94 LANDSCAPE GARDENING 



must re-design his problem so as to use available 

 material. He must know Ms materials so thor- 

 ougly that he r uns no danger of imagining a_ 

 charming color scheme only to find that there are 

 no plants that will give the desired result, or that 

 such plants as have the required color will not 

 grow under the prescribed conditions. Necessa- 

 rily, then, the horticultural materials are more re- 

 stricted than the painter's palette, and one realizes 

 that the gardens, of Watteau never grew or could 

 grow as he painted them except in his imagina- 

 tion. 



Painters often use a desired color note in a 

 shadow when it is best that it be not too prominent, 

 but even this is usually denied to the landscape- 

 designer. His leaves and blossoms generally re- 

 quire sunlight, and comparatively few species will 

 grow in the shade. "A city that is set upon an hill 

 cannot be hid." Just so will the color errors in 

 the design be set forth in all their hideousness be- 

 cause of the bright light upon them. 



The color problem of the landscape-designer is, 

 then, the combining of his materials to the best 

 advantage. His colors cannot be contrary to na- 

 ture. They are made to his hand, unalterably 

 fixed; he may choose or reject, but that is his only 



