Elegance and Colour

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22540, 3 October 1936, Page 10 (Supplement)

Elegance and Colour

TT is a blessing we do not all have the same ideas of what is beautiful or single-track minds with regard to flowers. Imagine the result if everyone cared for dahlias and no one liked sweet peas or grew zinnias or roses in their gardens. Would we not grow weary of the repetition 1 ? Sometimes wo hear remarks that the giant blooms of Japanese chrysanthemums are ugly, yet it is around these stands that the people congregate at tho shows, so groat is the number of enthusiasts in the growing of these blooms Some cannot understand anyone making a hobby of growing vegetables, yet there aro many who take a pride in their vegetable exhibits, and in some cases friendships have been jeopardised in the arguments over tho respective merits of one or the other exhibit. After all there aro a good many things which depend neither upon size, nor any special exhibition qualities to endear them to lovers of real beauty. Elegance and grace often characterise flowers which aro small individually, although they may bo produced with lavish freedom. Even the plant breeder cannot always convert a small flower into a large one, for which wo may be thankful from an artistic point of view, because many dainty gems lose their attractiveness when made large. It would seem that Nature knows this, for taking two flowers at random, the gilia and viscnria, there is no difference in the size of flowers grown without special care and thoso well-thinned and liberally nourished. ' ■* There are numerous othor flowerß ol a dainty character which aro beautiful and interesting, their seeming delicacy contrasting so decisively with the large things which compol admiration that they add much to the fascination of a well-stocked garden.