160 SUBURBAN GARDENS 
in the degree of harmony between them. To 
meet this variation they must be combined un- 
equally, the proportion varying according to 
the combination. Yellow and purple offer less 
difficulty than the other two and may be used 
in the proportion of about one to two. 
Flowers of certain irises give examples of this 
combination, also pansies. Red and green come 
next, but this combination we are not called 
upon to deal with, Nature taking care of green 
very much better than we could if it were 
left to us. Note, however, just by way of 
illustrating the point of proportion, that red or 
green is always very much in the ascendent. 
Red berries among green foliage show prob- 
ably not more than a one to ten proportion of 
red to green, while scarlet flowers generally 
either reverse this by concealing a large amount 
of their foliage, or do not reduce it at most be- 
low a one part red to seven or eight parts 
green. 
Blue and scarlet are the really difficult mem- 
bers of the trinity to handle, for some mysteri- 
ous reason. It is a combination which may be 
avoided of course; but we are not seeking to 
get around these things. Therefore we must 
find the way to make it tolerable. This lies in 
keeping its proportions even farther apart than 
