92 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1900. 



Form is of greater importance than color, and the value of any 

 composition depends in a large measure upon it. Some trees 

 are round headed, others pyramidal, others vasiform ; some 

 are extremely irregular in shape. This is also true of shrubs. 

 Then, trees vary greatly in the manner of holding light in their 

 foliage masses ; in fact, this perhaps more than any other 

 character, is what determines their value in landscape work. 

 Artists like to see trees with heavy, irregular shadows in (heir 

 tops. This depends on the manner of branching and Hie 

 character of the foliage. 



As green is the prevailing color in nature's landscapes, so 

 must it be in ours. We must have the green and spacious lawn 

 through the centre. We need banks and masses of verdure 

 along the borders, with here a point of shrubbery projecting 

 upon the lawn, and there a bay or recess into the border plant- 

 ing. The great mass of our planting should be for its normal 

 green color, and this should by all means predominate in the 

 picture. Various tints and hues of green, such as dark green, 

 yellowish green and medium green, are perfectly natural and 

 should be sought after. Charming effects and contrasts can 

 usually be obtained bv the skilful mingling of natural foliage 

 colors. If one wishes purple or variegated leaved plants, there 

 is no particular objection to using them, provided they are used 

 very sparingly and placed in the more obscure portions of the 

 grounds. Many planters make the great mistake of placing them 

 in conspicuous places. However interesting each may be as a 

 specimen plant, we cannot allow it to mar the picture as a whole. 

 Plants with purple and variegated foliage are not commonly 

 found in nature. They are abnormal ; but the fact that they 

 are uncommon seems to make them all the more popular. To 

 me they always suggest a condition of disease and unnaturalness 

 which is not desirable in our landscape picture. Let us rather 

 be content with nature's gorgeous color effects of autumn, which 

 we cannot improve upon and which we know to be perfectly 

 normal. To arrange shrubs and trees so as to give the most 

 pleasing color effect in autumn is one of the important things 

 to be considered in planting the home grounds. 



