64 A Little Maryland Garden 
she went along; not as we see from the car 
windows a flash of dogwood, or a ripple of 
daisies, past before we have realised the 
picture they make. Of this trip she says: 
The vegetation is enchanting. Fancy blue 
larkspurs, and yellow jasmine, and glorious 
coloured oleanders, and begonias. Virgin lilies, 
and yet taller white lilies, and gardenias and 
sunflowers, all growing wild and most luxuri- 
antly. I was quite excited when I first saw 
waxen leaved begonias cuddling into the crevices 
of a rock by the wayside. 
At another time she speaks of the poppy 
fields of China: 
We travelled through a perfect flower show of 
poppies. Not the wild field poppy of England, 
but like those we have in our gardens, standing 
up tall and stately about five feet high. Most 
were white, a delicate, fair, frail, blossom; 
others altogether pink, or mauve, or scarlet, 
or scarlet and black; or perhaps, best of all, 
crimson, which when looked at against the 
brilliantly blue sky made our eyes ache with 
colour-pleasure. 
On reading this I sent immediately for seeds 
