22 
The Garden Magazine, September, 1923 
WHERE A COLLECTOR 
STORES HER GEMS 
Garden of Mrs. Louise 
Beebe Wilder at Bronx- 
ville, N. Y., whose forth¬ 
coming book on alpine and 
other plants has the con¬ 
vincing ring of a genuine 
enthusiasm and knowledge 
trayal of good taste. One good location is above the banks 
of a stream. The gradual transition from the main part of 
the garden to the natural rock garden can be effected by lining 
a short walk with small rock fragments, and by planting 
native shrubs and plants similar in character to those found 
growing in close proximity to the rock garden. Fitness and 
conformity to conditions must be considered. 
A rock border to a walk is far more pleasing in appearance 
than a wooden border, and should be substituted for it whenever 
possible. T he rocks keep the soil from encroaching on the 
walk, and also afford a medium for low-growing plants and 
shrubs to clamber over. Select only rocks which present 
pleasing surfaces when broken; the fragments should be some¬ 
what irregular in outline, and of practically the same dimen¬ 
sions. They should form a continuous line, and be half-em¬ 
bedded in the soil. 
A retaining wall constructed of natural rocks forms a very 
desirable feature in a garden. Rocks placed one on top of the 
other with the joints left open and filled with soil as building 
proceeds, make the best type of wall: joints filled with mortar 
and given a smooth finish are too stiff in effect. Maintain 
a connection between the soil in the soil pockets and the soil 
behind the wall, and let the wall have a batter of several inches, 
sloping backward. An irrigation system of perforated pipe 
laid along the top of such a wall will insure moisture during a 
dry spell. 
A very beautiful and interesting garden feature is the rock 
stairway with plants growing in the crevices between. The 
stepping-stone walk affords a means of planting many low forms 
of rock and alpine plants between the stones. In lieu of 
natural stone stepping-stones can be constructed out of cement 
and shaped to any desired pattern, coloring materials being 
worked into the surface layer of cement if desired. 
The combination of rocks and water gives a pleasing effect, 
either in the form of a streamlet bordered by rocks, or of a 
broad expanse of water, with round-surfaced rocks in the 
water and scattered 
along the sides of the 
pool. Appropriate 
trees and shrubs can 
be planted along the 
shore-line, and are 
made doubly inter¬ 
esting by their re¬ 
flections in thewater. 
Catch-basins and wa¬ 
ter runways, located 
between a series of 
pools, afford an op¬ 
portunity for the 
growing of Water- 
lilies and other 
aquatic plants. Very 
ingenious cascades 
and waterfalls can 
be constructed, sim¬ 
ulating nature’s 
handiwork to a high 
degree. Such a com¬ 
bination is not essen¬ 
tially a rock garden, 
but is the employment of rocks in water to give a picturesque 
setting to what might be termed the water garden. 
For hot, dry, sandy regions the so-called Arizona garden is 
appropriate. This type of garden includes plants peculiar to 
desert regions, such as the Century Plants (Agave), Yucca, Aloe, 
and many kinds of Cactus, in a rock environment. 
L OW-growing rock and alpine plants which can be planted in 
j the rock garden are a mighty host of varying rangeof culture, 
but some few have such pronounced qualities that the beginner 
can well make use of and rely upon them. Chief among these 
are the many kinds of Sedum, divided into several more or less 
distinct groups, characterized by the distinctive foliage which 
is fleshy, flattened, or cylindrical. Some are upright and 
sturdy in habit, but the majority of the species are creeping, 
forming carpet-like masses on the ground. All kinds like 
open, sunny locations, while a few are quite drought-resistant. 
The small, star-shaped pink, white, or yellow flowers are usually 
arranged in dense, showy clusters. S. spectabile with pink 
flowers is one of the finest. A group of drought-resistant 
plants known as Cotyledons (Dudleya) and Hen-and-chickens 
(Echeveria), closely related to the Sedums, also make excel¬ 
lent rock plants. 
For regions not subject to extreme winters, the many kinds 
of Fig-marigold (Mesembryanthemum) may be used with 
telling effect. Most of the species come from South Africa, 
where they thrive on dry, rocky slopes and on dry, sandy 
plains. Like the Sedums, the leaves of different species may be 
cylindrical, flat, or angular. The bright flowers are colored 
rose, purple, yellow, bronze, and orange, with several white 
species. The edible Sea-fig (M. edule) does well along the 
Pacific Coast; M. roseum with rose-pink flowers, M. aurantia- 
cum with orange and M. aureum with golden flowers, are 
splendid for rock-work in dry places. 
The Sun-rose (Helianthemum), with single rose-like blossoms 
in many colors, enjoying a sunny situation, is very welcome in 
