CHAPTEE VII 



ESSENTIAL CULTUEAL POINTS 



A FEW of the lilies have become so domesti- 

 cated that they will do well in any ordinarily 

 good garden conditions; the tiger lily even re- 

 fuses to let grass choke it to death. But most 

 of them are not sufficiently remote from the 

 wild to make it safe to deny them an approach 

 to what they have been accustomed to in life, 

 and there is not one that does not thrive better 

 if its particular likes are catered to. 



It goes without saying, therefore, that the 

 culture of lilies should begin before the buying 

 of the bulbs, so to speak. Their hardiness, 

 their ease of culture, their soil preference and 

 their shelter and shade requirements having 

 been thoroughly digested, a straight start is 

 easily made. 



Soil preference is of the greatest importance 

 and, fortunately, it is possible, with a little 

 care, to supply almost any local deficiency. 

 [The majority of lilies grow naturally in very, 



38 



