GARDEN COLOUR 



6i 



as anything. After all, the making of gardens is not an 

 exact science, nor can we expect much help from books 

 which pretend to teach the subject in a series of recipes. 

 The best and most practical works on garden craft 

 attempt nothing more than suggestion ; their writers 

 never dogmatise nor embarrass us by rules. Instead of 

 saying, ''This is how we made a beautiful garden; 

 follow our directions and yours will be equally good," 

 they give us a word-picture of the garden, leaving us 

 to adopt such of its features as please us, and are capable 

 of reproduction in our case. 



I have been tempted to this slight digression, not as 

 an apology for including a few thoughts on colour, but 

 because I feel convinced that we should see more really 

 good gardens, if form and colour were in future regarded 

 as necessary and eminently practical considerations. 



The colour of most garden flowers is good, though 

 the hybridist has often done his best to spoil it by 

 raising new varieties at any sacrifice. It is our way of 

 combining colours that is defective and leads to the 

 tawdry, garish appearance of so many gardens. The 

 fiery scarlet of geraniums is an example of fine colour ; 

 the intense blue of dwarf lobelias is exquisite, so also is 

 the yellow of the bedding calceolaria. And yet when 

 the three are combined, as is done to distraction by those 

 who practise the pernicious carpet bedding," the crude 

 result gives one to reflect that people afflicted with 

 colour blindness have sometimes much to be thankful 

 for. It is true that in Nature we often see colours 

 daringly contrasted, but then Nature is an irreproachable 

 artist, and may attempt with impunity effects which we 

 lesser lights could not hope to redeem from failure. 

 Nature, too, is unhampered by the hmitations which the 

 small garden imposes upon us ; she spreads her colours 

 broadly, lavishly, fearlessly, and with supreme confi- 

 dence. Besides, she has at her command a thousand 



