APPENDIX 349 



other color not very different, representing shrubs, and perhaps a third 

 kind of line and more brilliant colors, representing herbaceous plants in 

 flower, will give simplicity and unity to each planting area, mark the 

 difl'erence between plants and other objects, and still not preclude 

 unity of appearance of the whole plan. 



Lettering designating the various objects on the plan makes another 

 element of line in the composition. In an informal plan, with much 

 foliage, where the incidental lettering is not to be conspicuous, free- 

 hand lettering drawn with a somewhat irregular line may be desirable 

 for its consistency of texture with the plan. If the lettering is to stand 

 out importantly, or if the whole plan is largely composed of ruled lines, 

 a constructed letter will probably be the better choice. 



There is a wide range of possibility in the use of color on plan. 

 There is always a temptation to try to represent the actual colors of 

 the objects portrayed, to suggest the brightness of the flowers and the 

 sunshine, but this is commonly a temptation which would best not be 

 yielded to very far. Very vivid color is hard to handle and keep in 

 accord. There is a great danger of a garish and inharmonious result, 

 and even if this danger be avoided, so much attention would be at- 

 tracted to the color as to detract from the efi^ect of the plan as repre- 

 senting the proposed construction. 



Moreover, the landscape forms with which we are dealing are not 

 capable of accurate representation on plan. The whole drawing is 

 arbitrary and conventional at best, particularly at the larger scales, 

 and too great verisimilitude of color, too great an attempt to approxi- 

 mate a birdseye view, is likely not to offset but to betray the necessarily 

 conventional form. This is especially the case when buildings are 

 shown in ground-floor plan on a landscape drawing. The more con- 

 vincingly the trees are rendered, the more incongruous does the flat 

 house-plan become. The frequent overlapping of the branches of 

 trees with paths, buildings, and so on, makes some arbitrary method 

 of drafting necessary, if both tree and path are to be shown, and this 

 fact renders lifelike coloring undesirable. If the whole drawing is at 

 small scale, and is practically a birdseye view, bright colors may suc- 

 ceed ; otherwise, the chances are in favor of a more subdued rendering. 



In making the plan itself a decorative object, we have two form 



