254 
The Garaen Magazine, January, 1921 
cement being poured between the sides of the box and the wall 
of the hole. When this was firm, the box was removed and the 
interior walls and bottom smoothed off with a mixture consist- 
ing of equal parts of cement and sand; the bottom with a slant 
toward the standpipe for proper drainage. A coping of small 
stone slabs was cemented to the edge of the pool. 
The next stage was to harmonize the rockery with its im- 
mediate surroundings. This was brought about by retaining 
walls at the sides, placed in a manner to resemble the adjacent 
outcrops. The stones were laid in tiers, bedded in the earth, 
and tipped backward and downward with the object of catching 
and holding the rain water for the plants, which, as this part of 
the work progressed, were put in place and firmly tamped in 
loam, care being exercised not to put a plant in a pocket with 
an air space behind it, or a projecting bit of stone which might 
cut off the moisture. The plants on the remainder of the struc- 
ture were put in after it was completed, loam having been firmly 
packed in the wide joints between the stones. 
Last to be built was the grotto, with its roof of flat slabs and 
little channel leading to the pool making quite a realistic brook. 
Now followed the general planting which completed the 
scheme and tied the new garden to its background. On the 
upper level, between the two flights of steps, literally on the 
roof of the grotto, tall plants such as German Iris, Funkias, 
and Sedum spectabile, designed to be viewed from the garden, 
were placed. At the outside of the steps, Funkias masked the 
bare lower branches of the Privet hedge. Inserted in the cracks 
of the upper steps and the walls of the grotto were the following 
rock plants: 
Arabis alpina 
Rock-cress 6-8 in., early Apr-June. Gray foliage; white flowers. 
Aubretia deltoidea. 
Wall-cress, 2-10 in., mid-Apr. to late May. Trailing plant thickly 
covered with violet-purple flowers. 
Saponaria ocymoides 
Rock soapwort, 6-9 in., late May to Aug. Pink; foliage dark 
green. 
Nepeta Mussini 
Grey Catmint 2 ft. July, Aug. Luxuriant gray foliage; violet 
flowers. Grows much smaller in rock garden. Also an excellent 
edging in the flower garden. 
Tunica saxifraga 
Saxifrage-like Tunica, 6-10 in., June-July. Quantities of tiny 
pink flowers above minute dark green foliage. 
Cerastium tomcntosum 
Mouse-ear Chickweed, 3-6 in., June. Large white flowers, silvery 
foliage. 
Underneath, in the cool drip of the grotto, were little Ferns, 
and the tiny white Viola blanda brought in from the woods. 
There was also Veronica repens, a prostrate plant covered in 
May with racemes of minute blue flowers. 
At the edge of the pool was an accentuative group of the 
tall white Siberian Iris. In the water, a single plant of the 
dwarf white Water-lily (Nymphaea pygmaea); Pickerel-weed 
(Pontederia cordata), with its blue flower spike and erect arrow- 
like leaves; and Salvinia braziliensis, a feathery floating aquatic 
to be removed to the aquarium in winter. 
In the broader cracks of the stone platform were creeping 
Thyme (Thymus Serpyllum), whose downy leaves give forth 
an aromatic scent when trodden upon; several kinds of dwarf 
Sedum, and the rosette-like Sempervivums or House-leeks. 
These plants are best fitted to endure the direct rays of the sun. 
The retaining walls of rock on each side of the broad lower 
steps were sparsely planted with the following, for crowding in 
such a situation is an abomination- 
Arabis alpina 
Rock-cress, 6-8 in., early Apr-June. Gray foliage; white flowers. 
Phlox subulata 
Moss-pink, 4-6 in., late Apr. to late May. Prostrate plants with 
moss-like foliage. White and lavender varieties only. 
Dianthus plumarius 
Garden Pink, 8-12 in., June. Gray foliage; fragrant white or 
pink flowers. 
Myosotis alpestris 
Alpine Forget-me-not, 3-8 in., May to early June. Blue flowers 
branching erect as the plant grows older. 
The sloping banks between the retaining walls and hedge 
afforded an opportunity for somewhat larger planting effects. 
Behind, and overhanging the seats were two Flowering-crabs 
with Ground-junipers at their feet, which gave a sense of per- 
manency not furnished by herbaceous plants alone. In front 
of these were planted the following: 
NOW THE FEATURE OF THE WHOLE GARDEN 
The steps connecting two levels become a rockery with plants 
set in the crevices, and a convenient place to linger and dream 
