600 



LAYING OUT FLOWER-GARDENS. 



" 4. When two colours harmonise bad- 

 ly, they had better be separated by some- 

 thing white. 



" 5. Black never produces a bad effect 

 when combined with two bright colours. 

 In such cases, indeed, it is often better 

 than white, especially when separating 

 the one colour from the other. For ex- 

 ample, black produces a harmony of con- 

 trast with the following binary arrange- 

 ments — viz., red and orange, red and 

 yellow, orange and yellow, orange and 

 green, yellow and green. 



" 6. Black associated with dark colours, 

 such as blue and violet, or with bright 

 colours with a deep tone, produces har- 

 monies which often have a good effect. 

 For example, an arrangement of black, 

 blue, and violet is better than one of 

 white, blue, violet, white, &c, — the latter 

 being too violent. 



" 7. Black with two colours, one bright 

 and the other dark, is not so good as 

 when the two colours are both bright ; 

 and in the first case, the brighter one 

 of the colours, the worse the effect pro- 

 duced. 



" Thus, in the following arrangements 

 black is inferior to white : — 



Red and blue. Yellow and blue. 



Red and violet. Green and blue. 



Orange and blue. Green and violet. 

 Orange and violet. 



" Lastly, with yellow and violet, if not 

 inferior to white, black, at all events, 

 produces but a middling effect. 



" 8. Grey with two luminous colours, 

 though it perhaps does not produce a de- 

 cidedly bad effect, makes the arrangement 

 look flat, and is inferior to black or white. 

 With red and orange, perhaps, grey may 

 be better than white, but it is inferior to 

 it, as well as to black, when placed with 

 red and green, red and yellow, orange and 

 yellow, orange and green, or yellow and 

 green ; it is also inferior to white with 

 yellow and blue. 



" 9. Grey associated with dark colours, 

 such as blue and violet, and with bright 

 colours of a deep tone, does not produce 

 so' good an effect as black in the same 

 cases. If the colours do not look well 

 when together, it is better to separate 

 them. 



" 10. Grey and two colours, one bright 

 and the other dark, is better than white, 

 if the latter produces a contrast of too deep 



a tone — and better than black, if the 

 latter increases the proportion of dark 

 colours too much. For example, grey is 

 better than black with 



Green and violet. 

 Green and blue. 

 Orange and violet. 



"11. When two colours harmonise 

 badly, they had better be separated by 

 white, black, or grey ; but, in so doing, 

 attention must be paid to the tone of the 

 colours, and to the proportion of light 

 and dark colours. For example, as to 

 the tone of the colours, the effect of white 

 with red and orange is lessened in propor- 

 tion as their tones are deepened. 



" Black, on the contrary, does very well 

 with the same colours at their normal 

 tone ; that is, when, without containing 

 any black, they are as intense as pos- 

 sible. 



" Lastly, grey is not so good as black 

 with red and orange, nor does it produce 

 so violent a contrast as white. 



" Then, again, with regard to the pro- 

 portion of light and dark colours, when- 

 ever the colours differ too much, either 

 in their tone or by the brilliancy of the 

 black or white associated with them, the 

 arrangement in which each of the two 

 colours is separated by black or by white, 

 is preferable to that in which the black 

 or the white separates each couple of 

 colours. 



" Thus the arrangement, white, blue, 

 white, violet, &c, is better than the ar- 

 rangement, white, blue, violet, white, &c. ; 

 so black, red, black, orange, black, &c, is 

 better than black, red, orange, black, &c." 



The following diagrams are given by 

 Mrs Merrifield in her excellent essay on 

 " The Harmony of Colours as exemplified 

 in the Exhibition," and maybe studied with 

 great advantage by the flower-gardener. 

 The following arrangement, somewhat on 

 the principle of the rainbow or prism, has 

 a happy effect, viz. : — 



a 



o 

























W 



a 





s 



















>> 



Deep cr 



Mixed. 



Geranh 



Red. 



Orange. 



Yellow. 



Green. 



Blue. 



Violet. 



Dull re( 



| Grey. 



| Mulben 



"As an instance of defective arrange- 

 ment, the following may be given : — 



