ALPINE PLANTS. 
379 
Form. — This term is used here in a very quahfied sense. FormaHty 
in a rock-garden is quite inappropriate. In the informal formation 
of the rock-garden Hes its beauty. " This is an art that doth mend 
nature, change it rather, but the art itself is nature." In carpet bedding 
we have art without nature : here we have art combining with nature 
to form in miniature craggy heights and deep ravines, sunny slopes and 
shady nooks, murmuring waterfalls and crystal lakelets. A carpet bed 
is a mere product of compass and shears. A well made rock-garden is a 
dream — a creation of the brain, as varied in character as the complex and 
subtle workings of the human mind. In short, it is the highest form of 
art in gardening. 
A rockery may be built against a wall, with the wall blinded as I have 
shown ; or it may be ridge- shaped, according to circumstances. Wherever 
a natural situation presents itself it should be utilised. In creating a 
rockery upon, or rather out of, a level surface, in my opinion, the best 
way is to dig out a deep trench or cutting running partly east and west, 
and partly north and south, using the dug-up soil to form the slopes, about 
half of which would be below and half above the surface level. The part 
running east and west should have the slope facing north little, if at all, 
above the level, with the opposite bank proportionately higher. Shade- 
loving plants being in the minority, less provision for them is required, 
and this arrangement admits more sunshine to the sunny side. The 
general form should be outlined on the soil before a stone is laid, the 
walks formed and bottomed with rough gravel or road metal and proper 
drainage secured. The entrance, with only one walk dividing the two 
banks, may gradually widen, and in the centre a low ridge rockery may 
be formed, or if water is to be introduced a pond or bog-garden, or all 
three, may be formed. It has been said that we form our ideas of heaven 
more from being told what will not be there than from what will be ; and 
so if I enumerate some of the things that are not in a well-made rock- 
garden it may help us better than anything else to grasp what should be. 
In an ideal rock-garden there are no regular or even slopes. The ridge 
rockery is not like a potato pit covered with sharp-pointed stones. The 
walks are not edged with tile, or wood, or carefully trimmed box. No 
brick-bats or broken-nosed Venuses ever trespass there. The sculptor's 
art, the mason's trowel, tree roots, and fire clinkers are unknown. The 
spirit-level and garden line are nowhere to be found because straight 
lines and levels have no existence there. 
The Stones, and how to Build them. — Conglomerate rocks such as may 
be found along the shores of Bute cannot, in my opinion, be surpassed 
either in appearance or suitability. Break them as you will, each piece 
still retains the appearance of being complete in itself. A broken whin 
stone shows its wounds. The particular kind of stone is, however, not 
a matter of vital importance, but a porous, spongy material is to be 
preferred. Most of the blocks should be of a large size, from 50 to 
100 lb. and over, in order to insure stability. In laying the stones the 
base to start from is of course the walk. The walk itself should wind 
its way in serpentine curves and sharp angles with a few ups and downs 
and natural-looking steps thrown in. 
Among youthful reminiscences I recollect having often dinned in my 
o 
