ROCKERIES ON THE LAWN. 



HOW THEY SHOU 



OME things must indeed be seen to 

 b e appreciated ; and among 

 those which no artist's brush 

 can reproduce and to which no 

 writer's pen can do justice, are 

 nature's rockeries — chaotic 

 structures which she has 

 thrown together, draped with 

 ferns, cushioned with moss, and 

 touched with color in a manner bewitching and 

 well nigh inimitable, especially if she builds by a 

 mountain brook. What lover of nature has not 

 some such secluded dell in mind which he longs to 

 take up bodily, brook and all, and place in a more 

 accessible spot — on his own lawn for instance? A 

 selfish streak runs through us all, and like the cele- 

 brated knight, we sometimes feel that nothing short 

 of "the earth" will satisfy us. 



Most people have to grow their ferns without rocks, 

 and the latter are by no means essential ; nevertheless a 

 few stones judiciously placed are an advantage in fern- 

 culture. But the usual stone-wall style of rock-work is 

 anything but artistic. In determining the general plan 

 of your rockery, always have in mind the principle 

 that art must approach nature so near that there shall 

 be no abrupt transition from what is natural to what 

 is artificial; for when there is such a transition the beauty 

 of the display, no matter how elaborate it may be, is 

 much impaired if not wholly lost. The spell is broken, 

 so to speak, when one is forced to think, ' 'Ah, that effect 

 is not natural." The "eternal fitness of things" is 

 always considered in every work of art, such as the well- 

 disposed features of landscape gardening may properly 

 be called. 



Imitate nature, then, to a certain extent ; but remember 

 that too much confusion is out of place on a well- 

 kept lawn ; also that boulders are not always obtainable 

 or easily handled. Something " 'twixt art and nature " 

 however, can be made with little expenditure of time 

 and labor, which will afford more pleasure in proportion 

 to the space occupied than could possibly be obtained in 

 any other way. The following description of the rock- 

 ery on my lawn, in constructing which 1 strove to secure 

 that natural effect referred to, may prove helpful to 

 inexperienced builders, who are welcome to the benefit 

 of my experience. 



One of the main requirements to be considered is 

 generally lost sight of, viz., a soil connection, through 

 every pocket or crevice, with the earth beneath ; other- 

 wise capillary attraction has no more chance to produce 



LD BE BUILT. 



a damp soil than in an ordinary flower-pot when the 

 drainage is imperfect. 



A corner location is desirable if shrubbery can be had 

 for a shady background, and the rock-work sloped to- 

 wards the open front. But as no such corner was 

 available on my lawn, a more exposed situation was 

 chosen, although partly shaded by large trees. Out 

 of deference to the lawn-mower, and to avoid extra 

 shearing, the ground-plan of my rockery is circular and 

 composed for the most part of lo or 15-pound stones. 

 I call myself fortunate in securing a curved slab of cal- 

 careous rock which forms several feet of this outline ; 

 this slab is in a state of disintegration, consequently 

 an irregular layer of the stone can be sprung at one end 

 to admit and hold a pellaea in its rocky grasp as faith- 

 fully as ever they were wedged elsewhere by nature. 



The filling in of soil must of course keep pace with 

 the rock-work ; most any soil will do for the foundation 

 if a composition of muck, leaf-mold, loam and sand 

 can be placed about and within reach of the fern-roots. 

 The desirable irregularity of structure must come in the 

 second tier of stones. With this idea in mind, four large, 

 picturesque-looking stones were placed at right angles 

 to each other, inclined slightly towards the center — thus 

 forming four large pockets, which are walled up on the 

 outer side some eight or ten inches, while the inner wall 

 measures about two feet and a half. Greater height is 

 not desirable because in the large central pocket grows 

 a fine specimen of Onocica Strtithtopteris [S. Gertnanica): 

 and even at this elevation a light wire support is necessary 

 to preserve the vase-like shape of this tropical-looking 

 fern from damage by wind-storms. 



Large roots of Osmiinda regalis and O. ciuuaiiiomea 

 were literally built into the four receptacles described, 

 while the space between the first and second tier of stone 

 affords ample room for Aspidium Goldianmu , A. viaj-gi- 

 nale. A, acrosticlioides and others; one Adiaiitiiiii pedutiim 

 alone is placed on the most exposed side, as far as possi- 

 ble from the drip from overhanging boughs, for it repels 

 water, as its Greek name, adiantum (unwetted) indicates. 

 So great, indeed, is the antipathy of maidenhair to 

 moisture, that after a wetting its fronds have the appear- 

 ance of having been dried — a paradoxical state of affairs 

 happily not common. Polypodium and phegopteris 

 are also represented, while Asplenmm eheneuiii, A. 

 l^richomanes and the rare little Ruia intiraria are sand- 

 wiched in between bits of limestone, in cosy nooks of 

 which there seems to be no end. 



On the north side, Cystopleris bulhifcra drapes its 

 graceful fronds on the cool gray surface of solid rock. 

 The opposite rock is of a reddish color, and forms sub- 

 stance with chink and hollows scooped by the elements, 



