144 THE GAKDENEK'S COMPANION 



seem the first to appear ; there are Crocus, Daffodils 

 and Primroses, as well as the Jasmine undiflora, 

 and Forsythia ; and how glad one is to see them. 



In autumn again what masses of yellow flowers 

 we have in Sunflowers, Harpalium, Coreopsis, Mari- 

 golds, and many others ; and it is at this time of 

 year that I think you should be on your guard 

 against having too many yellow flowers, or rather 

 perhaps, I should say, be careful to get a good pro- 

 portion of other colours to balance them ; it is very 

 easy to overdo the yellow in a garden yellow 

 flowers always seem to "come of themselves," so 

 be careful to keep them under control. Many of 

 the yellow flowers are lovely, but a yellow garden 

 is not lovely. 



Blue real true blue (not lilac) is, I think, the 

 most uncommon colour among flowers, and cer- 

 tainly it is the one which most easily catches the 

 eye from a distance ; no opportunity should be lost 

 of collecting plants which have really blue flowers. 



Orange is another very telling colour, and 

 nothing can be prettier than the little orange 

 Alpine and Nudicaule Poppies. The Orange Lily is 

 always a valuable bit of colour, and the dwarf 

 orange Eschscholtzia (Mandarin) is a most useful 



