8 ON FLOWER GARDENS, 
reverse; and so on of the various tints of colour. This edging or 
bordering is an excellent plan when cold colours, as blue, or purple, 
are planted on grass, as it relieves or throws the colour up just the 
same as a nicely shaded black ring on a sheet of paper makes the part 
within it look whiter than the part outside. For illustration, a bed of 
Salvia patens on grass is, at a distance of say two hundred yards, almost 
inconspicuous ;_ but surround the same bed with a broad margin of 
Calceolaria viscocissima, which is bright orange, and it directly becomes 
bright and gay at a considerable distance. ; 
In designing the garden, too much attention cannot be paid to intro- 
ducing as simple forms as possible; for though scroll patterns and 
intricate tracery work might be admired in years gone by, when 
gardens were more sought after for their form than the plants which 
they contained—in these days, when the cultivation of flowers is the 
principal object, those forms of beds which are the most suitable for 
that purpose must be preferred. Now, of all the forms for effect, there 
is certainly nothing equal to the circle or oval, or some modification 
of these, always preferring the curve or line of beauty; but, of all 
things, avoiding acute points, and too many straight lines. Of course, 
if a geometrical garden has to be formed on a square piece of ground, 
and adjoining a square building, the boundary of the garden must, to 
a great extent, partake of the form of the ground and surrounding 
objects; but, as a general rule, straight lines should be avoided as 
much as possible. Another great fault in designing flower-gardens, 
especially in small places, is that of over crowding the beds; the effect 
of which is, that much ground is frittered away in walks and small 
beds, neither of which can by any possibility ever look well. We 
lately re-arranged a garden, destroying upwards of thirty beds, and 
replacing them by eleven beds of good solid proportions, allowing 
plenty of space between the beds; and the effect, now that the plants 
are in bloom, is much better than it ever before was; while, at the 
same time, from the beds standing free and open, they are seen 
to greater advantage, and are also better adapted for the purposes 
intended. 
It is not enough, however, that the beds in a flower-garden should 
harmonise as to colour, but it is also requisite that harmony should go 
further than this, and that they should correspond in height and 
character of plants: thus, we would not plant two corresponding beds, 
one with scarlet Pelargonium, and the other with scarlet Verbena, for 
though in point of colour such an arrangement might be near enough, 
the effect would be discordant, inasmuch as the two beds would not 
entirely correspond; therefore, we should either plant both with 
Verbenas, or both with Pelargoniums. Small plants are admissible in 
large beds, but not tall plants in small ones ; but, as a general rule, it 
is the best to let the height of the plant be proportionate to the size of 
the bed. 
When the plan of a garden is decided upon, and the arrangement 
made, number each of the beds, and in a book, opposite corresponding 
numbers, enter the names of the several plants which each bed will 
require, allowing of strong growing plants two to each square foot, 
