20 MY GARDEN 



than others, and to these, after they have acquired some 

 knowledge of their floral pigments, the creating of 

 lovely pictures in the garden will be instinctive; but 

 those whose colour sense is less developed must culti- 

 vate it as a tea taster educates his palate, or as a per- 

 fumer his olfactory nerve. Nature may be his teacher, 

 the woods and fields and marshes at all seasons his class- 

 room; and the daring or tender blendings of colours in a 

 single flower should be a constant help and inspiration. 



Magenta is a colour that gives the gardener a good 

 deal of trouble, but there are many fine flowers wearing 

 this turbulent shade which are lovely enough if re- 

 moved from the neighbourhood of antagonistic shades 

 and placed in congenial surroundings. The clouded 

 blue of Monkshood is fine with the magenta of Rose 

 Loosestrife and all the buff, creamy, and gray-white 

 flowers and gray foliage encourage this usually com- 

 bative tint to show its softest side. The two colours 

 most difficult to me are the raw scarlet of the Lychnis 

 and the crude yellow worn by Coreopsis and some of the 

 sunflowers, but even these may be modified and brought 

 into peaceful agreement with their surroundings by the 

 near neighbourhood of softening influences. 



Personally, gardens of one colour do not interest me 

 particularly, though I have seen many very well worked 

 out. Yellow gardens contrived in all the shades from 

 buff and cream to orange are very effective, and also the 

 purple tints from palest mauve, with much silvery and 



