148 
HERBACEOUS GARDEN 
with their varying and ever-shifting tones. 
Perhaps a bold planting of the blue hydrangea 
could be so arranged that the mass of flower 
in deep blue tones stands out, with no inter- 
vening shrubs or trees or grass, against the 
paler blue of the mountains. 
This, a perfectly natural effect in parts of 
Cape Colony, might well be copied in such 
favoured places as Wales, Cornwall, Ireland, 
and wherever the absence of lime in the soil, 
or the presence of iron, turns the ordinary pink 
hydrangea into that lovely, satisfying blue (not 
the grey and slaty effect produced by alum, 
and home-made efforts). 
A very charming blue garden has been made 
by Mr Percy Noble at Park Place, Henley. 
There a deep hollow on the side of a hill, used 
for a century as a dumping-ground for dead 
leaves and garden rubbish, has been transformed. 
It is shaded by large trees on one side and is 
open to the sun on the other. A path curves 
round the hollow down to the bottom, where 
is a small lily pond. Massed along the sides 
of the walk are all the blue flowers that can 
be found, or that will grow ; and, as great care 
has been taken to eliminate any colours that 
clash, a very charming effect has been obtained. 
In late summer, when it is difficult to get a 
