Consistency in Growth
However arbitrary traditional ornament may appear, there is consistency in the best examples, which display in many details some general observance of the principle of natural growth. There may be no attempt to exploit any known type, the creation being purely artificial; still the association of stem, leaves and flowers is suggestive of natural growth.
The arrangement is generally progressive, as in nature a plant develops outwards and onwards from the root, and the orthodox scroll ornament may be considered as a stem of undulate form (constituting the growth line) with branches, elaborated with leaves and flowers which are arranged successively.