New plants are continually being brought into cultivation from Yunnan or the Rockies, and new garden water features being designed, but the processes involved in construction or the methods of maintenance have not changed, though many garden builders have not studied them sufficiently. The effects produced today are not superior to those of a generation ago when this cult was started, while the flower fields of the Alps or the Yellowstone have the same wild and compelling beauty which was theirs before the advent of man.

All that needs be said in directions or inspiration is found in the writings of the two pioneers in this craft, particularly in the formal treatise of each on this subject, which are "Alpine Flowers for English Gardens," by William Robinson, printed by John Murray, London, 1870 and "Les Plantes des Mon tagnes et des Rochers," by Henri Correvon, printed by Octave Doin & Fils, Paris, 1914. If there is any important direction to be made in this kind of gardening, these two enthusiasts have noted it, and all the many new books in England or America count merely for further enthusiasm.

There is a pressing need for a more available supply of plants for these gardens, and information as to where to get them. In Europe there are dealers ever ready with any alpine for your desire, but here rock plants have been found so far to be a perishable, unsalable commodity, save a few tough weeds which grow anywhere. Unlimited seeds may be imported from Europe or New Zealand , but there are few gardeners who are patient to grow these into plants.

It is time that attention was turned to our own mountain flora and more study made of these treasures, that there may be a greater demand for them. When deciding whether or not to add a rock planting to your garden equipment, there are many things you need to decide. Of course such a garden is popular and has many inducements to offer. But there are definite problems you will have to face before ordering the rocks and plants.

First, there is the expense. Except for formal gardens involving heavy grading, no kind of garden is so expensive as this in construction or operation. Like many simple effects in other arts, they are not created casually, but at great mental pains and mechanical effort. For a reproduction of nature it seems disproportionately costly, though some are built and maintained with little difficulty. If not constructed with careful planning and proper materials, the rock garden soon goes back to nature (weeds), and the area becomes more unsightly than when in its natural state.

There is an actual price you have to pay for every rock garden. Are you up to the challenge? You need to have a special knowledge of plants and materials for this garden, not only in construction, but in operation. While a man with crude tools can build a hut for a night's shelter, he would not attempt a permanent home with the same equipment. The building of this special garden takes more skill than would seem possible, and the few good examples testify how infrequently the needed technique was at hand.

Not only is the planning technical, but laborers who can carry out the work are rare; for a man who can use a spade or set out cabbages is not trained enough to follow instructions. The great puzzle of rock planting is that it requires methods and achieves results quite unlike normal gardening. Much of usual gardening craft must be forgotten. With the warning that unusual skill and unforeseen expense are a part of the construction, you are ready for practical problems.

The first of these is location. Many rock piles seem shot anywhere in the smooth lawn and are inhabited mostly by weeds. As a presentation of nature, this would seem to outrage both nature and art. If this garden cannot be made to appear to some degree at home in its surroundings, it would be better if the spot was smooth lawn, a pool, a group of trees, or any normal kind of culture. If no rocks exist there, it would be folly, as a rule, to drag them in.