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blossom and perfect their growth before hay-time.” In such 
places he advocated the planting of spring-flowering bulbs, 
Poet’s Narcissus, Daffodils, Anemones, Tulips (especially 
Tulipa sylvestris), Star of Bethlehem, and so forth. One 
of the first places where “ wild gardening ” in woods was 
carried out was Longleat, by Lord Bath’s forester Berry. 
Mr. G. F. Wilson’s garden at Wisley, which has since become 
the property of the Royal Horticultural Society, was one of 
tile most successful on a smaller scale. 1 Very soon “ wild 
gardening ” became the fashion, and there seemed to be a 
general revolt against the old “ bedding out.” Within ten 
years of the publication of the first books on the subject the 
new style had many adherents, and although occasionally a 
want of neatness and a growth of weeds were considered the 
essential characteristic of a wild garden, as a rule the results 
achieved were very charming. 
It was about this time also that the " rock garden ” was first 
developed. Among the plants which had recently been intro¬ 
duced was an immense number whose natural place of growth 
was on mountain slopes or between the crevices of stones. It 
seemed only reasonable to try and give these plants, as nearly 
as possible, the same conditions of life in England as on their 
native hills. The result of this desire was the formation of 
rock gardens, very different from the pile of stones which 
went by the name of a “ rockery ” fifty years earlier. These new 
rock gardens have been in every way successful, as rare alpines, 
which it was thought almost impossible to grow in this 
country, have been made to thrive. One of the first to be 
constructed was the well-known example at Kew. This was 
begun in 1882, the nucleus of the collection of plants, being 
some 2,600 bequeathed by George Carling Joad. Every 
season new things of interest have been added, and it is wonder¬ 
ful to see plants from nearly all the mountain ranges of the 
world perfectly at home within a few miles of the City of 
London. The illustration of a typical rock garden is part of 
a very large one formed a few years later by Lord Redesdale 
1 In “Some Results” at the end of The Wild Garden, Crowsley, 
Oxfordshire, Tew Park, and Mr. Hewittson’s garden at Weybridge are 
mentioned as among the earliest. 
