeds 

 there are, the more likely are seedlings of 

 choice and rare plants to assert themselves. 

 For instance, Geranium o.rgenteum grows in cre- 

 vices into which the seeds ?,re shot when ripe, 

 and where plants could not be inserted, and 

 keeps up the supply of this elegant alpine. 



A few words may be in place here about 

 raising alpines from seed; for constant succes- 

 sion is necessary, the duration of their life in 

 cultivation being far shorter than in their 

 native home. Reproduction from seed ensures 

 the healthiest and finest growth. When ripe 

 seed is gathered I recommend its being sown 

 at once. It is then more likely to come up 

 quickly; and as all such plants as we grow on 

 | rockeries are better sown in pans, there is 

 seldom difficulty in keeping small seedlings 

 through the winter. 



Many alpines seem never to make seed in 

 cultivation, and must be reproduced by divi- 

 sion or cuttings. Some plants grow very 

 slowly, though not long-lived, and a constant 

 succession from cuttings must be ensured. 



Where the area of rockery is considerable, a 

 cold frame should be assigned for keeping up 

 the supply of plants for it — cuttings and seed- 

 lings — in pots. The best treatment of these 

 plants in winter has been much discussed. I 

 think all attempts to imitate natural conditions, 

 such as snow and long rest, by unnatural means 

 are mistakes. During warm winters mountain 

 plants will grow, and must be allowed to grow, 

 and to keep them unnaturally dark or dry when 

 growing is fatal to their health. Even in severe 

 frosts air must be given abundantly in the day- 

 time, and the frames must not be muffled up. 

 Stagnant air, whether damp or dry, is their 

 worst enemy; but if the weather is warm 

 enough to set them growing, they may easily 

 die for want of moisture. There are certain 

 very early flowering alpines upon which a mix- 

 ture of admiration and lamentation is bestowed, 

 at the end of every winter. Their flowers are 

 often beautiful at the beginning of February, 

 and are suddenly destroyed by a return of 

 winter in its severest form. I may mention, 

 amongst others, Saxifraga Burseriana and sanda, 

 and their near relatives and hybrids, Primula 

 marginata and intermedia, Androsace carnea, 

 Chanuejasme and Laggeri, several dwarf species 

 of Alyssum and Iberis, and there are a good 



