46 POT-POURRI FROM A SURREY GARDEN 



Schizophragma hydrangeoides is a good wall-plant. For 

 those who can get it to do on a half-shaded wall, is there 

 any greater joy to the south country gardener than the 

 Tropceolum speciosum ? There is an illustration of it in 

 the 'English Flower Garden' (Flame Nasturtium), where 

 it is depicted growing up strings. I think, however, it 

 looks better if grown over some light creeper, Jasmine 

 especially. It wants peat and moisture, and, above all, it 

 must be in a place the spade or fork never reaches, as its 

 thin little creeping white roots are easily disturbed, and 

 even mistaken for a weed and thrown away. 



March %2nd. Such a lovely spring day, in spite of its 

 cold wind ; it makes me long to be sixteen miles away in 

 my little garden. Even here in London great pure white 

 stately clouds are sailing over the blue. How lucky I am 

 to be going away so soon ! I wish it gave half as much 

 pleasure to the rest of the family as it does to me ; but 

 one of the few advantages of old age is that we may be 

 innocently selfish. A day like this makes me think of a 

 little poem that appeared in the Spectator twenty years 

 ago. It was written by a young clergyman's wife, who 

 worked hard amidst the sordid blackness of a manufactur- 

 ing town on the banks of the Tyne. My young friends 

 will say, ' How morbid are Aunt T.'s quotations ! ' It is 

 perhaps true ; but all bright, lovable, sympathetic souls 

 had a touch of morbidness in the days that are gone, and 

 these ' Notes ' have no meaning at all unless I try to give 

 out in them the impressions received during forty years. 



THE POET IN THE CITY 



The poet stood in the sombre town, 



And spoke to his heart and said : 

 ' weary prison, devised by man ! 



seasonless place and dead ! ' 

 His heart was sad, for afar he heard 



The sound of the spring's light tread. 



