220 The Wild Garden 



sweetness. Not a common plant in England, but 

 frequent in the North and West, and in Ireland, it 

 will grow in moist places and in clayey hollows 

 often hopeless from weeds. I planted a large group 

 in such a spot, and it has kept the weeds in 

 check ever since, and gives us its welcome bloom 

 every May. That pretty early spring flower, the 

 Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis), also belongs to 

 this order, and is well worthy of culture. It is naturalized 

 here and there, and is beautiful in light and chalky 

 soils under trees in spring. The common Columbine 

 (Aquilegia vulgaris) is often pretty. It is not common 

 in the wild state, but a true native in several counties 

 of England. In one gorge on Helvellyn I have seen 

 it ascend almost to the top of that mountain, flowering 

 beautifully in almost inaccessible spots; it is rather 

 common in gardens, but in many and varied garden 

 forms. The common poisonous Aconite (A. Napellus) 

 is a fine native plant; it is, however, very common 

 in gardens, where it should be kept quite isolated 

 from any roots likely to be used as food, owing to its 

 poisonous roots. Lastly, in the Buttercup order we 

 have our native Helleborus (viridis and foetidus), which 

 will adorn rough banks with their evergreen leaves. 



The common Berberis vulgaris, which is rather 

 widely distributed, must not be forgotten, for there is 

 no more beautiful sight afforded by any shrub than by 

 this when draped over with its bright racemes of fruit. 

 The white Water Lily, so common in our rivers, should 



