COLOR IN THE FLOWER GARDEN 175 



of flowers, notably in the growing of novelties in form and color; 

 third, to so make his planting plans that there shall be successive 

 pictures of loveliness melting into each other with successive 

 months; and last he must pay, if possible, a weekly visit to his 

 gardens, for no eye but his discerning one will see in them the evil 

 and the good. This profession will doubtless have its first re- 

 cruits from the ranks of women; at least, according to Mr. W. C. 

 Egan, the color sense is far oftener the attribute of women than 

 of men. Still there is the art of painting to refute this argument. 



Color, as an aid to garden design is a matter ever present to my 

 mind where a plan of high beauty has been adopted and been 

 already carried out. One occasionally sees a fine garden which due 

 to the execrable color arrangement must of necessity be more in- 

 teresting in winter than in summer. Sir Wm. Eden's plea for the 

 flowerless garden here comes to mind. 



" I have come to the conclusion that it is flowers that ruin a 

 garden, at any rate many gardens. Flowers in a cottage garden, 

 yes, hollyhocks against a grey wall; orange lilies against a white 

 one; white lilies against a mass of green; aubretia and arabis 

 and thrift to edge your walks. Delphiniums against a yew hedge, 

 and lavender anywhere. But the delight in color, as people say, 

 in large gardens is the offensive thing; flowers combined with 

 shrubs and trees, the garden of the Riviera for instance, Cannes, 

 and the much praised vulgar Monte Carlo. Beds of begonias, 

 cinerarias at the foot of a palm; the terrible crimson rambler 

 trailing around its trunk. I have never seen a garden of taste in 

 France. Go to Italy, go to Tivoli and then you will see what I 

 mean by the beauty of a garden without flowers, yews, cypress, 

 statues, steps, fountains, sombre, dignified, restful." 



But when planting is right, when great groups, say of white 

 hydrangea; when tall rows of hollyhocks of harmonious color; 

 when delicate garlands of such a marvelous rambler as Tausend- 

 schon; low flat plantings of some fine verbena, like Beauty of 

 Oxford or the purple Dolores; when such fine materials are used 

 to produce an effect of balanced beauty, to heighten the loveliness 

 of proportion and of line already lying before one in stone or 

 brick, in turf or gravel, on good trellis, or in well groomed hedge, 

 what an eminence of beauty may be reached. 



