636 



I.ILIUM. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



armenaicum, but taller ; fulgens, I to i^ 

 ft. high, with four to six large flowers 

 of a deep red ; sanguineum, i to i^ 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 



Lilium giganteum. 



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 

 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 

 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. 



L. Humboldti is very graceful. The 

 singular beauty of the blossoms and the 

 elegant manner in which they droop from 

 their slender stalks, make it most desir- 

 able, and its flowers, on account of their 

 great substance, are more lasting than 

 any other Californian Lily. The stout 

 and purplish stems attain a height of 4 to 

 8 ft. The leaves are in whorls of from 

 ten to twenty each, and are of a bright 

 green. The flowers differ considerably in 

 colour and markings, but are usually 

 bright golden-yellow, richly spotted with 

 crimson-purple. The variety ocellatum or 

 Bloomerianum is dwarf, and has petals 

 tipped with brownish-crimson. It grows 

 best in an open border of rich peaty or 

 leafy soil of a good depth. Columbianum, 

 syn. Nitidum, seems to be a smaller variety 

 of this Lily. 



L. japonicum, or Krameri as it is more 

 often called, possesses the most delicate 

 beauty of any. The flowers are of the 

 shape and nearly as large as those of L. 

 auratum. They are either pure white or 

 delicate rosy-pink generally the latter. 

 L. japonicum is i to 3 ft. high, and some- 

 times bears five blooms but generally 

 only one or two. It is somewhat difficult 

 to grow, owing to its delicate constitution, 

 but the best specimens produced in this 

 country were grown under the same con- 



