The Blue Flower Border 253 
be the ugly jarring of juxtaposing tints of the same 
color. Yellows do little injury to each other; but 
I cannot believe that a mixed border of red flowers 
would ever be satisfactory or scarcely endurable; 
and few persons would care for beds of all white 
flowers. But when I reach the Blue Border, then I 
can speak with decision ; I know whereof I write, 
I know the variety and beauty of a garden bed of 
blue flowers. In blue you may have much differ- 
ence in tint and quality without losing color effect. 
The Persian art workers have accomplished the 
combining of varying blues most wonderfully and 
successfully : purplish blues next to green-blues, 
and sapphire-blues alongside ; and blues seldom 
clash in the flower beds. 
Blue is my best beloved color; I love it as the 
bees love it. Every blue flower is mine ; and I am 
as pleased as with a tribute of praise to a friend to 
learn that scientists have proved that blue flowers 
represent the most highly developed lines of 
descent. These learned men believe that all 
flowers were at first yellow, being perhaps only 
developed stamens ; then some became white, 
others red; while the purple and blue were the 
latest and highest forms. The simplest shaped 
flowers, open to be visited by every insect, are still 
yellow or white, running into red or pink. Thus 
the Rose family have simple open symmetrical 
flowers ; and there are no blue Roses — the flower 
has never risen to the blue stage. In the Pea 
family the simpler flowers are yellow or red ; while 
the highly evolved members, such as Lupines, 
