ROCK GARDENSRock Gardens Overview - 3Sectional view of the construction of a rock garden showing the clinker and rubble drainage that is necessary if there is any chance of the soil in the pockets becoming sodden.
as possible; there should
be miniature ranges and mountain peaks
and, dividing them, valleys into which spurs
from the hills project. Winding paths, eighteen
inches to two feet in width, with stepping-stones,
should be cut through these gorges so that
every part of the rock garden may be easily
accessible. The pockets in which the alpines
are to be planted should be irregular in
shape and may vary from a few inches in
diameter to as many feet across. Their surfaces
must not be flat, but sloping to afford drainage.
They must provide ample root-run and should
be from a foot to eighteen inches in depth,
and so constructed that the soil will not
wash out of them. If there is any chance
of the soil in the pockets becoming sodden,
six to twelve inches of clinker and rubble
drainage must be provided. One final suggestion
for the real lover of beauty is to pay
a visit to one of the more rocky slopes of
our national parks, and where the garden
is large enough he should endeavour to
complete the picture with the aid of the
lawn running up or down between the knolls
of outcropping stone. When in the heart of
some of our more smoky cities only use the
indigenous grasses of the area, don't sow
seed used for the hayfield, or the garden
lover will find that he spends most of his
time cutting grass in summer to lose it completely
in the frosty fogs of the winter months.
The seed of the dwarf-growing grasses is
more exclusive and effective, about one to
one-and-a-half ounces to the square yard
is required, and the money spent is fully
repaid. I find a pinch of dwarf wild white
clover seed to the pound is often a great
help in establishing the turf; better still,
select some turf from the immediate neighborhood
and lay it over the surface, then remove
the coarser weeds, for whilst one does not
require a bowling green surface, the evenness
of the surface is of considerable aid when
the time comes to mow the area. next rock gardens overview
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