Not all the intruders are as unwelcome in my garden as the
over-fertile tree. Over the years several plants have appeared from nowhere. Some of them are still growing strong.
There is the arum lily – or some variety of arum lily. It has not grown as big as the pedigreed arum lilies, not does it flower as often, but it is still welcome in my garden. I like its large (all right, largish) leaves and I adore its while funnel-like flowers that have all too short lifespan. Alas, my arum lily did not flower last year, but I am not giving up hope.
Then there is something that looks and tastes like strawberry (yes, I have bravely tasted it), so it must be a strawberry plant. I don't know where it came from. One day, it was simply there. I suspect that it made its way from the next door neighbour’s garden. Perhaps a bird plucked the berry, then dropped it in my garden and did not dare to come and fetch it because the neighbour’s cat was prowling around (as it usually does). Delicious fruit aside, the plant nicely refreshes an otherwise dull corner.
The third intruder is not really an intruder at all. I introduced the small violets several years ago, then forgot all about them until they started sprouting here and there. True, they make a statement only when planted en masse, but I think that my lone mini violets still look rather cheerful and I get annoyed with myself every time I mistake them for weeds and pluck them out (which happens often before they open their characteristic flowers).
Another introduced intruder is a ground cover with round leaves. It was originally intended to occupy a sizeable portion of space. Since it was too quick to spread without the benefit of looking particularly pretty, I pulled out as much of it as I could and transplanted it into a corner where I hoped it would not bother anyone. While it looks much better in the new position, it still spreads too quickly and has to be checked in order not to devour the pebbles.
