538 



LILIUM. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



LILIUM. 



great northern world of mountain and 

 forest is a Lily garden, and it is impos- 

 sible to imitate such conditions in 

 one's own garden, so that the best we 

 can do is study the soil of our district 

 and find out the Lilies that grow best 

 there. If one can get half a dozen 

 kinds to grow in the natural soil of a 

 garden, it is as much as we can expect. 

 Lilies are very much governed by the 

 nature of the soil, and to imitate their 

 natural soil is not easy or always pos- 

 sible. Kinds that thrive in peat and 

 leafy soil sometimes perish in loam and 

 cold and heavy soil. After we find 

 the kind that thrive in our soil, the 

 next thing is to associate with them 

 evergreen or other choice shrubs. The 

 blooming period of some kinds is rather 

 short, and we do not miss them so 

 much if they emerge out of a shrub. 

 Slight shade is often an advantage, and 

 even grown in the open sun it is much 

 the best to let them come out of a 

 carpet or an undergrowth of some 

 other plants ; this will save the soil 

 and give a much prettier effect. 



Culture is important, but arrange- 

 ment and grouping are even more so. 

 There are Lilies which will grow in any 

 ordinary soil ; a good, rich loamy soil 

 suits the greater number ; others want 

 plenty of sand, so as to keep the soil 

 free ; while others can be easily grown 

 in ordinary soil if it is mixed with 

 leaf-mould or peat. In nearly all cases 

 Lilies are more vigorous and brilliant 

 where partially protected from severe 

 frosts, and the flowers last longer when 

 sheltered from the scorching rays of 

 the midday sun. The shrubbery 

 border, among Rhododendrons (for 

 those requiring peat), and the mixed 

 border between shrubs and herbaceous 

 plants, where the young shoots get a 

 slight protection from the early frosts, 

 are among the best situations. A very 

 safe place is near the edge of a Rhodo- 

 dendron bed ; soil that will grow 

 Rhododendrons will grow most sorts 

 of Lilies, and afford protection from 

 " blight and spot," which in some 

 seasons, notably when cold and wet, 

 follow drought, greatly injure the 

 growth and flowering of some species, 

 even though the bulbs be unhurt. It 

 should be remembered that bulbs of 

 nearly all Lilies occasionally lie dor- 

 mant a whole season, and push out 

 luxuriantly the following summer, 

 especially the Martagon tribe. 



Manure should never be dug in 

 with the bulbs, though they accept it 

 gratefully if liberally applied as a top- 



dressing after they have been estab- 

 lished a year. The only manure to be 

 lug in at planting is rich peat and 

 sand, in the proportion of two parts 

 of peat to one of sea sand. In light 

 soils L. auratum and some others are 

 all the better for a top-dressing of dry 

 clay broken small. Lilies may be 

 divided into three classes first, those 

 that are best grown in pots, such 

 as neilgherrense, Wallichianum, philip- 

 pinense, and nepalense ; also Wallichi- 

 anum superbum (sulphureum] , Lowi 

 primulinum, Bakeri, new Burmese 

 Lilies ; and, in many soils and climates, 

 speciosum, auratum, and longiflorum ; 

 secondly, those that are best grown 

 out of doors^ in loamy soil ; thirdly, 

 those that are best grown out of doors 

 in peaty soil. On light soils the follow- 

 ing kinds do remarkably well : L. 

 candidum, longiflorum and its vari- 

 eties, chalcedonicum, excelsum, and 

 the speciosum section ; all of the 

 umbellatum, croceum, and elegans 

 type ; also tigrinum sinense. For 

 deep loamy soil the best kinds are 

 L. auratum, Szovitzianum, Humboldti, 

 the Tiger family, most of the Martagon 

 group ; while in an intermediate soil 

 of leaf-mould, loam, and sand, we 

 advise the planting of Buschianum, 

 philadelphicum, pulchelhim, Browni, 

 giganteum, tenuifolium, Krameri, etc. 

 The N. American forms require more 

 peat and more moisture than the 

 other groups. Lilies require, so far as 

 their roots are concerned, a cool 

 bottom, abundant moisture, and, for 

 most kinds, a free drainage. The 

 slope of a hill, facing south-east or 

 south-west, for instance, with water 

 from above percolating through the 

 sub - soil, so as to always afford a 

 supply, without stagnation, would 

 be an admirable site. 



The propagation of Lilies is generally 

 and most readily effected by separating 

 the bulblets or offsets from the parent 

 bulbs, and these, detached and grown 

 in the same way as the parent, in the 

 course of a year or two make good 

 flowering plants. The scales of the 

 bulbs afford a means of propagation ; 

 but this is a slower method. Raising 

 Lilies from seed, if somewhat tedious, 

 has much to commend it, and as many 

 kinds in this country perfect seed in 

 plenty, and the seedlings flower in 

 three or four years, it is quite worth 

 while. The finest kinds, such as the 

 Japanese and Californian Lilies, are 

 now so cheap that it is scarcely 

 necessary to propagate from home- 



