152 LANDSCAPE GARDENING 



side by side, but the light and the dark, without 

 intermediary, will produce too strong a contrast. 

 In every planting scheme one value should be al- 

 lowed to predominate. 



The texture of a plant depends first upon the 

 size of the leaves, then upon their number and ar- 

 rangement upon the tree. The size of the leaves 

 comes under three heads, fine, medium, and coarse. 

 The spiraea and the Japanese barberry are exam- 

 ples of the first variety, the Philadelphus and the 

 lilac of the second, the Magnolia tripeteja and the 

 castor-bean of the third. 



A plant is chosen for color on account of the hue 

 it retains longest. This is known as its color char- 

 acteristic. Plant colors usually change during the 

 season. Consequently, the hue which is most gen- 

 erally present is known as the plant's distinguish- 

 ing color. In the Siberian dogwood this would be 

 red, because the bark retains its brilliant red 

 throughout the year despite the greener summer 

 foliage. An exception to color change is the Ker- 

 ria Japonica, which is bright green in leaf and 

 twig, and consequently retains the same hue 

 throughout the year. 



The soil in which a plant will attain its best de- 

 velopment is often a determining characteristic. 



