MAY 83 



yellow tulips. And still more refined and 

 lovely is the contrast upon a south wall, 

 of a large flowered mauve clematis, with 

 Gloire de Dijon rose and the brown 

 shoots of flexuosa honeysuckle intermixed 

 with white iris below. The tulips in the 

 tulip parterre are over, after a brilliant 

 existence of nearly four weeks. One day 

 they were seen to shine like lamps of 

 coloured fire, through the thinner spaces 

 of a large black Irish yew. The beautiful 

 effect never returned again ; it was per- 

 haps due to some strange accident of light. 

 Light does often use * lawful magic ' mar- 

 vellously under the pure intensity of a 

 morning sky, or just before the sun goes 

 down. I have seen the Phillyreas in the 

 garden in the early hours, reflect back 

 positive blue from their dark foliage, and 

 there is a Persian lilac in bloom whose 

 colour is gorgeous at such a time. It is 

 absolutely dazzling. Birds, too, flash past 

 with colours that might vie with those of 

 oriental plumage. Green-finches on the 

 wing or among the branches are emerald- 

 green like real green parrots, or a titmouse 



