GARDENS NEAR THE SEA 



flowers, such as the one of irises at East Hampton, this 

 sensation is not present. Although hundreds of irises 

 dwell therein, the reign of harmony is absolute. A rose 

 garden would be a sorry place if planted sparingly. 



It is mostly in the gardens of hardy perennials that 

 one is led to wish that there were fewer kinds of flowers. 



Still, the expert gardeners of this country have 

 the ability to vindicate all sorts of promiscuous planting. 

 It is natural that they should wish to experiment with 

 as many new forms of plants as possible, and merely 

 unfortunate that they are sometimes lacking in the 

 artistic feeling for color. Often one might believe 

 them blind as well as deaf to inharmonious colors. 

 Moreover, the desire now keenly felt not to allow a 

 garden ever to pass out of bloom urges them to 

 encourage a great variety of growth. It is mostly 

 when it becomes coarse, high strung, and clashing that 

 the practise seems lamentable. 



One day, I asked a gardener why he had planted 

 petunias in a section of a garden not far from corn- 

 flowers. 



"It 'ad been empty if I 'adn't," he answered with 

 proper spirit. 



And much better it would have been empty than 

 filled with flowers shrieking in the flamboyant color 

 he was pleased to term "pink." 



Throughout this garden there was an abundance 

 of green. Various blooms occurred here and there; 

 it awaited the unfolding of the autumn flowers. All, 

 in fact, would have been well if the gardener had not 

 put in too many flowers. 



[248] 



