The ideal way in wall gardening is to place the plants in position when building the wall, thus giving ample soil for the roots and avoiding air holes 



Wall Gardens for America — By Fletcher Steele, rr hu 



REFUTING THE PREJUDICED IDEA THAT THESE CHARMING FEATURES ARE NOT FOR US — WHY THEY 

 CAN BE INTRODUCED INTO OUR GARDENS — HOW TO MAKE THEM AND WHAT TO GROW IN THEM 



WALL gardens can be successfully 

 made and maintained in America. 

 It is frequently asserted that in 

 summer our dry air and long 

 droughts, and in the winter the damage 

 done by expansion of freezing water will 

 spell failure for wall gardens here. But 

 these obstacles can be overcome. To be 

 sure we cannot have the identical effects 

 that are possible in the moist, equable 

 climate of England, nor do we want exactly 

 the same. American conditions call for 

 American treatment. 



By a wall garden is meant, ordinarily, a 

 wall from the sides of which grow tufted 

 and trailing plants. In making such a 

 garden all the steps should be planned in 



Just built The small plants are already set in the crevices 



advance. Select a retaining wall, or a 

 place where a retaining wall can be easily 

 built. 



A place on a slope is best where a terrace 

 will add to the convenience and appearance 

 of the grounds, or where it can be com- 

 pletely screened off if it is a too sophis- 

 ticated element in the landscape. When 

 the place is decided upon, cut away the 

 soil, to the depth of the finished wall on the 

 lower side. The soil which is to be taken 

 away from the lower side of the wall can 

 generally be used to fill on the higher side 

 to make a more or less level area. When 

 all the soil is moved, dig a trench for the 

 wall foundation, the bottom of which 

 should be well below the frost line. 

 Be sure that the foundation is 

 wide enough. At the bottom of 

 the foundation, a dry retaining 

 wall (one built without mortar), 

 should be at least one third as 

 wide as the total height to the 

 top of the wall. The width may 

 be gradually reduced as the wall 

 gains in height from the bottom. 

 The batter, or slope, of an ordin- 

 ary retaining wall may be on either 

 side, but for a wall garden the 

 slope should all be on the outer 



face. The steepest slope on which plants 

 can be satisfactorily grown is four inches 

 horizontal retreat to each foot in height. 



After the foundation has been laid as 

 for an ordinary stone retaining wall, the 

 gardening begins. For the wall must be 

 filled with soil and planted as the stones 

 are laid. Failure to do this is responsible 

 for most of the unsuccessful wall gardens. 

 If it is not done it is impossible thoroughly 

 to fill the interstices with soil, and air holes 

 between the rocks are fatal. 



In an ordinary dry wall small stones or 

 spalls are used to fill up the holes between 

 the larger rocks. In a soil wall, the holes 

 are all filled with earth well rammed in all 

 the horizontal and vertical spaces and 



The second year. The plants have grown and are conspicuous 



39 



