44 
House & G a r d e n 
COLOR EFFECTS WITH M A Y-FLO WERING TULIPS 
Jlarmonious Combinations of Tones Selected from the \lany Varieties 
JVhich Yon Can Grow in Your Own Garden 
ELIZABETH LEONARD STRANG 
T O achieve an effect from 
the bewildering nuinher 
of tulip varieties cataloged— 
and not infreciuently being 
obliged to turn a blind eye 
upon some of the more amaz¬ 
ing descriptions appended 
thereto—makes the solution 
of a Chinese puzzle as ex¬ 
hilarating as filling in the 
missing letters in N-- 
Y-. Color schemes fail 
to work out according to 
specifications; tints become 
disloyal, colors traitorous. Of 
course, each individual has 
ideas of her own as to what 
constitutes color, so that 
mauve, purple, violet, cerise 
and the like do not always 
register similarly upon the 
inward eyes of different in¬ 
dividuals. Consequently, mis¬ 
takes will occur unless the 
flowers are seen in juxtaposi¬ 
tion, for memory is treach¬ 
erous where the harmony of 
slightly varying tones is con¬ 
cerned. 
'Ehe groups herewith out¬ 
lined were worked out from a 
collection of cut tulips. They 
are not by any means the 
only possible combinations, 
Irut by following the general 
scheme of classification one 
will avoid unre.stful or bel¬ 
ligerent color clashes. To 
simplify matters, certain sym- 
Ijols are used: * means E.xtra 
F'ine; C, Cottage; D, Dar¬ 
win; B, Breeder, and Sp., 
Species. The approximate 
prices given are for ten bulbs. 
Combination A — Violets, purples 
and clear, soft yellow. 
*C—Moonlight: clear, soft 
yellow, long pointed blos¬ 
som ..s; .75 
D—Gryphus: deep pansy 
purple . 1.60 
D—La Tristesse: lovely vio¬ 
let, no pinkish cast, ashy 
edge -_..65 
D—Bleu Aimable: warm 
pinky violet, smaller 
flowers than others in the 
group . 1.70 
In the following group the 
first three would make an 
excellent purple and gold 
effect. The last two give life 
and variety. The effect is 
somewhat somber in the gar¬ 
den and should be used with i 
plenty of very pale yellow: 
Iris flavescens or white ara- 
bis. All the delicacy of the 
effect is destroyed, however, > 
if you use a deep yellow like 
Fiilgens liitea maxima. 
Combination B 
C— Fulgens lutea pallida, 
syn. Solfatara: pale straw 
yellow, reflexed petals... $ .75 
B—Chestnut; slender, chest¬ 
nut brown, or mahogany- 
wine color, purplish bloom 
inside .70 
The old-fashion¬ 
ed tulips have 
been far surpass¬ 
ed by the mod¬ 
ern Darwin and 
Cottage types, 
which are taller 
and more varied. 
Massed planting 
is the best 
M ay- flowering 
tulips offer a 
wide range of 
color. Many ef¬ 
fective schemes 
can be worked 
out fro m the 
c 0 m binations 
given in this 
article 
A good example 
of informal tulip 
planting along a 
walk. Some low- 
growing flower¬ 
ing plant should 
be used to bor¬ 
der the beds and 
give contrast 
