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House & Garden 
ROCK GARDENS AND THEIR ALLIES 
Suggestions for Creating a Garden of Alpine Plants, with those Variations 
of It , the Bog Garden and the Naturalistic Pool 
FRANCES E. REHFELD 
T ODAY the pleas¬ 
ure which is de¬ 
rived from the culti¬ 
vation of small Alpine 
plants is fully recog¬ 
nized and enjoyed by 
the owner of the medi¬ 
um and small sized 
property. The rock 
garden—or Alpine 
garden, as it is some¬ 
times called—has be¬ 
come a popular fea¬ 
ture of modern land¬ 
scaping and is no 
longer found only on 
large estates and pub¬ 
lic parks. It is a place 
of informal outline, 
closely akin to the 
wild garden, and is 
developed along nat¬ 
uralistic lines, aiming 
toward the picturesque 
in landscape design. 
There are two types 
of rock gardens: the 
natural and the arti¬ 
ficial. In the first, 
the rocks have been 
placed by nature; and 
in the second they 
have been arranged 
A remarkably successful development of the rock garden. The site is well chosen for its seclusion 
and freedom from cold winds. In the left center can be seen the entrance to a grotto. John 
Handrahan, landscape architect 
by man. The old 
quarry, the rocky 
bank, and the rocky 
knoll and valley all 
lend themselves to the 
development of the 
natural rock garden. 
Suggestions for the 
construction and care 
of an artificial rock 
garden, as well as 
planting lists of re¬ 
liable Alpine flowers, 
evergreens and ferns 
for the natural rock 
garden, are given on 
the following pages. 
'File true rock gar¬ 
den should be treated 
as an isolated feature 
of a property. The 
site chosen for this 
type of garden, when 
circumstances permit, 
should be away from 
and out of sight of 
anything formal. No 
hard and fast rule for 
the choice of a site 
can be given, for it 
obviously depends 
upon what sites are 
available. While a 
PLANT MATERIAL for the ROCKY BANK 
Abronia latifolia (sand verbena): trailing, lemon yel¬ 
low, blooms July. 
Achillea tomentosa (wooly yarrow): 1', bright yellow, 
blooms July-October. 
Adonis anntrensis (pheasant’s eye): 8", yellow, blooms 
March. 
Adonis pyrenaica: 1', deep yellow, blooms May-July. 
Adonis vernalis: 1', yellow, blooms April-May. 
Aethionema coridifolium (aethionema): 6", rosy-pink, 
blooms June-July. 
Aethionema grandidorum: 12", rosy purple, blooms 
June. 
Ajuga genevensis (bugle-weed) : 8", bright blue, blooms 
May-June. 
Ajuga reptans: 6", blue, blooms May-June. 
Alyssum alpcstrc (madwort) : 3", golden yellow, blooms 
May-July. 
Alyssum montanum: 3", yellow, blooms June-July. 
Alyssum saxatile compactum (rock madwort): 1', yel¬ 
low, blooms April-May. 
Androsace lanuginosa (rock jasmine): trailing, rose, 
blooms May-October. 
Aquilegia alpina superba (columbine): 2', blue and 
white, blooms May-June. 
Aquilegia canadensis: 2', red and yellow, blooms May- 
June. 
Aquilegia chrysantha: 3', yellow, blooms June-August. 
Aquilegia coerulea: 18", blue, blooms May-June. 
Aquilegia davellata: 1 ', pure white, blooms May-June. 
Aquilegia nivea grandiflora: 2', white, blooms May- 
June. 
Aquilegia Skinneri: 2', greenish yellow, blooms May- 
June. 
Aquilegia vulgaris alba d. pi.: 2'-3', white, blooms 
May-June. 
Arabis albida (rock cress) : 5"-9", pure white, blooms 
April-May. 
Armeria alpina (thrift): 6"-10", pink, blooms May- 
June. 
Armeria maritima: 6", pink, crimson, blooms May- 
June. 
Aspemla hexaphylla (woodruff): 6"-8", white, blooms 
May-June. 
Asperula odorata (sweet woodruff): 6"-12", white, 
blooms May-June. 
Aster alpinus (blue mountain aster) : 5"-10", bright 
purple, blooms May-June 
Aubretia deltoides (purple rock cress): 4"-6", dark 
violet, blooms April-May. 
Aubretia purpurea: 4"-5", purple, blooms April-May. 
Beilis perennis (English daisy): 5", white and pink, 
blooms May-June. 
Beilis rotundidora coerulea: 4", white, tinged laven¬ 
der, blooms May-June. 
Caltha palustris (marsh marigold): 1', golden yel¬ 
low, blooms April-May. 
Caltha palustris d. pi.: 6", bright yellow, blooms April- 
May. 
Campanula alpina (bell-flower): 6"-10", blue, July. 
Campanula carpatica 9"-18", blue, blooms June-July. 
Cerastium alpinum (chickweed): 2"-4", white, blooms 
May-June. 
Cerastium tomentosum (snow in summer) : 6", silvery 
foliage, white flowers, blooms June. 
Centaurea dealbata (bachelor’s button): 18", deep pink, 
blooms July-August. 
Chrysanthemum arcticum: 12"-18", white, blooms Sep- 
tember-November. 
Claytonia virginica (spring beauty): 6", light pink, 
blooms April-May. 
Convallaria majalis (lily-of-the-valley): 6"-12", pure 
white, blooms May-June. 
Crucianella stylosa (Crosswort) : 6"-9", crimson, pink, 
pale rose, blooms June-September. 
Delphinium chinense (larkspur) : 12"-18", gentian blue, 
blooms June-September. 
Diantlius barbatus (sweet william): 12"-18", red, 
white, rose, blooms June-July. 
Dianthus deltoides (maiden pink): 8"-9", pink, white, 
blooms June-July. 
Dianthus neglectus: 8", bright rosy pink, blooms June- 
September. 
Dianthus plumarius (grass pink): 1', various colors, 
blooms June-September. 
Dicentra canadensis (squirrel corn): 6", white, blooms 
May. 
Dicentra spectabilis (bleeding heart) : 1', pink, blooms 
May-June. 
Dracocephalum Ruyschiana (dragon’s head): 8"-12", 
purple, blooms June-July. 
Doronicum excelsum (leopard’s bane): 18"-2', bright 
yellow, blooms April-May. 
Epimcdium alpinum (barrenwort): 9", dark crimson, 
yellow, blooms May-June. 
Epimcdium violaceum: 9", violet, blooms May-June. 
Euphorbia polychroma (milkwort): 2', chrome .yellow, 
blooms April-May. 
Gentiana acaulis (gentianella): 18", deep blue, blooms 
August-September. 
Gentiana Andrewsii (bottle gentian): 18"-24", deep 
blue, blooms August-September. 
Geranium sanguineum (crane’s-bill): l'-18", deep pur¬ 
ple, blooms June. 
Geranium sanguineum var. album: 18", white, blooms 
June. 
Globularia trichosantha (globe daisy): 6"-8", blue, 
blooms May-June. 
Gypsophylla repens (baby’s breath): 4"-6", bluish 
white or pale pink, blooms June-July. 
Helleborus nigcr (Christmas rose): 9"-15", white and 
purple, blooms March-April. 
Hepatica triloba (common hepatica) : 4"-6", white, 
lavender, pink, blooms April-May. 
Heuchera sanguinea (coral bells): 18", bright crim¬ 
son, blooms June-September. 
Heuchera brizoides: 18"-2', purple, pink, blooms June- 
September. 
Hypericum calycinum (Aaron’s beard): 1', golden yel¬ 
low, blooms August. 
Hypericum Moserianum: 18", golden yellow, blooms 
June-September. 
Jbcris sempervirens (candytuft): 10", white, blooms 
April-May. 
lbcris sempervirens var. Little Gem: 6", white, blooms 
April. 
Incarz’illea Delavayi (Delaway’s incarvillea): l'-2', 
purplish rose, May-July. 
Jncariillea grandidora: 1', bright rose color, blooms 
May-June. 
