176 LONDON PARKS & GARDENS 
brilliant show in the summer. The most distinctive 
feature is the rock gardening. There is a very large 
collection of Alpine and rock plants, which are growing 
extremely well and covering the stones with delicious 
soft green cushions, which turn to pink, yellow, white, 
and purple, as the season advances. Even in the cold, 
early spring, snowdrops, and the pretty little Chionodoxa, 
the “ Glory of the Snow,” begin to peep out amongst 
the rocks, and these are the harbingers of a succession 
of bloom, through the spring and summer months. On 
either side of one of the entrances, a long and pleasing 
line of this rock-work extends, but the plants for the most 
part are grown on mounds like rocky islands rising up 
from a sea of gravel. There are several of these isolated 
patches in the middle of the carriage drive. It is cer¬ 
tainly fortunate, for those who only drive round the 
Park, thus to have a full view of the charming rock 
plants; but to compare such a display to the rock 
garden at Kew is misleading. There may be nearly as 
many plants at Dulwich as at Kew, but the arrange¬ 
ment of that charming little retired valley at Kew is 
so infinitely superior that the comparison is unjustified. 
The small stream which leaves the lake, and other 
places in the Park, offer, just as good a foundation for 
a really effective rock garden as the one at Kew. Such 
an arrangement would give a much better idea of the 
plants, in their own homes, than the islands in the 
roadway, that must suffer from dust, besides looking 
stiff and unnatural. It is, however, delightful to see how 
well these plants are thriving. This is hardly astonish¬ 
ing, as it is not in a crowded, smoky district, but in 
one of the most favoured of suburbs. Dulwich Park 
adds greatly to the advantages of the neighbourhood : 
