170 IN A GLOUCESTERSHIRE GARDEN 



any fixed rules of cultivation. But they are probably 

 all hardy in the south of England, and with very few 

 exceptions they are hardy anywhere, so that it is 

 rather surprising that they are not more grown than 

 they are. Yet it is a most unusual thing to see a 

 good collection of lilies, and even in gardens which aim 

 at variety the lilies are usually represented by no more 

 than three or four species. Every one grows roses, 

 but lilies, which can be as easily and as cheaply 

 obtained, are often found best in the cottage gardens. 

 This is especially the case with the common white lily. 

 There is no more beautiful lily, and none to which are 

 attached so many pretty legends and stories, or with so 

 many associations, historical and poetical. Its native 

 country is uncertain, but it is undoubtedly this lily 

 that has been longest in cultivation in Europe. Virgil's 

 lilies were Candida and Grandia, and it was from very 

 early times the flower of the Madonna. He would be 

 a well-read man who could bring together all that has 

 been written on this universal favourite, and it would 

 fill a large volume. Yet, though so common and such 

 a favourite, it will not grow everywhere. In many 

 gardens it lives a few years and then disappears. In 

 my own garden it will only survive if planted almost 

 under a tree; and I have a recollection of the envy 

 with which I once looked at a row of cottages in a 



