HOUSE AND GARDEN 
April, 
DO 
293 
It is seldom the case that a favorite dower must be discarded 
because of an inharmonious shade, as nearly all dowers come in 
a wide diversity of tones and colors and among these one may 
make suitable selection. 
When uncertain as to what to use or what is really sought for 
in color, the adoption of some one color, say yellow with white, 
will produce a charming effect to which, another year, if one's 
taste has sufficiently crystalized, may be added another, blue or 
pink, and a color scheme obtained that should be satisfying in 
the extreme. But the use of one color in the garden is a fascinat¬ 
ing development of color work and through its adoption' one 
learns much of its possibilities, makes the acquaintance of many 
heretofore unknown members of old families of dowers and dnds 
it, altogether, a delightful study. 
Dednite color schemes may be planned for each season of the 
year, and the early garden filled with masses of colored tulips of 
the desired shade — scarlet or soft pink with hyacinths to match, 
and the white of crocuses and other bulbs — the summer garden 
may be emphasized with the blue of iris, delphiniums, monk’s 
hood, forget-me-nots, anchusas, blue tufted pansies, bachelor’s 
buttons, browellias, lobelias and the like, while the fall garden 
may be gorgeous with the yellow and white of chrysanthemums, 
golden glow and dahlias. 
It will be found immensely interesting to take the catalogues 
and make a list of all the flowers of a certain color, together with 
their time of blooming. You will learn, for instance, that there 
are a great many more blue flowers than you supposed, and that 
the same is true of all the different colors, so that if you have a 
preference for certain shades you will be surprised to find how 
liberally the florists are catering to it. 
A garden which has several divisions or is cut up by shrubbery, 
arbors or hedges, offers admirable opportunity for color work, 
as the separate parts can be devoted to separate color schemes 
rather than to separate flowers. This would add immensely to 
the interest of a garden, and is worthy of serious consideration 
in planning a new garden. 
There is another arrangement of a color scheme which might 
appeal to some, and that is the shading of beds and borders of 
plants. This requires thorough knowledge of the color shades 
of the flowers employed or the aid of an experienced florist, but 
very pretty effects can doubtless be obtained by the use of flowers 
of a given color shaded from the palest tints down to the strongest 
that are obtainable. Pansies afford an excellent opportunity for 
this form of planting and delphiniums another, as these shade 
from the purest white down to the strongest ultramarine. Roses 
give an infinity of shade gradations, and some very successful 
color schemes may be worked out by their use. 
Where one has the knack of so growing roses that they will 
give a mass of bloom at one time, the rose garden, laid out in 
concentric beds surrounding a central bed of tree roses, is ex¬ 
cellent, the roses shading from a rich, dark crimson at the center 
trees through successive and lightening shades to pale pink or 
pure white, at the outer edge, or if you prefer, the center may be 
white shading to a dark tone at the border. 
Often it will be found necessary to employ more than one 
variety of flower to produce the desired color gradation, but this, 
only adds to the interest and tests or increases one’s knowledge of 
flowers. 
There is another point to be borne in mind in planning the color 
effects of the garden, namely, the effect the color has upon its 
apparent dimensions. The presence of white always brings the 
planting nearer to the eye, while blue retires it so that where the 
effect of space is to be increased, as in small gardens, it will be 
wise to plant the white and light colors near the front of the 
garden using such colors as lavender, mauve and, especially, blues 
for the rear beds, as this will make them appear further away and 
so apparently increase the size. 
For the benefit of those who may care to work out definite 
color schemes in their garden or in separate portions of it, the 
following list of plants and their season of bloom is indicated, and 
arranged in order of color as follows: 
BULBS 
A WHITE GARDEN 
NAME 
Crocus-Giant White . 
Hyacinth-Bouquet Royal, Duchess of Bedford 
Prince of Waterloo, La Tour d’Auvergne, Alba 
Superbissima, La Grandesse, LTnnocence... 
Tulips-Joost Van Vondel . 
L’ Immaculee . : . 
La Reine. 
Pottebakker, White Hawk . 
Double La Candeur, Rose Blanche. 
Narcissus-Poeticus . 
Alba Plena Odorata .. 
SEASON OF BLOOM HEIGHT 
.March and April 4" 
. March-April 9" 
■- 9" 
.May 10" 
— 9" 
.- 10" 
. - 10" 
. May 8" 
. April-May 12" 
.- 12" 
Vines and shrubbery around the house should be free from unpleasant c olor contrasts and it is frequently better to have entirely different hues- 
than colors more nearly allied. White is a splendid medium in which to dissolve harsh contrasts 
