Color Chart Notes on Spring Flowers. 
(Color Karnes in italics refer to named colors in "Color Standards 
and Nomenclature" by Dr. Kobert Bidgway.) 
The following notes, incomplete as they are. may be of use 
to other Garden Club Members interested in this subject ; for 
only by comparison with other lists can we construct the perfect 
flower color catalog. 
To get the surest results in matching an exact color tone 
illustrated in the printed plates of Dr. Ridgway's book requires 
a procedure that all should follow. Otherwise the lists would 
be confused and of importance only to the individuals who made 
them. I give my method not as necessarily authoritative, but as 
a good working plan. 
First the flowers to be identified are freshly opened and a 
note made of their fading color as follows: (a) the effect en 
masse, (b) the color as it changes in shadow and sunlight. 
Second, the flowers are taken out of the sunlight into a north 
light (in my case an unroofed porch having a background of 
neutral gray cement). Lastly, the petal (which must be free 
from moisture), is placed on the color plates and the hue scale 
finally decided upon. Then the other visible color scales are 
covered up with a dull grey paper and the petal is slowly drawn 
over the exposed plates. When it is impossible to distinguish 
the petal from the selected shade of the scale — when they are as 
one — a note is made of the tone. Frequently it is impossible to 
find the exact identity of tone, — there are gradations of color 
in flowers that defy reproduction by printing. But there is 
always a tint or shade near the color in question, if not the 
exact match. Dr. Ridgway has no "Buttercup Yellow" which 
is common among flowers, so I have added the plate of that color 
from the French Chart to his book. This, I think, is the only 
tone that is missing — except perhaps the bright violet-reds seen 
in some Roses. But I have always been able to identify the tone 
scale of any flower color, if not the exact shade or tint. For all 
planting purposes this is enough for the garden artist. 
One must remember that, under brilliant April skies with 
tender green all about, and the gold of a welcome sun that colors 
our eyes with tones of hope and inspiration, one must be firmly 
scientific, and not be mislead by these influences in making one's 
deductions. Few eyes see the finer distinctions of color and few 
people see the same color at the same time. If we can establish 
a "tone scale" for our garden flowers the finer gradations of the 
color plates will not be necessary. For instance, if the word 
"scarlet" conveys to all the idea of a red showing the strong 
influence of orange, and that "red" is a pure color without 
orange or purple; that "purple" is a deep violet showing the 
influence of red, we could let the intermediate tones slip. For 
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