Evening star., 1947-05-25

A rocky slope, knoll or stream
bank make the best sites for rock
garden. They are natural locations
that take away any hint Of arti-
ficiality. However, very few prop
critics are so endowed. The design
and location of a rock garden, in
most yards, must be studied with
care If 1t Is to be successful.
Rock gardens can be divided into
two groups, the formal and the nat
uralistic or informal. Far too little
use is made of the formal garden,
although 1t blends In well with the
house lines and need not be large.
The formal rock garden may be a
paved terrace with plants set in
between the paving stones. A wall
with straight lines and studded
with plants is in reality a rock
garden. A combination Of paved
terrace and rock retaining wall-an
outdoor living room-f1ts the small
property very well. 1t can be used
as a site for many lovely rock gar
den plants and still be in keeping
with the surroundings An infor-
NAL rock garden should be in a
natural setting, preferably a knoll,
a slope or along a stream.
Following Natures Lines.
The formal garden carries the
lines of the house, but the informal
should follow Natures lines. Some
would have us study local rock
formations and then try to repro
duce them in the rock garden; to
use native stones, placing them in
the same patterns as nature does.
Stratified rocks should be In layers
just as in the quarry.
Boulders,- however, are normally
found In large deposits and fit into
rounded masses with occasional fiat
open surfaces between the mounds.
Obviously such an effect would be
hard to duplicate in small gar
den. The native stratif1ed rocks are
most practicable for this area. Even
here, we are confronted with the
problem Of whether or not to use
the fiat limestone slabs from the
Blue Ridge north of here. They
are ideal as to shape, coloring and
adaptability to plant growth, but
they are not native" This Is hardly
a factor of sufficient Importance
to Offset their other desirable char
acteristics.
In place Of the limestone we can
use~some of the local GRANTEES and,
perhaps, some sandstone, since it is
soft IN color and splits into conven-
lent layers. Both of these rocks
offer soft-colored or neutral back
ground for the plants and do not
compete with them for the visitors
attention. A well-made rock garden
provides a suitable setting and home
for the plants, so should be rela-
lively inconspicuous or, put another
way, the plants should be so we'll
displayed that one is unaware of
the supporting rocks. Obviously, this
puts the emphasis on soft or neutral
colcyed rocks.
Avoid Rock Collections.
DuSing the rock-gardening fad
that swept the country several years
ago, many piles of rocks were ac-
cumulated and dumped in the center
of the yards, sometimes even in the
front yard, and called rock garden
They were not rock gardens, but
collections of rocks upon which a
few plants were started but seldom
grew for long. Today this fad has
subsided but rock gardens are still
being built, built by those who make
them serve definite purpose and
in most cases as an integral part
of the property-a natural part and
not a white elephant that is out
OF place.
Even on the small property it is
possible to construct a rock garden
on the informal type if 1t is care
fully planned. In most cases it
should be at the back of the yard