THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



655 



Juan, and Rubens. Being strong growers 

 and flowering freely, they are fine plants 

 for the mixed border, for margins of 

 shrubberies, or for groups or masses, 

 thriving in partial shade as well as in 

 sunny places. 



L. elegans. — One of the best and most 

 generally grown of the early Lilies. It is 

 commonly known by the name of Thun- 

 bergianum. It is very variable, and there 

 are about a dozen named varieties. The 

 type grows about i ft. high, and has 

 stout erect stems, which bear numerous 

 narrow leaves, and are terminated by a 

 bright orange-red flower, 5 or 6 in. across. 

 A native of Japan, flowering with us about 

 the beginning of July. Most of the 

 varieties are so distinct as to merit a 

 slight description. They are — marmora- 

 tum and marmoratum aureum, two of the 

 earliest forms ; alutaceum, not more than 

 9 in. high, with a large pale apricot- 

 coloured flower, copiously spotted ; arme- 

 naicum (venustum), about \h ft. high, 

 with several moderate-sized flowers (in 

 autumn) of a rich glowing orange-red ; 

 atrosanguineum, about i^ ft. high, with 

 large flowers of rich deep crimson ; Bate- 

 mannia;, about 4 ft. high, with several 

 moderate-sized flowers, in late summer, 

 of a rich unspotted apricot tint (L. Bate- 

 manni?e and L. Wallacei are put by Mr. 

 Baker as allied to L. Leichtlini and the 

 Tiger group. I do not consider the above 

 two species to be Thunbergianum) ; bicolor, 

 about I ft. high, with large flowers orange- 

 red, flamed with a deeper hue ; brevi- 

 folium, i^ ft. high, with flowers pale red 

 and slightly spotted ; citrinum, like 

 armenaicum, but taller ; fulgens, i to \\ 

 ft. high, with four to six large flowers 

 of a deep red ; sanguineum, i to I5 ft. 

 high, with one or two large blood-red 

 flowers ; L. Horsmanni, a dwarf form 

 with richly-coloured flowers of a blood-red 

 mahogany tint, and Splendens, the early 

 form of L. Wilsoni ; Alice Wilson, the 

 beautiful, scarce, lemon-yellow, dwarf form ; 

 Van Houttei, \\ ft. high, with very deep 

 crimson-red flowers, spotted with black ; 

 Wallacei, i\ ft high, with rich orange- 

 red flowers, spotted with black ; Wilsoni, 

 2 ft. high, with large apricot-tinted, yellow 

 striped flowers — one of the latest to 

 bloom. All the L. elegans group are 

 perfectly hardy ; they grow vigorously in 

 almost any soil, but prefer a deep loamy 

 one with an admixture of peat. They 

 like an open position, and are suitable 

 for planting around the margins of shrub- 

 beries. Small groups are beautiful in the 

 open spaces that should exist in every 

 shrubbery or Rhododendron bed. They 



are all excellent border-plants, and the 

 dwarf kinds may be introduced into the 

 rock-garden. In all cases they must be 

 placed in sunny situations. 



L. giganteum.— A noble Lily of huge 

 growth and in aspect different from any 

 other. Its bulb is large and conical, and 

 develops spreading tufts of handsome 

 shining heart-shaped foliage. The flower- 

 stems are stout and erect, 6 to 10 ft. high, 

 terminated by a huge raceme, i to 2 ft. in 

 length, of about a dozen long nodding 

 fragrant flowers, which are white and 

 tinged with purple on the inside. It is 

 one of the hardiest Lilies, and gives very 

 little trouble. It flourishes best in a 

 sheltered position, where there is an 

 undergrowth of thin shrubs to protect the 



Lilium gi: 



growth in spring. The soil must be deep 

 and well drained, and must consist of 

 sandy peat and leaf-mould, strengthened 

 by a little rich loam, and plenty of rich 

 manure. Years sometimes elapse before 

 the tufts of foliage send up bloom. 

 Nepaul. L. cordifolium, a Japanese plant, 

 is a similar, but inferior, species, very rare 

 in cultivation. It requires the same 

 treatment. Cordifolium is said to grow 

 naturally in Japan in shady damp places, 

 cool and moist. A small group of three 

 or four plants will do well in an open spot 

 among shrubs, in a free peaty soil, and 

 when in flower the effect will be all that 

 can be desired. 



L. Hansoni, — A handsome Japanese 

 species, about 4 ft. high, having whorls of 



