May, 1911 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



233 



5. The wrong shapes for beds are complicated, fancy, geometrical. Never use 

 a circle for its own sake 



6. The right shapes are simple, preferably rectangular. Make them fit the 

 ground and environment as this one does 



THE LAW OF COLOR HARMONY 



Adjacent colors harmonize by similarity; 

 opposite colors harmonize by contrast; inter- 

 mediate colors are discordant. — The easiest 

 way to prove this is to arrange a dozen of 

 the main colors, progressively in a circle. 

 You will then see that red harmonizes with 

 orange, and orange with yellow, because 

 these colors are closely related. You will 

 also discover that you can make a thrilling 

 contrast with yellow and blue. Now the 

 spirit of yellow journalism in gardening 

 is to give your friends a series of shocks. 

 Therefore, it is bad taste to have too many 

 color contrasts. It is better taste to get 

 harmony by similarity, as a rule, than by 

 contrast. 



THE LAW OE ECONOMY 



The garden that is relatively cheap to 

 maintain for a century or more is better 

 art than the garden that is costly to maintain. 

 — The reason for this is that waste in- 

 evitably seems wrong. Fancy beds cost 

 more than simple borders, and tender 

 plants cost more to maintain than hardy 

 ones. Therefore, no one ought to project 



a garden on a scale which his children 

 cannot keep up. The second generation 

 will not love a place that was built for 

 show, but it will consider as a sacred 

 heritage a garden that is full of the person- 

 ality of parents who stood for self-mastery 

 as opposed to the gratification of every 

 heart's desire. 



RULES FOR THE SHAPES OF BEDS 



There may be other fundamental laws 

 of good taste, but I do not know them. 

 Everything else seems to me only practi- 

 cal application. Now the briefest way of 

 stating a practical application is a rule. 

 A rule is never absolutely true, but it pro- 

 vokes discussion, and as I am eager to 

 learn, I shall make a rough attempt to 

 state the most important rules as I see 

 them in the hope that you will show us 

 better ones. 



i . Make beds of the simplest shapes — not 

 complicated ones. — Use rectangles ; avoid 

 stars, crescents, flags, lettering, carpets and 

 all fancy patterns. 



Make all beds fit the environment. Use 

 rectangular beds unless some other shape is 



absolutely necessary. — Never make a circle 

 for its own sake; use circular beds only 

 around circular features, e. g., a circular 

 sundial, or water basin, in the centre of 

 a garden. 



RULE FOR POSITION OF BEDS 



It is difficult to harmonize geometrical 

 design with the flowering, irregular lines 

 of nature. It is difficult to harmonize 

 great masses of color or flowers with the 

 restrained hues of trees and shrubs. It is 

 difficult to harmonize tender plants with 

 hardy ones. Therefore: 



3. Put flower beds where they will not inter- 

 fere with the landscape. — Never put a flower 

 bed in the middle of the lawn. Instead of 

 this, have hardy flowers in a side border. 

 Put flower beds in a high-walled garden or 

 sink the parterre below the level of the 

 lawn. 



RULE FOR MATERIAL 



Tender plants can never harmonize 

 with a Northern climate and vegetation 

 as well as hardy plants, because they stand 

 out in bold contrast, and the ideal is to 



7. The worst economy is temporary beds for show. They cost more and do 

 not harmonize with the climate 



8. Tne best economy is to plant as permanently as possible. Hardy plants 

 cost less and harmonize better 



