PARTERRE. 



204 



PARTERRE. 



of the house to which the parterre 

 belougs, or to the taste and fancy of 

 the owner. Whatever shapes are 

 adopted they are generally combined 

 into asymmetrical figure; for when 

 this is not the case the collection of 

 beds ceases to be a parterre, or a 

 flower-garden, and can only be de- 

 signated as a group or collection of 

 groups on a lawn. Hence it is that 

 all parterres and regular flower-gar- 

 dens ought to be separated from the 

 scenery by which they are surrounded 

 by a line of demarcation, such as a 

 low architectural wall with a balus- 

 trade and piers, and vases ; a low ever- 

 green hedge, a canal, a ridge of rock- 

 work, a sunk fence with the sides of 

 turf or of stone, a raised fence with 

 the ridges aud top of turf, or a raised 

 terrace-walk of grass or gravel. 



In planting parterres there are two 

 different systems ; one is to plant only 

 one kind of flower in a bed so as that 

 each bed shall be a mass of one colour, 

 and the other is to plant flowers of 

 different colours in the same bed. It 

 is almost needless to state that the 

 former system is by far the best for 

 general and striking effect ; but as a 

 parterre is frequently a kind of bo- 

 tanic garden, and as in this case it is 

 desirable to keep all the species of a 

 genus together, flowers of all colours 

 must occasionally occur in the same 

 bed. In general, botanic parterres 

 should not be mixed with parterres for 

 effect, because the one kind never 

 fails greatly to injure the other. 



In planting parterres for general 

 effect, the colours should be arranged 

 so that those which are adjoining each 

 other should be contrasts ; and those 

 which occupy corresponding parts of 

 the same figure should be the same. 

 For example, suppose a bed on one 

 side of the centre to be planted with 

 yellow flowers, the corresponding bed 

 on the other side (the figure being 

 symmetrical) should also be planted 



with the same kind of yellow flowers, 

 for the sake of preserving the sym- 

 metry. Sometimes the corresponding 

 bed of colours may be planted with 

 a different species, having flowers of 

 the same colour which appear at the 

 same time, but in general this cannot 

 be done successfully, partly on account 

 of the different shades of colour, but 

 chiefly because it is scarcely possible 

 to get two plants of different species, 

 even though they are of the same 

 colour and flower at the same time, 

 that will prove so exactly alike as to 

 have the same aspect. The colours 

 which contrast with one another are 

 generally well known, particularly to 

 ladies ; such as blue and yellow, 

 orange and purple, red aud green, &c. ; 

 and in practice any two colours which 

 do not contrast well naturally, may 

 be brought together or near each 

 other by the intervention of white, 

 or of a very dark colour approaching 

 to black. Mignionette forms a good 

 substitute for white, though there are 

 many white flowers; and Lotus jaco- 

 boB^us forms the nearest approach to 

 black. As the prevailing colour in 

 garden scenery is green in all its dif- 

 ferent shades and mixtures, so the 

 prevailing colour in parterres ought to 

 be red, and all its various shades and 

 mixtures. Next to red, yellow, 

 orange, and all their various shades 

 and mixtures, ought to prevail, as 

 contrasting with the blue of the sky, 

 and with that of water, should there 

 be any near the flower-garden. In 

 choosing the colour for any particular 

 flower-bed, it is necessary to consider 

 what colours are to be placed adjoin- 

 ing it ; and in choosing the colour for 

 plants to be placed in vases or pots, it 

 is necessary to consider the back- 

 ground against which they are to be 

 seen. For example, an elevated vase 

 with the sky for a background should 

 never be planted with either blue or 

 purple flowers ; but orange or red 



