IMPROVEMENT OF GARDEN FLOWERS 95 



picture is full of splendid harmonies and contrasts; 

 but the objects harmonized and contrasted are not 

 mere abstractions. They are people and things which 

 the painter has seen, and they are woven together 

 into a pattern, without losing their own individuality, 

 by the controlling emotion of the artist who uses 

 them, not merely as pieces in a decorative game, 

 but as a means of expressing that emotion. Now, 

 gardening is, no doubt, a trivial art compared with 

 painting, but still it is an art, or may be made one; 

 and the same principles apply to it. The true art of 

 gardenuig is based upon a profound interest and de- 

 light in plants, just as the art of the great painter is 

 based upon a profound interest and delight in the 

 things which he represents. The true gardener is 

 concerned with the character of his plants as the 

 great painter is concerned with the character of what 

 he paints; and it is by growing his plants so that 

 they display their character as freely and completely 

 as possible that the gardener makes the most beau- 

 tiful and interesting kind of garden. 



Now it is obvious that this cannot be done by a 

 gardener who regards a plant as a mere flower-pro- 

 ducing machine; for the flowers are only part of the 

 character of a plant, and they may be so developed 

 as to obscure the plant's natural character altogether. 

 Flowers may be, and in most gardens plants are, the 

 most important element of beauty; but their beauty 

 is not independent of the plant, and cannot be con- 

 sidered apart from it until they are picked. The gar- 



