Evening star., 1948-05-02

Grandmother knew. She knew
chat most plants like rocks, so when
she tired Of fiat beds Of flowers, she
made q mound of stones and in this
"rockery" she planted her Portu-
lacas, her Mignonette, her Candy
tuft and Petunias. And, 10! their
beauty was enhanced a hundred
fold.
This was the forerunner Of the
modern rock garden. From there
on, landscape architects took over
ard made of the ''rockery" and its
ANIMALS specialized home for low
shrubs, hardy small perennials and
alpines. Instead of a mound. it be-
came a thing of beauty with hills
and valleys, crevices and streams
and waterfalls. Some rock gardens
cover acres of land, some are very
small-"pocket size editions"
Some folks are lucky enough to
have q natural outcrop of rocks on
their place, SO all they have to do,
to have q rock garden, is to dress it
up with appropriate plant material.
Others have to lug in rocks, then
arrange them artistically and prop
erly. Yes, there's q right and wrong
way to set rocks in the ground. For
instance, you don't want TO set
them fiat on the surface of the soil,
but tilt them backward toward the
soil so that the rain will reach down
to the roots of the plants.
We cannot all be landscape archi-
tects, but insofar as each one of us
develops his own individual idea of
a rock garden, he becomes a rock
gardener and has let himself into
one of the most fascinating forms of
gardening. We have the opportun-
ity to provide accommodations for
a host Of interesting and attractive
hardy subjects. There are thou
sands of small Towering plants that
thrive in a rock garden, and myriadS
Of exquisite alpines which will not
thrive anywhere else. Alpines, in
case there's any question in your
mind as to what they are. are plants
from the mountainous regions Of the
world that take naturally to rocky
ledges and crevices between rocks.
These plants are available from
many nurserymen and from special
lists in rock garden and alpine
plants.
Some Starter Paintings.
You might start your rock gar
den with Ajuga reptans, Alyssum
saxatile, Arabs alpha, Aster al
pinus, Aubrietias, snow-in-summer
bleeding hearts, pinks, iris cristata,
phlox, primroses, sedums. Don't
let their names discourage you
they're all easydoers. Then you
will be surprised to know how many
wildings-adders tongue or trout
lilies, wild columbines, trilliums, vio-
let's, wild geraniums-will acquire
new beauty in a rock garden set
ting. It's quite possible to have a
happy combination of wild and
rock garden.
These little Towering plants will
require a background of shrubs for
contrast and, to some extent, for
protection. Favorite shrubs for the
rock garden are the perennial
candytuft. Iberis sempervirens Lit
tie Gem, the garland flower or
Daphne oneorum, with its fragrant
rose-pink flowers in spring and
again in fall: dwarf rhododendrons,
azaleas, pines and spruces and
sprawling jumpers and cotoneasters.
An important consideration in
making rock garden is the loca-
ton. Land which slopes gently is
much more satisfactory than fiat
land, though fiat land can and has
been used. An eastern, western or
southern exposure is desirable-a
northern exposure is not. However,
il there Is no alternative to a north
ern xposure-then plant trees and
shrubs as background for the rock
garden and for protection to the
plants in it.
AS for size--a rock garden may
be large and cover acres or it may