Little Gardens on Crannied Walls — By H. s. Adams, 



INGENIOUS WAYS OF BEAUTIFYING RETAINING WALLS BY GROWING PLANTS — HOW 

 THE IDEAL WALL GARDEN MAY BE BUILT AND THE PLANTS TO PUT IN IT 



NATURE has little liking for bare walls. 

 The moment she can get an entering 

 wedge into those that men rear of stone 

 and brick she adorns them with verdure 

 or flowers — or both. 



Man caught on to this and learned a new 

 lesson — how to make a garden on a wall. 

 It was such a beautiful lesson that the won- 

 der is no more Americans have learned 

 it in the years of English "wall gardening," 

 especially as it may readily resolve itself 

 into one of the simplest and most per- 

 manent methods of growing flowers. 



Not infrequently it is merely a question of 

 taking advantage of an opportunity close at 

 hand and requiring only the finishing touch. 

 Why longer neglect such an opportunity when 

 the unique joys of "wall gardening" are 

 yours at a minimum of time and thought? 

 It may be only an old retaining wall, the 

 rough foundation of the hillside extension 

 of an ancient house or an ordinary "stone 

 hedge"- — yet it is capable of taking on a 

 greater glory that you would scarcely dream 

 of. Picture bold masses of pink, white, 

 blue, red or orange flowers on your wall, 

 and you get some idea of the possibilities 

 of the charming perpendicular garden. 



To have a wall ready is, however, at once 

 an advantage and a disadvantage. Some- 

 thing worth while can be made of it with a 

 minimum of tinkering, but, on the other 

 hand, no amount of tinkering can ever 

 jjut it where it will be the equal of a wall 

 garden properly planned. 



Such a thought-out garden should have 

 for its foundation a "dry wall" — one built 

 of stone without mortar — but with this 



A wall garden where the planting overhangs; 

 vines and trailing plants may be used 



The wall garden brings a breath of the mountains 

 to the home grounds 



difference that earth instead of air is used 

 for the spaces. 



The wall ought to be constructed in 

 planting time, in order that the plants 

 may be built in, as it were. The older and 

 tougher the stone the better, for the wall 

 garden must look natural, and there should 

 be a wide variation in size; even the small- 

 est pieces can be used. 



Stability is a prime consideration; with- 

 out that, all lalDor is in vain. Accord- 

 ingly begin with a layer of the largest 

 stones, setting them, with the flatter side 

 down, on firm ground, and, if preferred, 

 letting them go a little below the surface. 

 If large enough, the stones may be placed 

 only one deep. The next step is to begin 

 to add the soil. This should be filled in 

 behind the stones and packed down very 

 hard with a rammer, to reduce as much as 

 possible the inevitable settling down after 

 rains. Two or three inches of the soil, gritty 

 as well as good, should next be placed on top 

 of the layer of stones, to within about two 

 inches of the edge, and pressed down tightly. 



Then it is time to begin planting, and 

 unless the principle of the thing is under- 

 stood right there, failure is again courted. 

 The basis of this principle of "wall garden- 

 ing" is found in the habits of alpine plants. 

 There may be only a little rosette or cushion 

 of foliage, but it will be crowned by a pro- 

 fusion of flowers that suggest far more 

 nourishment than the rocks seem to offer. 

 The secret is that down a hidden crevice 

 into which soil has worked its way, tiny 

 roots are penetrating a matter of feet to 

 get sustenance. So the soil of the success- 

 ful wall garden is packed into every bit of 

 space between the stones to provide con- 

 genial avenues for the roots of the plants 

 60 



to reach the more abundant earth behind. 

 To actually simulate nature in the planting, 

 by a short cut, plants are laid on the earth- 

 covered stones in such a way as to leave 

 the crown resting on the edge of the layer 

 of soil and the roots spread out longitudi- 

 nally. Well established plants are better 

 than those just divided. Lest the second 

 layer of stone bear too heavily on them, 

 small stones are placed here and there, and a 

 little soil sprinkled over the whole. Then 

 the second layer of stone and plants is 

 added and so on to the top, which, ordi- 

 narily, should be about four feet high, to 

 bring the plants on an easy line with the 

 eye, and not less than two and a half feet 

 thick. After the first layer the stones 

 should be slightly tilted toward the back, 

 to strengthen the wall and to provide a 

 slope for water drainage. 



This plan is for a simple retaining wall — 

 the best for such a garden, both as to fitting 

 in with the surroundings and not drying out. 

 It is readily applied, however, to a division 

 wall of stone, with either one side or both 

 planted. The procedure is the same, but 

 both sides must be worked on at once, and 

 the soil inside — liberal in quantity to 

 provide against drying out — should have 

 stones scattered through it. As in the case 

 of the retaining wall, each layer of stone 

 from the top down ought to project about 

 two inches beyond the one above it. This 

 looks more natural and gives the plants a 

 door-sill. The layers should always be 

 so arranged that some of the larger stones 

 act as bridges. The planting may or may Xj 

 not extend to the top of the wall; if it does ^m\ 

 the plants must be carefully packed in with 

 small stones to prevent washing out. If 

 water is likely to settle behind the base, 

 build in, near the ground, some small drain 

 pipes. 



The more stable mortar wall may be 

 built of either stone or brick; the former is 

 better for the plants, with a space — pene- 

 trating to the interior — left here and there 

 for the plants. Excepting with a very 

 profuse planting, however, it is not possible 

 to make the smoother surface look natural 

 and there is the added disadvantage of the 

 practical necessity of planting after the wall 

 is built. 



In the case of existing mortar walls a 

 stone or brick must be chiseled out here and 

 there — never in straight lines — for soil 

 cavities. Obviously it would not do simply 

 to stick a plant in and fill up the hole with 

 earth. It is necessary to anchor it by 

 packing bits of stone and brick around it. 

 As for a "dry wall" already built, pieces 

 must be pried out for the larger soil pockets. 

 Weeds can be taken out with a chisel, if 

 not deep-rooted. The planting will be ten 

 times as hard as with a planned wall garden 

 and less effective — to say nothing of the 



