232 PERENNIALS 



environment of a house are broad-leaved evergreens, especially 

 mountain laurel, rhododendrons, and English ivy. As this 

 picture of Rodgersia will doubtless start many inquiries, I must 

 say that the plant does well on the north side of a house, if pro- 

 tected from heavy winds, as it is a shade-lover. In England 

 gardeners are careful to give it a peaty soil. 



GRAY FOLIAGE IN PICTURES 



I believe the English know better than we how to use plants 

 with gray or silvery leaves, such as pinks, the rock-cress, gold-dust, 

 the woolly chickweed, and lavender cotton. So great a variety 

 is there that you may have gray-leaved plants with flowers of 

 almost any colour or season of bloom you desire. I would not 

 use many tall plants with gray leaves, because they are very con- 

 spicuous, like the high lights of a picture. Fortunately most of 

 the gray-leaved perennials are dwarf and spreading so that they 

 can be used rather freely for carpeting the ground between taller 

 plants. We all know that white flowers are peace-makers in a 

 border, but only the elect seem to understand that gray foliage 

 has the same function. Our summers are so much hotter than 

 those of England that we ought to use an abundance of white 

 flowers and gray foliage. However, it is easy to overdo silvery 

 masses, especially if you put them next to dark patches, where the 

 contrast may be too strong. But gray is a softer colour and gray 

 leaves often have a woolly texture.. Moreover, gray is a notable 

 harmonizer of purple, magenta, and crimson-pink flowers, which 

 cause perhaps nine tenths of the colour discords in ordinary 

 gardens. Again, gray foliage has a remarkable effect upon blue 

 flowers, enhancing their purity and lustre. For these reasons I 



