292 
Rustic Adornments. 
and pulverized. In many places clay may be as badly wanted, but on the 
whole we may assume that the existing soil, with slight modifications, is suit¬ 
able for our purpose. 
Having dealt with the subject of rock, and shown how good substitutes for 
the real thing can be easily and cheaply made when nothing else is procurable ; 
and having also laid out our rockery or rock garden, we now come to the 
finishing stage of our subject, namely, the stocking of the terraces, hollows, 
and borders with plants. This is perhaps the most difficult part of the sub¬ 
ject, as it would be inadvisable to be at all strict as to one group of plants; 
and tastes vary so much in this direction that half-a-dozen rock gardens may 
be devoted to as many groups of alpine plants. However, each one may 
follow his own favourite group, for there is perhaps no species but what will 
find a happy spot suited to its growth in such a garden as we have described. 
However, one of the greatest difficulties we have to contend with in this 
country, and, consequently, one of the things we are always trying to succeed 
with, is to have an outdoor garden that will look nice in winter, or at any rate 
in very early spring, as well as in summer, and this, with a good alpine rock 
garden, is not only possible but easy to do. For this purpose we select as the 
principal groups to be dealt with, the saxifrages, sedums, and sempervivums, 
using such herbaceous stuff, bulbs, annuals, and miniature shrubs and even 
trees, as may lend themselves for the sake of really forming a background for 
the above-named genera. Even in the depth of winter it is wonderful what a 
charming object is a fine big clump of, say, Saxifraga notata , creeping over a 
rocky ledge, its bright encrusted foilage tinged here and there with carmine, 
brought about by its dry and well-drained situation. Or what is more 
beautiful to see, when all the trees are bare and the flower beds empty, than a 
large mass of the always richly green S. ceratophylla , or perhaps a vertical 
dense mass of S . densa ? 
And here we would put in a word of advice to the owner of a small and 
unfavourable garden. Don’t try and grow rare and delicate things, but find 
out what plants will thrive under the circumstances, and go in for them. In 
fact, follow Nature, and select such things as can readily adapt themselves to 
their existing and surrounding conditions. 
But to return to the rock beds. We will take the various portions seriatim, 
and briefly suggest what plants would best suit each little locality. In the 
elevated terraces it is a good plan to plant deep down a good stock of bulbs 
to begin with, as desired or selected, the various narcissus forms, snowdrop, 
