Rockery and Alpine Garden. 
289 
undertaken as the former. The general type of the so-called “ rockwork” 
usually met with, and described in the opening remarks upon this subject, 
possesses several very marked disadvantages. Being a mere heap, the sur¬ 
face soon cakes, and no catchment ledges exist upon which the rain can find a 
resting-place, but runs off, doing no good to the poor unfortunate plants trying 
to grow in such an unnatural position. Again, being more or less equally 
exposed, there exists little or no shelter for such plants as may require it. The 
Fig. I.—GROUND PLAN OF GARDEN PLOT, FIFTY FEET* BY THIRTY FEET, 
LAID OUT AS AN ALPINE ROCK GARDEN, SHOWING ROCK TERRACES, 
VALLEY, BORDERS, AND PATHS. 
A, Back of House ; B, Rockwork in Terraces; C, Beds for Ordinary Plants ; 
D, Valley for Moisture-Loving Plants; E, Large Eock Terraces; F, High 
Rock Path; G, Plighest Part of Rockwork ; H, Boundary Rock Borders; K, Paths 
(ijGrravel or “Rock,” z.e. Concrete). 
position, too, in which this so-called rock-work is placed, usually adds to, 
rather than diminishes, the difficulties with which the plants have to contend. 
The general form most suitable for a satisfactory rock garden is in a series of 
steps or ledges as shown above, modifying it as occasion or necessity may 
demand. The bolder and more irregular, the more picturesque will it be, 
though it must always be borne in mind that what looks picturesque in a large 
