CHAPTER IV 

 PLANT COMPOSITION 



PLANT composition, simply defined, is the arrangement of plant 

 material to achieve a pleasing effect of unity and harmony. The 

 planting designer gives himself wholly to aesthetic considerations 

 first, in choosing his material, and then tests his choice according to prac- 

 tical considerations of hardiness and special utility, substituting alternative 

 choices where necessary. 



The two main qualities of plants that govern their choice for a 

 desired composition are form and color. According to general practice 

 in planting design, where flower interest is of secondary importance, 

 form exerts the only influence of which the designer is conscious in 

 selecting species. Color may be said to be a factor of equally great 

 influence, but as a rule it is only the landscape painter, not the landscape 

 designer, who senses this fact. On the other hand, where flower interest 

 is of primary importance, color is usually the more conscious considera- 

 tion of the designer, and form is subordinated. In both instances this 

 involuntary subordination of either color or form amounts to a degree 

 of neglect that is to be regretted. 



It seems logical that of these two qualities color should be discussed 

 first, for were it not for the fact that all objects possess color, we could 

 not recognize their form we could not even see them. 



The reason we are able to see any object is that it reflects light. 

 Light is composed of colors, as is demonstrated by the simple and 

 familiar experiment of the glass prism, which breaks up light rays and 

 projects their component colors on a screen. These colors are called 

 the colors of the spectrum. 



Objects that appear white reflect light unbroken they do not 

 absorb any of the color elements. Objects that appear black do not 

 reflect light. Objects that appear red reflect the red element of 

 light, absorbing the remaining elements. The chemical structure of 

 any object is the basis that determines what colors it may absorb or 

 reflect. 



With this understanding we can easily realize that objects possess 

 form simply through the contrast of their color masses. 



