bit, THE LITTLE GARDEN 



woodland; in summer this roof, with the fresh green of oak and 

 other trees about it, is still more unbearable. 



Let us now consider the matter of color in foliage; and here I 

 shall give my own opinion as to golden-leaved privet, elder, phil- 

 adelphus, and as to the use of all shrubs or plants with variegated 

 foUage. These are difficult, in fact dangerous, to use. Yellow 

 leaves give an impression of sick shrubs; or, if not that, they im- 

 part to the small place an interrupted, a spotty look, resulting in 

 distinct disadvantage. The leaves of variegated vinca, for exam- 

 ple, or of evonymous, confuse the eye; a clearness particularly 

 necessary where area is small is lost by the use of these things. 

 Wherefore plan for the small-place groups of shrubs and plants, 

 in clear, but varying tones of green. And by these I mean the 

 black green of cedar and spruce; the yellow greens of spirea in 

 spring, ageing to grass greens; the bush honeysuckles, with their 

 later bluish tinge; in plants, the peony's strong green of leaves; 

 that of the aconite, much like the peony; the blue-green of iris 

 foliage; and the yellow-greens of that of hemerocallis, not to 

 mention the loveliness of all the gray-foliaged things, such as 

 stachys, pinks, nepeta, and lavender. Backgrounds of a fairly 

 clear green are best for your flower-masses, and for lower plant- 

 ings, of the same tones, for your individual flowers themselves. 



In shrub-borders beautiful effects are got through judicious 

 use of these varying tones of green; the suggestion of five to seven 

 shrubs in a group, where space permits, applies here, too, as to 

 perennial plants; only in this way may broad and effective pic- 

 tures be secured. Especially too, must this grouping or massing 

 of shrubs for color be borne in mind as we think of their bloom : 

 what is its character and color? and when do our shrubs bloom? 

 Will the form, color, and period of bloom of one shrub-group en- 

 hance or injure the beauty of another? and how wiU this flower- 

 ing affect the looks of the plants below and stretching out before 



