MAKING YOUR FLOWER GARDEN LOOK “RIGHT'' 
HAMMOND SADLER 
Landscape Architect 
Getting Balance into the Planting and Attaining Tranquillity of Effect by Judicious Repetitions of Mass 
and Color—Plants of Brilliant Bloom or Heavy Habit to be “Handled with Care” in Smaller Gardens 
Editors' Note: The obvious is often the overlooked, and so this simple exposition of the value of balance in planting—by a man to whom experience has 
driven the lesson home and whose days are spent in weaving the living beauty of flowers, trees, and shrubs about the homes of other people—carries illumination 
for the individual gardener. Mr. Sadler’s meaning is clearly conveyed by the drawn plans which, unhampered by specific planting details, may be worked out in a 
number of ways without marring their basic design. The lover of Iris will win a striking late June effect by reiterated masses of this flower throughout the garden, 
where the Dahlia fancier will prefer the deferred triumphs of fall, and the gardener of more ubiquitous taste pleases himself by some balanced composition of 
all-season perennials. Once perceived, this matter of balance is borne instinctively in mind and adds a distinctly pleasurable element in the planning of bed or border. 
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jANY years ago I planned a small garden which was 
divided into sections of color; one section being devoted 
to different varieties of Phlox. My disgust and horror 
when I saw the borders in flower was intense for, though 
the garden was at its best, the Phlox looked as if a windstorm 
had struck it and blown it all into one spot. I learned two things 
from that garden—one was that the sectional color scheme could 
be attempted with good results only in very large gardens or in 
very long borders; the other thing 1 learned was the effect of “ bal¬ 
ance.” I realized the value of repeating the same kind of plants 
(not necessarily the same 
variety) in several places in 
a garden. 
Balance is one of the es¬ 
sentials of successful com¬ 
position and is practiced in 
all the arts. For instance, 
in arranging the living room 
of a home, all the heavy 
furniture is not ordinarily 
concentrated at one side or 
one end of the room; but is 
distributed with the idea of 
obtaining a restful and well- 
balanced arrangement so 
that no single object unduly 
dominates. 
The value of balance, not 
only of form but of color, 
must be borne in mind when 
planning the location of 
plants, for it is an important 
factor in garden design. You 
have only to shut your eyes 
and imagine the effect of all 
the Peonies or all the Iris 
massed in one spot in flower¬ 
bed or border to realize the 
truth of this. 
By way of illustration let 
us take the Phloxes (forever 
impressed on my mind by 
that initial mistake of bygone years) which offer to-day a choice 
of many forms and a considerable number of colors. Let us 
arbitrarily select any three harmonious varieties and call them 
i, 2, and 3 for the purpose of easy discussion. The accompanying 
sketch of a simple border gives a suggestion of how they might 
be used to good effect. It will readily be seen that the color 
is so distributed as to attain the appearance of balance without 
the monotony that results from exact repetition—take some 
colored chalks and tint the sketch according to your own fancy 
for a practical demonstration. 
SUGGESTION FOR BALANCED BORDER PLANTING 
Three harmonious varieties (indicated by white, gray, and black spots) 
of Phlox or any other tall bloom grouped for balance of color and form 
A GARDEN DESIGNED WITH DUE REGARD TO BALANCE 
The advantage of a fundamentally correct plan is that 
it leaves the gardener unhampered as to detail, and the 
selection of actual plants according to his personal taste 
Do not take it for granted, however, that every plant 
used in the flower garden must be repeated in several 
places. In many cases the garden is not large enough 
to justify such use and if attempted, the size of the groups 
would have to be reduced to such small numbers—per¬ 
haps even to single plants—to fit in the general scale that 
spottiness would result. I n the average sized garden only 
those plants which make a big display of color—as Iris, 
Peonies, Larkspur, Phlox, Hardy Chrysanthemums, etc.— 
25 
