A SUSSEX ROCK-GARDEN. 
275 
thrive higher up the banks. In this part of the wood I have introduced 
the beautiful Myosotis sylvatica collected in Teesdale. May I recom- 
mend this as a woodland plant well worth growing? It is of a very 
attractive light -blue colour with a yellow eye, and does not require the 
same amount of moisture as some of the Forget-me-nots. 
We now turn to the Rock-garden proper, but must mention a 
rather serious set-back that occurred shortly after we had begun the 
building of its upper part. After very heavy rainfalls, we found that 
the large stones at the base of the artificial mound which we had con- 
structed were slowly moving towards the edge of the quarry, and after 
watching this movement for some time with considerable anxiety 
we saw that the position was hopeless, and after another heavy rain 
a vast quantity of stone slipped right over the edge of the quarry 
and crashed down below, breaking all the fine rocks to pieces. This 
necessitated digging out a quantity of soft layers of clay and rock, 
and rebuilding this portion with reinforced concrete, and facing it 
with stone. The accident retarded the work for two or three months. 
It is extremely fortunate, however, that it happened when it did, and 
not later on, when all our tackle had been removed and the site covered 
with plants. 
A fine thorn marks the commencement of our work of planting, and 
it is from under the far side of this thorn that the rock-garden is entered 
from the bottom. Beneath its shade a group of the true British Oxlip, 
Primula elatior, grows. This, as probably many of you know, only 
occurs in the neighbourhood of Saffron Walden and Bardfield over 
a small area, partly in Essex and partly in Suffolk. The plant that is 
found in many places throughout the country, and commonly called 
the Oxlip, is a hybrid that occurs very frequently between the Cowslip 
and Primrose, and is quite distinct from the true Oxlip, which is a 
good species. The heads of Oxlips always grow to one side, and the 
species has a much less inflated calyx than either the Primrose or 
Cowslip. 
A small side-path leading from under the May Tree passes out to 
the edge of the Rock-garden, and a group of Spar axis flowers just 
above this path. 
Walking up the main path, on the left, we see a fine clump of 
Nierembergia frutescens, which has proved more or less hardy with 
us. It is a beautiful plant, with flowers like a large pale Linum. 
At the foot of the bank on the right, Waldsteinia geoides scrambles 
down into the path, while a few paces further along clumps of Heli- 
chrysum angusti folium, and a silver-leaved Thyme which is sold as 
Thymus Serpyllum splendens, are seen. I cannot, however, believe 
that this silver-leaved Thyme with a perfume almost identical with 
the scented Verbena, can be any form of our common wild Thyme. 
On the right is a clump of Hieracium villosum, with its beautiful 
white shaggy foliage and brilliant yellow flowers, too well known to 
need any comment. 
Two or three paces beyond the Hieracium villosum is a fine plant of 
