tians from the Swiss Alps, and Dryas Drummondi from the Canadian Rockies for his rock garden, but he does not fail to take advantage of some of the common things near-by—even the "pale primrose" and the cowslip.
From ferns alone, or from only plants of shrubby growth, a most beautiful native rock garden may be made. And adding small flowering plants, or excluding all else, there are limitless opportunities. It goes without saying that A's rock garden in Maine will not be like B's in Louisiana; but there is no law compelling it to be.
Among the common wild flowers of the East that take on unexpected new beauty when transferred to the rock garden are the celandine (Chelidonium majus), strawberry (Fragaria Virginica), cranesbill (Geranium maculatum), toadflax (Linaria
vulgaris), orange hawkweed (Hieracium auranticum), herb Robert (Geranium Robertianum), coltsfoot (Tussilago Farfara), Solomon's seal (Polygonatum biflorum), foam flower (Tiarella cordifolia), bloodroot (Sanguinaria Canadensis), and some of the violets. These are but a few names, and random ones at that. Some of them, the coltsfoot, cranesbill, celandine, and toadflax, spread too rapidly, but by careful watching and not allowing the seed to ripen, they may be kept within bounds. There are many such plants that will take all the room in sight if they are allowed to, and they must be watched closely, or else discarded altogether. Some of them answer a good purpose by giving the rock garden a quick start, after which they may easily be reduced or thrown out altogether. There need be no compunction about discarding. Certain
plants, like certain friends, you enjoy having for a visit, but do not care to see remain forever and a day.
Annuals as a class are not desirable for the rock garden; for one thing, the care of renewal is too great. Biennials are almost as much care, but in each case there will always be exceptions that are a matter of individual preference. Few, for example, would have the heart to reject the dainty little purple toadflax of Switzerland (Linaria alpina), just because it is a biennial. The main dependence, however, must be placed on perennials—the plants that, barring accidents, last indefinitely. These should be mostly species; if horticultural, do not use the bizarre—Darwin tulips, for example, or the Madame Chereau iris. Nor, with rare exceptions, should double flowers be used. A double daffodil looks horribly out of
place, while the double white rock cress (Arabis albida) will pass.
The easy rock garden plants, where the material is not taken from the wild, are to be found in most of the large hardy gardens of the East. Some of them are natives of Europe or Asia, and more than is commonly suspected are at home in other parts of the United States. Among the best of these for carpets of bloom are Phlox subulata, Phlox amœna, Aubrietia deltoidea, maiden pink (Dianthus deltoides), blue bugle (Ajuga Genevensis), white bugle (Ajuga reptans), woolly chickweed (Cerastium tomentosum), creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum), dwarf speedwell (Veronica repens), Saponaria ocymoides, alpine mint (Calamintha alpina), and pink, white, and yellow stonecrops (sedum). All of them fairly hug the ground. There are other
plants that form a carpet of foliage, but the flower stalks rise higher. These include white rock cress (Arabis albida), the permissible double buttercup (Ranunculus acris fl. pl.), the also permissible double German catchfly (Lychnis viscaria), another double flower, "fair maids of France" (Ranunculus aconitifolius), Carpathian bellflower (Campanula Carpatica), grass pink (Dianthus plumarius), Iris pumila, crested iris (Iris cristata), Christmas rose (Helleborus niger), Phlox divaricata, Phlox ovata, Phlox repens, foam flower (Tiarella cordifolia), Veronica incana, Alyssum saxatile, Saxifraga cordifolia, and various avens (geum).
Several of the primulas give a like effect if the planting is close—as it should be in a pocket. The best are the English primrose (Primula vulgaris), cowslip