LIGUSTRUM. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



LILIUM. 



631 



wretched privets, fences which have the 

 one poor quality of rapid growth, but 

 which a man, let alone a beast, could walk 

 through without effort. I have seen 

 whole towns like Leicester with miles of 

 these poor hedges, and they are even to 

 be seen in pretentious show places, where 

 one would expect people to know what a 

 real fence meant. 



Rich in native and other covert plants 

 I have seen the privet recommended by 

 Sir Ralph Payne Gal way as a covert 

 plant, for which it is useless beside the 

 beautiful covert plants we have furze, 

 sloe, sweet briar, juniper, and wild briar 

 rose and above all things recommended 

 as a covert plant near 

 water, for which Na- 

 ture has given us the 

 most fitting of all in 

 the spiry-leaved trees 

 of the willow and dog- 

 wood order of which 

 there are many kinds. 

 As to beauty, the 

 wildest briars that vex 

 our legs and some- 

 times our faces, have 

 far more beauty, 

 whether of leaf, form, 

 flower or fruit. 



The land which has 

 given us so many 

 beautiful trees and 

 shrubs and flowers, 

 America, has nothing 

 to do with the privets, 

 Ligustrum. which are inhabitants 



of Asia and Europe, 

 including China and Japan. Some of 

 the species are evergreen, some summer 

 leafing, and others in our mild climate 

 hang between the two, and keep their 

 leaves except in very severe winters. 

 They are all too quickly propagated by 

 cuttings, and there are tropical species 

 not hardy in our country. 



The gain of the rapidity of growth of 

 the privet is more apparent than real, as 

 it simply leads to equally quick decay if 

 used as a fence plant or in any other way. 

 The true fence plants when fairly treated, 

 and put in the open in good condition as 

 all fence plants should be, are not by any 

 means slow growers. Holly in good soil 

 will grow two feet in a year, Quick is a 

 rapid grower after the first year or two, 

 neither is the Yew by any means of slow 

 growth, but this is a plant which should 

 never be used for a fence where animals 

 could by chance come. 



L. coriacemn. A distinct and curious species 

 from Japan, evergreen, dwarf and bushy, from 



2 to 5 ft. high with thick leathery leaves, of 

 stiff habit, and flowers in white panicles with 

 the sickly odour of the tribe. It might have 

 some use among dwarf bushes on banks. 



L. Ibota. A shrub from 5 to 8 ft. high or 

 more, of free habit and form, blooming freely 

 in summer. The white flowers in spikes 

 followed by dark berries. A native of China 

 and Japan. Syn. L. amnrense. 



L. japoniciim is a good evergreen kind, 

 rather dwarf and bushy, with pointed leaves 2 

 to 3 inches long, leathery, and of a deep green 

 with straggling panicles of flowers. Syn. L. 

 Sieboldi. 



L. lucidum is one of the best for erect and 

 bold growth, growing 10 ft. high or more with 

 firm lustrous leaves, 5 to 6 ins. long by over 2 

 ins. wide, and bold panicles of flowers 6 ins. 

 long in summer and autumn. It is a native of 

 China, where it forms a tree. A variety, L. 

 Alivoni, has longer leaves, and there is a 

 variegated variety. Syn. L. sinense latifolium. 



L. ovalifolium. One of the most popular 

 varieties, and much used for forming hedges, as 

 it retains its foliage through the winter better 

 than the commoner privet, but it is without 

 much character as a shrub. There is a yellow 

 variegated variety which is also very popular, 

 but less showy as it gets old. 



L. Quihoni. A Chinese privet of a wiry 

 dwarf character, with small leaves, and the 

 branches covered with a purple down ; flower- 

 ing freely and rather showily. 



L. sinense. Not quite hardy on cold soils, 

 but one of the best species, preferring a dry 

 soil and flowering freely and rather handsomely 

 on warm soils. It bears many purple berries, 

 and it is a tall species, often attaining a height 

 of 15 ft. China. 



L. vidgare. This is the kind generally used 

 for hedges and arbours, standing all ill-treat- 

 ment in town and suburban gardens and grow- 

 ing pretty well where nothing else will grow, 

 but not worth having anywhere. It bears 

 dark purple fruit like most of the kinds, and 

 there are several varieties of it, especially 

 variegated ones of little value. 



LILIUM (Lily}. The Lilies are among 

 the most beautiful bulbous plants, combin- 

 ing as they do stateliness and grace with 

 brilliant and delicately-coloured flowers. 

 The many kinds in cultivation afford a rich 

 choice. All are beautiful, but some are 

 better suited for particular localities than 

 others. The habit and general character 

 of the plants being so varied, their uses 

 are likewise varied. Some are suited 

 for the rock-garden, others for the mixed 

 border, many for the shrubbery 

 especially for the Rhododendron beds 

 while not a few are so robust that they 

 are at home in the wild garden, holding 

 their own against native plants. Their 

 true place, however, is the garden proper, 

 and, when their uses are understood and 

 expressed, there will be a total change in 

 the aspect of the flower garden. 



