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LILIUM. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



Where this fine species and its forms fail 

 in the ordinary soil of the garden, success 

 may be ensured by making a special soil of 

 rotten manure, leaf-mould, or cocoa fibre. 

 In such a mixture, so free and open that 

 the hand could be pushed down below the 

 bulb, we have seen them perfectly grown 

 where the natural soil was too stiff and 

 impervious. The hardier varieties are 

 admirable for artistic gardening, their fine 

 forms being very effective when tastefully 

 grouped on the fringe of beds of choice 

 bushes and when touching and seeming 

 to spring out of the Grass. They are also 

 good in beds either specially devoted to 



thrive freely in a good loamy soil ; they 

 are perfectly hardy and are rather partial 

 to shade, growing freely in grassy places, 

 open woods, or copses. Some of die finer 

 varieties are good garden plants, and 

 should be grouped in the spaces between 

 hardy Azaleas or similar flowering bushes. 

 Mr. R. A. Jenkins writes as to the 

 white Martagon : "The white Martagon 

 Lily is one of the most distinct of the 

 family, and if given a suitable soil and 

 position there are but few of its relatives 

 that excel it in beauty, hardiness, or 

 freedom of bloom. As to its free-flower- 

 ing qualities, suffice it to say that three 



Lilium longiflorum Harrisi. 



them alone or in combination with other 

 plants. Similar to L. longiflorum are 

 L. neilgherrense, philippinense, Walli- 

 chianum, and nepalense, but none is 

 hardy and all are poor and unsatisfactory, 

 except, perhaps, for the greenhouse. 



L. Martagon (Turtfs-cap Lily]. This 

 is so common that we need only mention 

 its varieties. These are very fine, especi- 

 ally dalmaticum, which has flowers larger 

 than the type and of a shining blackish- 

 purple, a contrast to the loveliness of the 

 pure white variety (album). Cattanias is 

 a form of dalmaticum and scarcely differs 

 from it. Like the type, the varieties 



bulbs in my garden after being planted as 

 many years ago gave me no less than 167 

 blooms, two of the stems carrying forty- 

 two and forty-nine blooms. Even in the 

 summer immediately after planting the 

 Lilies sent up forty blooms. This I 

 attribute to their being moved early in 

 September, for if planted late in the year, 

 most of the Martagon section refuse to 

 bloom in the ensuing summer. I find 

 that this Lily does best in good deep soil 

 enriched with leaf-mould, and without 

 manure or sand. As the above-mentioned 

 soil suits such plants as Anemone sylves- 

 tris and Lily of the Valley to perfection, 



