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HORTICULTURE 



May 22, 1909 



A Philadelphia Orchid Grower | 



OFFERS I 



BARGAINS 



100 CASES 



CATTLEYA TRIANAE 



just arrived from abroad ; plants with 8, la, 15, 20 and 25 bult s each ; 40 to 

 45 plants in each case ; will run on an average 450 bulbs to the case : — 



$40.00 per Case 

 60 CASES 



CATTLEYA SCHRODERAE 



will arrive about May 35th ; plants with 8, 12, 15, 20 and 25 bulbs each ; 

 about 40 plants to the case, averaging about 400 bulbs each ; — 



$55.00 per Case 

 60 CASES 



CATTLEYA CICAS 



will arrive about May 35th ; plants with 8, xa, 15, 20 and 25 bulbs each ; 

 about 40 plants to the case, aveiaging about 400 bulbs each : — 



$55.00 per Case 



f. o. b. Philadelphia for prompt order and if unsold. 



53^ Will break cases at a reasonable advance on above rates, say : — lots 

 o( plants averaging 100 bulbs, 7% per cent ; 25 bulbs 13% per cent, 



m^ Anyone who desires ESTABLISHED PLANTS can be 



accommodated at very reasonable figures in all the commercial varieties 

 such as : — Trian«e, glges, Schroederae, Oaskelliana, labiata, 

 speclosissima and 12 of the best varieties of Cypripediums 



k 



Aponse Pericat, collingdale, phila., pa. 



Rose Standish Nichols, who is an 

 authority on garden color, has this to 

 say: "Harmony is closely connected 

 with scale and proportion. It is to be 

 obtained not merely by the right com- 

 bination of contrasting colors, but by 

 the skilful association of various 

 shades of the same color. The impor- 

 tance and position to be allotted to fhe 

 dominant colors must be thought out 

 carefully. 



"Green is the foundation of all gar- 

 dens. Other colors may come and go 

 but, so long as the vegetation retains 

 a vestige of life, green is bound to pre- 

 dominate, though it tints the foliage, 

 not the flowers. To the uneducated 

 eye all green looks alike, but to the 

 trained observer it includes an infinite 

 number of different shades varying 

 from the pale gray of the mullen leaf 

 to the rich purplish bronze of the 

 galax. As a foil and as a background 

 the foliage of a plant, apart from its 

 flowers, should weigh in the decision 

 as to its location. 



"Now as to the arrangement of 

 flower colors. An easy road to suc- 

 cess is to begin by selecting only 

 flowers of the same color and of such 

 shades as will go together anyhow and 

 anywhere. Then, if accidents occur 

 and a plant strays from its appointed 

 place, no harm results. 



"Blue (varying from pale lavender to 

 indigo and the deepest purple) is the 

 best color for this experiment. In 

 Sirmmer, when green is invaiiably the 

 predominant hue of the landscape blue 

 is its most agreeable complement. Be- 

 sides, few shades of blue are apt to 

 swamp each other, though all do not 

 go eciually well together. 



"Yellow is more dangerous to use 



freely. Masses of deep yellow or 

 orange are too glaring to be agreeable 

 in the foreground; only the paler 

 lemon shades can be employed in large 

 quantities, yellow is apt to become too 

 prevalent. 



"Red is peculiarly difficult to handle 

 successfully. There are certain of its 

 shades which are almost sure to strike 

 a false note in any symphony of color 

 — intense magenta, crude vermilion and 

 fiery orange-scarlet are so hard to as- 

 similate that it is better to omit them 

 altogether in the beginning. Salmon- 

 pinks and maroon-reds are far more 

 satisfactory. 



"In small quantities white is excel- 

 lent, but a little goes a long way. A 

 pre-eminently white garden is rather 

 flat and uninteresting. It is better as 

 a contrasting accessory than as a 

 dominating color. Also it is useful in 

 bridging over a transition or gradua- 

 tion from one color to another. 



"Contrast, cleverly introduced, en- 

 hances the value of every color. Blue 

 becomes bluer and red, redder, when 

 foiled against pure white. Look at 

 Madonna lilies beside larkspur. Where 

 red is used in such large quantities 

 that it might pall upon the eye, it is 

 delightfully relieved by an admixture 

 of blue. The beauty of vast fields of 

 red poppies, mingled with blue corn- 

 flowers, never fails to command ad- 

 miration. Purplish irises and yellow 

 day-lilies are also a familiar but al- 

 ways pleasing combination. 



"The height of this kind of art is to 

 know when and where to introduce a 

 dash of harmonious discord. Just the 

 right amount of discord in the proper 

 place adds a touch of piquancy to the 

 composition, as salt to meat. Large 



beds of Shirley poppies, for instance, 

 are prettier for including both salmon 

 and rose-pink, both crimson and scar- 

 let. Yet, under other conditions, these 

 shades are impossible to combine. In- 

 deed, harmonious discord is the last 

 expi ession of color in the garden and 

 should not be attempted by an ama- 

 teur." 



Size of Masses. 

 The scale in proportion of grouping 

 the plants must be given serious con- 

 sideration. If we are planning our 

 borders for an arrangement of color 

 the first thing we must consider is to 

 get general effect. Individual speci- 

 mens, although they may be beautiful, 

 must be sacrificed if they catch the eye 

 too forcibly. Bold planting is always 

 best and plants should be grouped in 

 numbers of the same kind, varying in 

 quantity according to the size of the 

 garden border. Large groups of plants 

 can be massed and repeated at inter- 

 vals, if desired, but parallel lines 

 should be avoided as far as possible. 

 Planting the Border. 

 The old-fashioned border, when only 

 a few bulbous plants were used, is a 

 thing of the past The modern border 

 must contain a liberal supply of all 

 kinds of bulbs and all sorts of hardy 

 herbaceous plants which will give a 

 continuous show of blossoms from 

 early Spring until the end of October. 

 The charm of a border like this is its 

 changeableness. One has not to look 

 at the same picture for more than one 

 week or sonietimes for not more than 

 one day. Our border is never tire- 

 some, its past is a pleasant memory, 

 its fu'ture a delightful anticipation and 

 its blossoms an accurate calendar of 



