288 
R ns tic A dornments. 
conglomerates and “ pudding stones ” of some of our geological formations. 
It may be thought somewhat trivial to thus dwell on such details as cement 
work, but as this is intended for amateur gardeners, and is no actual record 
of experience in making a rock garden under difficulties, it is best to show 
now it is possible not to do it, as it is easy to succeed with a little care. 
There is an apparent disadvantage in the use of cement-washed rock as also 
in concrete; it exists also in many real rocks, and it is that the rootlets of 
plants cannot penetrate it. Most rock-loving plants certainly like a porous 
stone, but it is equally true that they will do remarkably well without it, 
provided, of course, that the pocket of soil they are planted in is plentifully 
intermingled with suitable material; but to this we shall refer further on, 
when dealing with the laying out of an alpine garden. 
One thing is unfortunately very certain, namely, that the more porous and 
loose the rock, the less likely it is to stand the ravages of weather, and more 
especially of frost. The garden to which this experience refers has, after 
seven years of more or less severe winters, proved that one severe prolonged 
frost reduced all the softer sandstones to mere heaps of sand; two or three 
years’ exposure finally disintegrated some of the harder and more compact 
sandstones; some of the brick and cement rock, made under adverse 
conditions and of stale cement, parted company after a frost of 15 degrees 
whilst the bulk of this artificial rock, made four years ago, is still as 
sound as ever, and has the appearance of compact limestone where not 
covered by alpine plants. The use of wood, either in the form of tree trunks 
or roots, is not to be recommended. It is utterly unnatural, and not best 
suited to alpine plants. Still, it certainly helps to break up what might 
otherwise be a monotonous level; and a large number of plants and, perhaps, 
more especially ferns, like to grow amongst the gnarled roots. 
We will presume, for the sake of argument, that we are dealing with a 
suburban garden plot of the, unfortunately, rectangular description, so 
universally characteristic of all small modern gardens, and we will suppose that 
the size of this plot is fifty feet by thirty feet. It will be obvious then that if 
the piece of ground to be dealt with by the reader be larger and more 
favourable than this, why so much the better; whereas, if it be smaller, the 
owner can curtail his operations correspondingly, but in either case the 
following suggestions will apply equally. 
We will tkae the building of an ordinary rockwork first, and the general 
arrangement of the whole garden afterwards, as the latter is not so likely to be 
