70 
House & 
Garden 
ROCK GARDENS FOR SUNNY 
SLOPES 
When These Avalanches of Color Fall Toward the South There is 
Need of Tall Growth for Protection and Winter Display 
RICHARD ROTHE 
In addition to being an artist in plant 
arrangement one needs to be some¬ 
thing of a geologist when it comes to 
developing rock gardens such as these; 
for the rock formation, even though 
it is not always genuine, must appear 
authentic before the plants can seem 
to groiv naturally 
Bold masses of color cover broad areas 
on these sunny, rocky slopes, while 
delicate details of rare alpines line the 
crevices between the rocks. Mugho 
pines, laurel, and azalea create the nec¬ 
essary shade from the too direct rays 
of the sun. Richard Rothe was the 
garden designer 
O F ALL garden types none is quite so 
sensitive to its site as the rock garden. 
It expresses a very definite kind of ground 
formation; therefore it must either be a de¬ 
velopment of some situation or it must be 
cleverly built to simulate a natural out¬ 
cropping of stone in a place where such an 
outcropping might sensibly exist. It is not 
enough that stone be brought to a spot and 
arranged there in an authentic manner: the 
spot itself must be in character. And as 
rock gardens are essentially naturalistic 
their plantings should be plausibly natural¬ 
istic also. On certain slopes and exposures, 
for instance, grow certain varieties of plants 
with habits controlled by the conditions of 
the site. On other slopes and exposures 
the whole scheme may be entirely different. 
The open sunny slope is an instance fre¬ 
quently met with, and in many respects it 
proves decidely favorable for rock garden 
work. On rising ground there are oppor¬ 
tunities for pocket-building, and it is by 
means of these different sized compartments 
for the soil that we get the everchanging 
surface levels whereupon to establish our 
plantations. We get the picturesque rug¬ 
gedness in character by using bulky surface 
rocks. On elevated ground we can place 
them to the best effect. The laying out of 
paths necessitates the building of stair work, 
and stair work always heightens the beauty 
of a rock garden. 
Referring to the planting, we usually 
first provide for background and side-flank- 
(Continued on page 100) 
