8 IN A CHESHIRE GARDEN 



ticular care on my part, it has maintained 

 itself in more or less quantity in the same 

 herbaceous border ever since. 



In 1897, a single plant of an " Allium " 

 appeared and grew to a height of more than 

 five feet, straight up with very stout stems, 

 one and a half inches in circumference, and 

 handsome heads of reddish-green bell-shaped 

 flowers on drooping stalks, which afterwards, 

 in fruit, became quite straight and upright. 

 I found it to be "Allium Dioscorides," a 

 native of Sicily and Sardinia. There were 

 many tubers at the root when I took it up, 

 but none of them ever grew so tall and fine 

 as the original. 



One or two plants that I have introduced 

 myself have proved very tiresome weeds. 

 In 1875 or thereabouts, I brought back from 

 the wild part of a large garden in the neigh- 

 bourhood a balsam with rather a conspicuous 

 yellow flower (" Impatiens noli-me-tangere," 

 I think). It made itself at home at once, but 

 as it would keep within no bounds, I have 

 done all I could " to get without it," as they 

 would say here, but it defies me to my face 

 and in spite of relentless persecution, again 

 and again every spring it comes up smiling 

 in an abundant crop. 



So indeed does a tall polygonum (" P. 

 cuspidatum " I believe it is) that I brought 

 back from the same garden about the same 

 time. It absolutely refuses to budge from 



