542 



LILIUM. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN, 



LILIUM 



Sappho, incomparable, erectum, multi- 

 florum, Don 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 known of the early Lilies. It is 

 commonly known by the name of Thunber- 

 gianum. It is very variable, and there are 

 about a dozen named varieties. The type 

 grows about i foot high, and has stout 

 erect stems, which bear numerous narrow 

 leaves, and are terminated by a bright 

 orange-red flower, 5 or 6 inches across. 

 A native of Japan, flowering with us about 

 the beginning of July. Most of the varie- 

 ties are so distinct as to merit a slight 

 description. They are marmoratum and 

 marmoratum aureum, two of the earliest 

 forms ; alutaceum, not more than 9 inches 

 high, with a large, pale apricot-coloured 

 flower, copiously spotted ; armenaicum 

 (venustum), about i feet high, with 

 several moderate-sized flowers (in autumn) 

 of a rich glowing orange-red ; atrosan- 

 guineum, about i feet high, with large 

 flowers of rich deep crimson ; Batemannice, 

 about 4 feet high, with several moderate- 

 sized flowers, in late summer, of a rich 

 unspotted apricot tint (L. Batemannice 

 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 foot 

 high, with large flowers orange-red, flamed 

 with a deeper hue ; brevifolium, i|r feet 

 high, with flowers pale red and slightly 

 spotted ; citrinum, like armenaicum, but 

 taller; fulgens, i to i feet high, with 

 four to six large flowers of a deep red ; 

 sanguineum, i to i feet high, with one or 

 two large blood-red flowers ; L. Hors- 

 manni, 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, i feet 

 high, with very deep crimson-red flowers, 

 spotted with black ; Wallacei, -2\ feet 

 high, with rich orange-red flowers, spotted 

 with black ; Wilsoni, 2 feet 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 mar- 

 gins of shrubberies. 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 feet high, 

 terminated by a huge raceme, i to 2 feet 

 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 under- 

 growth of thin shrubs to protect the 

 growth in spring. The soil must be deep 

 and well drained, and must consist of 

 sandy peat and leaf-mould, strengthened 



'a***s*!KL3 



W 1 ^^^^ 



L ilium giganiei'-w. 



by a little rich loam, and plenty of rich 

 manure. At Wisley this noble species is 

 quite at home, and gives many of its 

 towering spikes annually. After flowering 

 and maturing seeds the old bulb perishes, 

 the plant being perpetuated by offsets, 

 which flower three or four years later. 

 Seeds are abundantly produced, and 

 should be sown when ripe, the seedlings 

 appearing the following spring in their 

 hundreds. Seedlings take about eight 

 years before flowering, and should be 

 planted in their permanent positions when 

 about half grown. The planting of giant 

 bulbs fully grown is a fatal error. Nepal. 

 L. HANSONI. A handsome Japanese 

 species, about 4 feet high, having whorls of 

 bright green leaves and a terminal spike 

 of about a dozen bright, orange-yellow, 

 brown-spotted flowers. It flowers about 

 the beginning of June, is quite hardy, and 

 succeeds in sheltered situations in a soil 

 consisting of two parts of peat, one of 

 loam, and one of road-scrapings. 



