CHAPTER XI 
THE BLUE FLOWER BORDER 
“ Blue thou art, intensely blue ! 
Flower ! whence came thy dazzling hue ? 
When I opened first mine eye. 
Upward glancing to the sky. 
Straightway from the firmament 
Was the sapphire brilliance sent.” 
— -James Montgomery. 
UESTIONS of color relations in 
a garden are most opinion-mak- 
ing and controversy-provoking. 
Shall we plant by chance, or by a 
flower-loving instinct for shel- 
tered and suited locations, as was 
done in all old-time gardens, and 
with most happy and most un- 
affected results ? or shall we plant severely by col- 
ors — all yellow flowers in a border together? all 
red flowers side by side ? all pink flowers near each 
other ? This might be satisfactory in small gardens, 
but I am uncertain whether any profound gratifi- 
cation or full flower succession would come from 
such rigid planting in long flower borders. 
William Morris warns us that flowers in masses 
are “ mighty strong color,” and must be used with 
caution. A still greater cause for hesitation would 
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