COLOUR IN MY GARDEN 



advance that has been made in the decorative employment 

 of flowers — their arrangement and relation in the garden so 

 as to bring about beautiful pictures. Never has the planting 

 of gardens been so effective as a whole; never before have 

 their owners endeavoured to bring to bear upon their work, 

 not only the skill and knowledge of the horticulturist, but 

 the inspiration and taste of the artist. 



In our own earliest attempts at gardening we in turn are 

 satisfied with the interest and delight of simply seeing 

 things grow, but there very soon comes a time when 

 a new desire crosses our green threshold. We become 

 obsessed by what John Sedding calls the "malady of the 

 ideal," we are haunted by visions of exquisite colours in 

 perfect harmony, and our aim is henceforth to make the 

 garden a place for broad survey as well as for minute 

 scrutiny; to enjoy, not only the individual flower, but to 

 make the most of it in relation to other flowers. 



Of course, as is often the case with artistic pursuits, this 

 new gardening with a view to colour arrangement is by 

 some enthusiasts sadly overdone and degenerates through 

 its extreme exactness of finish into something not far from 

 the mosaic gardening of the Victorian era. A few years ago 

 in England I saw some handsome modern gardens wherein 

 the colour arrangements were so obviously planned and 

 executed according to a pattern that one had no realization 

 of groups of living flowers but looked admiringly upon what 

 seemed a huge and clever scheme of decoration. Such a 

 garden is wonderful as a spectacle but lacks entirely the gay 

 and changeful spirit that is so lovable a characteristic of less- 

 studied gardens. We miss the challenge of the unexpected. 



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