^FHE GARDEN PICTURE 37 



which geometry is invoked to provide the 

 gardener with inspiration. Nature does not 

 grow her flower groups within the rigid limits 

 of five-pointed stars, crescents, and crosses. 

 Beds in grass are sometimes admirable features 

 in the general scheme, if modelled on simple 

 shapes. The more elaborate the form of the 

 bed the more time and labour will be expended 

 in preserving its geometry, and the less enjoy- 

 ment will be derived from the flowers. The 

 maker of stars and crescents, moreover, 

 should realize that an acute angle is an awk- 

 ward one to which to adapt his flowers, and 

 that to preserve the outlines of such beds it 

 is necessary to fill them with puny plants, 

 which, by constant pinching, are prevented 

 from developing their natural charm of form 

 and character. The result is that the bed is 

 exalted above the flower, and the whole device 

 becomes a mere formal patch of colour, ex- 

 citing no more worthy emotion than an admira- 

 tion for the gardener's patience and skill with 

 the turf trimmer. Better to adopt a simple 

 circle, square, or rectangle and to be not 

 too particular if the flowers spread on to the 

 grass, so long as they grow under natural 



