XXVII 



ON LILIES 



WHETHER we limit the term " Lily/' as many gardeners 

 do, to members of the genus Lilium y or whether we 

 allow it the wider scope which has been given to it 

 by the popular voice, and include Lilies of the Valley 

 and all other plants grown as Lilies in gardens, it 

 is still a great force. The Lilies appeal to us by large 

 size and handsome form of flower, by purity, and by 

 perfume. They are amongst the noblest of garden plants. 

 Everybody can grow some of them, and the townsman 

 can have his share. 



No lover of hardy plants can afford to ignore the 

 Lilies. To do so would be to submit himself to the 

 risk of a heavy blow in summer, when a visit to a 

 friend's garden, a nursery, or a public garden, revealed 

 a beautiful group which could not be matched at home. 

 In gardening an involuntary burst of envy is common. 

 We see something elsewhere that we had fully intended 

 to have ourselves, and, not having it, we of course 

 admire it and long for it all the more. We have to 

 put up with the disappointment for the time being, 

 but we register a vow that another year shall not 

 pass without seeing the plant at home in our own 

 garden. 



With the best of intentions we cannot always grow 

 Lilies as well as other people, for there are sometimes 



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