272 GARDEN PLANNING 



which serves as a ground to the flowers destroys 

 the efl"ect of their contrast, but it is not so; 

 and to be convinced of it, it is sufficient to fix 

 upon a screen of green silk two kinds of flowers 

 (of contrasting colour) and to look at them 

 from a distance of about ten paces; for when 

 the eye is fixed upon two well-defined objects 

 simultaneously, surrounding objects produce 

 but feeble impressions." 



I believe that in the garden picture we hardly 

 appreciate the colour effect of the foliage of 

 our plants, not only because of the retiring 

 character of most greens, but because they 

 merge into the other larger masses of green 

 — the grass, trees, and shrubs — and thus 

 become part of the general background. 



There are, however, the gray and yellow 

 greens which, by reason of their contrast with 

 the others, are not negligible, and on that 

 account they may become useful as colour 

 factors in certain schemes. 



The student of colour in the garden may con- 

 sult Chevreuil with advantage. He has an- 

 alyzed colour sensation in a masterly way, 

 devoting a special section of his book to horti- 

 culture, and though his conclusions were 



