Evening star., 1931-04-10
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

like to talk Iearnedly Of "colOr in the
garden"
Perhaps too great an accent has been
put upon the subject. Color in the
garden Is O theme which easily may run
away with the person who approaches
1t in too serious a manner. It Is all
very well to strive for harmony in
paintings, but to feel that Gods flowers
In some mysterious way clash with each
other is to go out Of ones way to be
displeased.
It seems true enough that many per-
sons do work hard to be displeased, not
only with persons but with things. We
can think OF no more futile quarrel
than that with flower colors, whether
one goes" with another, whether this
will blend with that
Taste is not to be abjured, Of course,
because taste Is as precious in the gar
den as in literature; but the too re-
fined striving and straining to make
garden colors live up to a preconceived
color chart strikes some of us as a
perhaps noble but misguided attempt to
gid the lily.
The azaleas skirt previously near to
the shade called magenta, ;" and vet are
glorious flowers. They silently rebuke
the magenta haters.
They are brilliant and showy. and de-
mand plenty of green background, In
the form OF grass, evergreens and
Shrubbery. With such proper back
grounds the brilliance of aaaleas, is soft
ened and blends very nicely with the
general landscape.
They dc well in q partly shady, pro-
tected spot, and are said to shrink from
lime, as their cousins the rhododen-
drons. DO. Many different varieties are
available. The average homeowner
will find few specimen plants enough.
In the very large grounds a sweep of
them along a roadside Is a t,eautiful
sight.
The azaleas will be but one of many
striking natural sights to be seen on
Sunday afternoon walks next month.
In the meantime the pedestrian will be
interested in watching the green on
weeping willow trees and privet hedges
ana the like. There Is nothing more
interesting TO the Nature lover than this
return OF the native coloring. The old,
dead sticks, bare and gray all Winter,
put on fresh pale green which gradually
turns darker
Rosebushes, even though cut down to
the ground, are sending up their shoots,
and these are clothed with small leaves
darker hues, mixed with the brown
which these leaves develop so har-
moniouSly.
But natural sights, as engrossing as
they are. will be but part of the after
noon. Cur city is now undergoing a
building transformation, both in public
and private operations Many have
done mach reading about these building
programs but have not seen the work
for themselves.
A bright afternoon could be spent to
no better purpose, it would seem, than
acquaintlng ones self with the newer
city developments.
Our great new Government edifices
should be more than just a name to us.
None OF us should find himself in the
position OF the mythical person who
has lived in the National Capital all his
life but who has never been up in the
Washington Monument
Sometimes one may wonder II such a
person exists; but, then, II he is honest
with himself, he will be forced to con-
less that there Is more than one inter-
estlng building in Washington, which
he himself, through some chance, has
not seen.
Sunday afternoons in Spring are per-
fect for such trips. The sight Of so
many eager, interested sightseers from
other cities brings home to the resident
OF Washington that there are. after ali,
a great many interesting things to see
here.
If sometimes We tend to forget this
simple truth in the rush Of daily living,
now Is good time to recall it to our
selves in order that we may 20 out
some sunny Sunday afternoon and be-
come acquainted all over again with the
interesting, beautiful city in which we
live. No resident Of Washington and
vicinity should permit this city to be-
come commonplace to him.