THAT ELUSIVE ELEMENT OF BEAUTY IN THE 



ROCK GARDEN 



CLARENCE FOWLER A. S. L. A. 



Placing the Rock Garden where it Properly Belongs — Screening 

 for Seclusion and Surprise — Materials and Manner of Making 



ROCK garden can be a charming spot but often is a 

 grotesque collection of stones and plants, inappro- 

 priately placed with no reason whatever for being, ex- 

 cept to add another unpleasant feature to the grounds 

 of the person who tells you she "loves naturalistic gardens." 

 To show her appreciation of nature she has piled a heap of stones 

 and earth in the middle of a smooth, clipped lawn and planted 

 it with tall pink Phlox, yellow Nasturtiums, and perhaps a few 

 red Begonias, and an Ivy from the tomb of Washington. To 

 complete this picture of sylvan loveliness, walks bordered 

 with magenta Petunia and red Salvia have been allowed to 

 wander at will about a level lawn. A golden Arborvitae or blue 

 Retinispora squarrosa giving reason for an extra twist in the 



H. G. Healy, Photo. 



ROCK-WORK SKILFULLY HANDLED IN NATURE'S OWN MANNER 



The naturally rocky character of Westchester County makes an ideal setting 

 and renders any sort of rock-work, if cleverly introduced as here, com- 

 pletely devoid of the artificiality which too often mars it. Garden of Irvin 

 S. Cobb, Ossining, New York; designed by Clarence Fowler, A. S. L. A. 



302 



meandering, under the impression that any line that is not 

 straight is natural and all colors in nature are beautiful however 

 arranged. 



Fortunately "rock" gardens of this sort, with their inappro- 

 priate settings, are disappearing through the influence of the 

 garden clubs and horticultural magazines, which are beginning 

 to turn their attention to garden design as well as the culture of 

 plants. 



1 do not like the term "naturalistic" as often applied to rock 

 gardens. The best examples are undoubtedly inspired by na- 

 tural scenery, but it is impossible with the necessary walks, 

 rough steps, and plants gathered from the four corners of the 

 earth for the final result not to show the hand of man and take a 

 more or less gardenesque character. This is not 

 an objection; my only quarrel is with the term, 

 which is deceptive and apt to lead astray the 

 thoughtless by introducing features that might 

 well be omitted. 



Neither would 1 call all rock gardens "alpine" 

 as there are many plants usually grown in a gar- 

 den that do equally well under the more natural- 

 istic treatment and, if neglected, do not look as 

 unkempt as in a formal planting. I always think of 

 the alpine garden as a collection of plants most of 

 which will not grow under ordinary garden con- 

 ditions. This limits the designer in his material 

 if he is building for scenic effect, rather than a 

 place for growing a collection of plants. 



The Proper Kind of Place 



AN IDEAL location for a rock garden is a hillside 

 l with outcropping natural rock where there are 

 both trees and open spaces. The rock plants must 

 have plenty of sunshine which, someone has said, 

 is the life and soul of a garden of flowers. The 

 paths should follow the natural contours and the 

 addition of a shrub or bold projecting rock to break 

 the view is effective. 



Different levels should be taken advantage of 

 wherever possible by flights of rough steps to ac- 

 centuate the height; the addition of a few low 

 steps on practically even ground will often give 

 the appearance of rising several feet. If water can 

 be introduced, the picture is still more pleasing. A 

 natural spring is a bonanza and by a little careful 

 planning can often be carried to different levels with 

 intercepting waterfalls and pools. Many a hillside 

 has been made into a sunbaked lawn when at the 

 same, or even less, expense it could have been de- 

 veloped as a rock or a wild garden. 



The large open spaces might be planted with 

 ground covers, many of which grow wild, and by 

 a little clipping and weeding are even more attrac- 

 tive than in their native habitats. For the shady 

 places under the trees and large shrubs, such ground 

 covers as Ferns and the Japanese Spurge (Pachy- 

 sandra terminalis) grow most luxuriantly. The 

 Gout-weed (Aegopodium Podagraria) a European 

 escape, is most attractive where there is plenty of 

 room and no danger of crowding out its neighbors. 



