Yesterday a thing long desired finally happened: I acquired a copy
of V.
Sackville-West’s Passenger to Teheran. It’s the 1990 edition with an
introduction by her son Nigel Nicolson – I recommend this edition
for this
introduction in particular because it gives good background
information and
gives answers to some questions which the attentive reader will no
doubt
want to ask.

When I finally acquire a book I’ve long wanted, I pounce on it. Last
night I
skimmed through the text, starting from the back and working towards
the
front as is my style. I was searching for the passages where she
describes
seeing Fritillaria imperiialis in the wild. I quickly found that,
but I also
found something which left me puzzled.

Here’s what she wrote: “The yellow squills are everywhere, very
strongly
scented.” What in the world could these have been? Was “squill” a
lapsus
calami for “narcissus”, as in Narcissus tazetta?

Jim McKenney

jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com

Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West,
USDA zone
7

My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/

BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/

Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS

Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/

Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/

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