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GARDEISIERS' CHRONICLE 



planting has helped to keep plants clear of disease, also 

 tipping them a httle sidevvavs. 



* ■* * 



The common "'riger lily," I., tigrinum, while a native 

 of China, has l)eVn in cultivation for one hundred and 

 twenty years and is seen (juite often growing along road- 

 sides. In New England I have seen abandoned farms 

 where lilacs and this lily i)ore mute testiuKiny that at one 

 time flower lovers dwelt there, but had given up the 

 struggle when the great western wheallands jXDured in 

 food far cheaper than they could raise it, when their chil- 

 dren lured liy the cities' call left, and when the old folks 

 discouraged gave up the struggle and left their homesteads 

 for Nature to reassert itself on them. The showy tiger 

 lily, while too gaudy for admission to the average garden 

 where colors are carefully culled, and where pink, white 

 and blue are about the only ones tolerated, have their place 

 in the perennial border, and wild garden. No other lily 

 will so soon naturalize itself; it propagates readily from 

 seeds and from the bulbils so abundantly produced in the 



a.vils of the lea\es. 



* * * 



A very fine garden lily which flowered early in July is 

 Hansonii, commonly known as the "Golden 1 urks'-Cap 

 Lily." This is one of the most dependable lilies in cultiva- 

 tion and succeeds specially well in full sunshine and with 

 tigrinum thrives extremely well in a heavy soil. Some of 

 the best I have seen were growing in a stitf, retentive 

 clayey loam. For cutting this is one of our very best 

 lilies for the garden, and if given a j)lace where it will 

 not he overshadowed by other plants will grow, flower, and 

 increase most satisfactorily. The flowers are produced 

 loosely on the stalks, are slightly fragrant and spotted 

 with ])urplish brown, the anthers are of an orange-red 



color. 



* * * 



Very vigorous and thoroughly dependable as a garden 

 lily is 1^. Henryi, sometimes called the "yellow speciosum." 

 It is, however, a far more persistent variety than .speci- 

 osum, and not infre(|uently attains a height of seven to 

 eight feet. It is furthermore of an entirely distinct habit 

 of growth from speciosum, and retains its foliage far bet- 

 ter. It is no uncommon thing to see spikes carrying 

 twenty-five to fifty flowers and as many as one hundred 

 and twenty have been produced on a specially robust stalk. 

 Disease which attacks so many lilies ai)i>ears to but rarely 

 touch L. Henryi. Planted a foot dee]) it grows best, and 

 it is well to lift and replant clumps once in three or four 

 years. There are many forms of L. speciosum, and this 

 is a deservedly i)o])ular lily in the garden : as well as for 

 culture in jxits. Its colors fit into garden schemes where 

 special color effects are desired, better than Henryi, but 

 the latter is nnich more disease ])r()of and ])ersistent. Per- 

 haps when we are driven by the I'ederrd I lorticultural 

 Hoard to raise our own lilies we may from home seed- 

 lings get rid of much of the disease which seems jicculiar 



to imported lilies. 



* * * 



Some twentv years ago l-'arcjuhars' of lioston intro- 

 duced L. Phili])pinense. I well remember the award of a 

 gold medal to them for it by the .\Ia,ssaclnisetts 1 lorticul- 

 tural .Society. 1 grew this in ])ans for two or three years, 

 several bulb flf)wering well in six or seven-inch rece])- 

 tacles. The plants did not exceed eighteen inches in 

 height at the maximum, and usually only one of the large, 

 trumjjet shaped and fragrant flowers was ])roduced. This 

 appears to be a very capricious and uncertain lily an<l I 

 have not seen it for years. It ap])ears in one or two Eng- 

 lish catalogs, and is occasion;illy exhibited over there, 

 but it is strange that it shoifld so completely disapix-ar in 

 America. It would be interesting to knfiw if anyone on 

 this side still has this lily. It is, of course, only adapte<l 



for pi.it culture in our cold states, but there should be con- 

 siderable areas in the warmer sections of the country well 

 suited to its culture. Its wax}-, white flowers are delight- 

 fullv Iragrant, and the flower stalks are slender and grace- 

 ful. I have ntit seen more than two flowers on a stem. 



There are more forms of E. elegans than of almost all 

 other hardv lilies combined, and the beginner in lily culture 

 will not go far astray in trying one or more of them. 

 Thev come in quite a wide range of colors and the various 

 forms all ai)pear to have a greater freedom from disease 

 than the bulk of the species. In one list I have l)efore me 

 twentv-seven distinct forms of L. elegans are cataloged 

 and there ;u-e many others. We do not see much of that 

 e.xquisite variety L. testaceum, which is sometimes listed 

 as Isabellinum and Excelsum. This is not found any- 

 where in a wild state and is believed to be a garden hybrid 

 between candidum and Chalcedonicum, the scarlet "Turks' 

 Cap lilv" The bulbs are similar in appearance to those 

 ol candidum. It derives the name "Xankeen Lily" from 

 its nankeen yellow colored flowers. X'igorous spikes of 

 this iily w'ill attain a height of six feet and carry a dozen 

 each of the deliciously fragrant flowers. Still another lily 

 we do not see much of is L. Browni which flowers here 

 early in -August usually carrying but one of its large 

 trumpet shaped flowers to a stem, although I have had 

 four and five on vigorous stalks. The flowers are as nnich 

 as eight inches in length. Within they are creamy white 

 in color, suflused with yellow; without they are heavily 

 tinged with purple. This fine lily needs supporting when 

 in flower as the large and fragrant flowers are very heavy. 

 While coming from Western China and considered a very 

 hardy species, it is a fact that, unless on very well drained 

 lands, the bulbs are liable to decav in Winter. 



Of all the man\- garden lilies, 1 doubt if any is so alto- 

 gether dependable and satisfactory as the Regal Lily, L. 

 regale. I liave never yet seen disease on this variety. 

 I have seen as many as twenty-six flowers on a stem in an 

 oyien field in the near vicinity of Boston, and noted sev- 

 eral this season carrying twenty each. It is remarkable 

 that the stalks in spite of their ajjparent slenderness will 

 bold the flowers up well. I have seen a block of three 

 acres growing in New England on an exposed hillside, 

 which needed no Winter protection, and which was a 

 glorious sight when in flower. No sup[)orts whatever 

 were needed to hold the flower stalks erect. Thev have 

 forsooth a grace lacking in many lilies. 



* * * 



.\ very, pretty hardy annual, carrying pale blue flowers 

 and not exceeding a foot in height, is .\speriUa azurea 

 setosa. This annual will flower in June from an early 

 sowing and successive sowings may be made as in the 

 case of sweet alyssum. This As])erula is eflective as a 

 bordering ])lant and is also good for massing; the color 

 could hardly be displeasing to anyone. Too few amateurs 

 grow the lirowallias, and while this is really a perennial 

 ])lant, it is generally treated as an annual. H. speciosa 

 major is the best variety and the large bright blue flowers, 

 with a white throat, are very abundantly produced for 

 months. 11. elata has nnich smaller llowers than 1>. speci- 

 osa major, but is an excelU'nt bedding plant; both deep 

 blr.e and ])ure white varieties are readily raised from seeds. 

 11. s])eciosa m.ajor makes a verv fine pot ])l;uit and it is also 

 s])lendi<l in baskets. 



♦ * ♦ 



Speaking of basket plants, it i> surprising that more are 

 not grown. Prowallias are but one of many varieties 

 available for growing in this way. b'uchsias, like Trailing 

 (Jueen and others, make grand basket subjects, and if 

 grown in partial shade will flower from )u\\v until Octo- 

 (Continucd on page 204) 



