November 4, 1905 



HORTICULTURE 



463 



Hardy Lilies 



Very few cksscs uf hardy lluweriuj^' plaiitcs can equal 

 Ihe genus Lilium for grace and beauty, and it is also 

 true that there are but few members of this large family 

 that are reliable here in New England without special 

 treatment of some kind. The few, however, that do suc- 

 ceed are of such value that they are worthy of extended 

 use in gardens. In many flower borders that have to 

 present a dressed appearance throughout the entire 

 growing season it is often a puzzle to know how to cover 

 up the passing of some particular group, as for instance 

 the oriental poppies or the Mertensia virgifiica, and the 

 present mass system of planting that is taking the place 

 of the old-time mixed border, is by no means a satisfac- 

 tory one unless there are conveniences ready to hand to 

 have qualities of plants in pots ready to make good any 

 deficiency in the border that will surely be seen as the 

 season progresses. Most of the lilies, however, are not 

 transient, they fill their allotted place from the first 

 sprouting above ground in early spring to the coming of 

 frost in autumn, stately always, chaste as in the Ma- 

 donna Lily, flaring flamboyant in the Tiger Lilies, and 

 gorgeous with the coming of those of Japan, L. auratum 

 and the specio^um group. 



Lilies, too, lend themselves specially well to mass 

 planting but the soil needs to be prepared for them or 

 else be suited to their growth naturally. In among the 

 dwarf Ehododendron maximum where the soil was always 

 cool and moisture secure, the native L. canadense and L. 

 auperbum have for years exceeded in height and quality 

 of bloom any growth seen in their native haunts. If the 

 soil is sandy it is liable to dry out and become super- 

 heated to an extent that the lilies will suffer. Swamp 

 muck, easily obtainable in most localities, procured at 

 this season and laid up to serate and sweeten by the 

 action of the weather during winter, makes an excellent 

 ingredient to apply liberally to a soil naturally too dry, 

 as it is a great absorbent and reservoir of moisture for 

 the root system to draw upon. The roots that come 

 from the base of the bulbs are apparently the ones that 

 enable the bulb to sprout in spring and perhaps not more 

 than one per cent, of the work done to support the plant 

 is traceable to these basal roots; the balance is accom- 

 plished by the stem roots, the great food foragers which, 

 if the bulbs are planted reasonably deep, build up great 

 stems and later mature sound bulbs. Hence the ground 

 should be well dug and the bulbs planted with -a spade, 

 — the trowel will not make a sufficiently deep hole for 

 the larger growing kinds. 



At this season, too, when cleaning up the garden, do 

 not sacrifice too much to the demon of tidiness, but leave 

 a reasonable length of stem above ground in spring to 

 protect them from fork or spade, and what is even more 

 important helps to keep the bulbs sound, for, if the stems 

 are pulled up, water is easily conducted to the heart of 

 the bulbs and trouble begins for the planter. If it is 

 possible to obtain lilies before the ground freezes up fall 

 planting is always best, provided they are protected 



with a cuvi.'ring of loaves and pine iicrdlcs iiiixcil, or, if it 

 is intcnthM] to replant or rcaiiiin-v hull.,- ulicady in tlie 

 gardi-n no time should be lost. NO niMiti-r Imw carefully 

 bulbs are stored and hamllcd m s|iiiii.: many roots and 

 some stems are sure to be injured m i he handling. 



In selecting a suitable ])lac.c \\lii'ivin to plant lilies 

 partial sliade is mueh to be preferred, such as that 

 afforded by adjacent slirubbery. The heat of the midday 

 sun in summer is always hard for the plants to endure. 

 Of the kinds that are reliable that have thrived and 

 increased here for years, it may be well to name the 

 most though a catalogue description is not intended, but 

 beginning the season with L. elegans, L. Hansonii soon 

 follows, then L. Batemannse, L. auratum platyphyllum, 

 L. Canadense and L. superbum, L. Henryii, L. tigrinum 

 and varieties, ending up the season with the L. speciosum 

 group, making special mention of the variety Mel- 

 pomene most beautifully colored of all. 



L. candidum can hardly be classed with the reliables, 

 beautiful and classic though it is. Its habit of making a 

 certain amount of growth above ground in late summer 

 (this winter killing always), seems to debilitate and they 

 do not stay with us long, but are easily and cheaply re- 

 placed. L. suliihureum used to do well year after year 

 but an accident, the failure to protect in fall, put au 

 end to them one specially severe winter. 



Last year in July we gathered the small stem bulbs 

 from the L. tigrinum growing in the garden, sowed them 

 in a drill between two rows of asparagus, protected- in 

 winter with leaves and boards, and this year every one 

 must have grown, and we estimate there are fully two 

 thousand nice bulbs there now, ranging in size from an 

 English walnut down. We expect many to bloom next 

 vear. 



Azalea Amoena 



An evergreen azalea, reliably hardy as far north as 

 New York City. Flowers magenta pink. A good variety 

 for edging groups of larger growing species. Our illus- 

 tration shows it growing in Fairmount Park, Philadel- 

 phia. 



