THE LADY'S MAGAZINE OF GARDENING. 
5 
construction; but this is so far from being the case, that perhaps rockwork 
is more difficult to design and execute than any other kind of garden 
scenery. It is, indeed, its near approach to a common and unsightly 
object that renders it so difficult to manage; for as it is, in fact, nothing 
but a heap of stones, skilfully arranged, and as nothing can be less 
beautiful than a heap of stones thrown carelessly out of a cart, it is conse¬ 
quently only by the display of human skill having been employed in its 
construction, that a heap of stones can be rendered interesting. Rockwork, 
therefore, to be beautiful, must be constructed on some regular plan; and 
it should always be based on a solid foundation, so that it should stand 
firmly, and not give the idea of instability, or of having been formed by 
accident. The first point, accordingly, to be attended to in making rock¬ 
work, is to fix it firmly in a natural rock ; or, if this is impracticable, to 
build a foundation for it of brick, taking great care, however, that no 
portion of the wall shall be seen above the ground. This being done, the 
rockwork itself may be erected, a proper plan having been first determined 
upon, according to which it is to be arranged. What this plan may be 
must depend upon the taste of the designer; and to assist my readers in 
forming their designs, I propose in this, and in two or three other papers, 
to give a short account of some of the principal rock gardens in Great 
Britain. 
Lady Broughton's rockwork at the Hoole, near Chester, is, perhaps, 
the most remarkable and best executed rock garden in existence. It is 
formed on a level surface, and consists of an imitation or miniature copy 
of the Swiss glaciers; with a valley between, into which the mountain 
scenery projects and retires, forming several beautiful and picturesque 
openings, which are diversified by scattered fragments of rock of various 
shapes and sizes, and by mountain trees and shrubs, and other plants. 
The design for the rockwork was taken from a small model representing 
the mountains of Savoy, with the valley of Chamouni; and a portion of 
ground adjoining the flower-garden having been chosen for its site, the 
foundation was built of red sandstone, that being the material most easily 
obtained in the neighbourhood. As the rocks were intended to be of a 
large size, the foundation was excavated to a considerable depth ; and the 
foundation wall, of course, followed all the sinuosities of the plan. The 
next point was to get proper materials for forming the rocks, and this it 
was very difficult to do, as the design required the rocks in the Mer de 
Glace to be white, and glistening in the sun. These glaciers were imi¬ 
tated by large blocks of grey limestone, mingled with fragments of quartz 
and spar, and white marble to give the effect of snow ; while the com¬ 
moner kinds of stone, procurable in the adjoining part of Wales, were 
