292 STUDIES IN GARDENING 



wilder than others, it is easy to make some separation 

 between the wilder and tamer looking plants; not to 

 put Bluebells, for instance, in the same kind of posi- 

 tion as garden Hyacinths, or to mix the natural species 

 of Roses with hybrid perpetuals. It is in wild gar- 

 dening that a sense of the character of flowers is most 

 needed, for plants such as Dahlias, Kniphofias, double 

 Paeonies, or garden Pinks look most dismally out of 

 place in any imitation of a wilderness. It is the same 

 with a rock garden. There the single mountain pinks 

 look their best and the double garden Pinks are as 

 inappropriate as weeds. But place a mountain Pink 

 in the border, and, even if it thrives, half its beauty 

 is lost. The mountain Pink is a wild flower, the gar- 

 den Pink a tame one; and, if we can, we should treat 

 each accordingly. All beauty has a character of its 

 own, and the character of flowers is most clearly shown 

 when they are placed in conditions that suit that 

 character — in artificial conditions if the character is 

 artificial, in natural conditions if it is natural. It is 

 only by studying the character of flowers and having 

 regard to it that the gardener can achieve those subtle- 

 ties of beauty which look as if they had come by 

 chance, but which really are the last triumphs of his 

 art. 



