202 
GARDENING IN THE SOUTHWEST 
Ground 
Covers 
Steps 
Soil- 
Pockets 
dull tones. Yet, wherever possible, the soft, living-green of grass- 
paths is as lovely to walk on as to look at; although the runners 
of our Bermuda are difficult to keep clipped and within bounds. 
In our section, living, non-flowering ground-covers, other than 
grass, generally demand semi-shade, and will not admit of much 
walking-on. Where a light spring-green shade is desired for har¬ 
mony "Creeping Charley” (Nepeta hederacea) or ground ivy 
(known by many other common names)—or the variety known 
as variagata, with its leaves speckled irregularly with white—gives 
a lovely carpet of tiny, rounded leaves. English Ivy’s rich, shiny 
leaves make a distinctly unusual carpet, though it is slow of 
growth, and not so massed. 
Terraces connected by low, never steep, steps—preferably made 
of large, flat stones—lure one by easy stages to the top of the slope. 
Most artistic are stones that are chosen with regard for their tone- 
blend with the predominant color of the soil of the locality in 
which they are to be used. Moss-grown, or practically covered 
with a trailing plant, these stone steps often are the means of ex¬ 
ploiting the vividness and beauty of a plant, rather than being 
themselves too much in evidence. 
In the Southwest, where rocks are more or less foreign, to be 
in keeping with natural conditions the most artistic way to employ 
them is to sink them so deep into the hillside that they serve only 
as retainers of the soil and only very occasionally be allowed to be 
a feature. In planting around them remember proper drainage is 
most necessary. In some cases the soil-pockets should contain a 
layer of four to six inches of cinders, gravel or small pieces of 
stone or brick in the bottom of the hole. Where this is needed, the 
excavation should be at least two feet deep. Sometimes an inch or 
two of coal ashes in an eighteen-inch hole is sufficient. A layer 
of decayed vegetable-matter should be placed between the drain¬ 
age stones and the growing-earth. This top layer should be at 
least twelve inches of equal parts of sand, loam (rich dirt or top¬ 
soil), and leaf-mold. Bonemeal is said to be the best fertilizer to 
use after the plants are established. 
One may make a very effective Rock Garden on level ground 
