9 o 



Gardening for Amateurs 



About Lilies 



THE true Lilies, that is to say the 

 Liliums, occur more or less plenti- 

 fully in a state of nature through- 

 out the greater part of the temperate 

 regions of the Northern Hemisphere. None 

 of them grows 

 wild south of 

 the Equator, 

 though many 

 of the best 

 are favourite 

 garden flowers 

 in many parts, 

 notably in 

 Australia, 

 New Zealand, 

 and Soutli 

 Africa. Lilies 

 as a class are 

 c h a racterised 

 by large and 

 showy blos- 

 soms, and if 

 a good selec- 

 tion is made 

 flowers may 

 b e obtained 

 over a length- 

 ened period. 

 No Lily is a 

 native of 

 this country, 

 though some 

 of them have 

 been long 

 grown here. 

 The first to 

 be introduced 

 was the White 

 or Madonna 

 Lily, which came to this country from 

 Italy over three centuries ago, and which 

 has been a favourite garden flower for 

 generations. Some Lilies are alike suited 

 to the gardens of peer and peasant ; in- 

 deed, in the case of the Madonna Lily 

 far finer examples are often to be met 

 with in cottage gardens than in those of 

 greater pretensions ; the cottager is con- 



The golden-rayed Lily of Japan (Lilium auratum) 



tent to let well alone, and such treatment 

 is all in favour of this Lily, as it very much 

 resents disturbance at the roots. When the 

 Madonna Lily is transplanted, the work 

 should be done in August, as soon as the 

 flower stems 

 die down. 



Despite the 

 wide differ- 

 ences between 

 many of the 

 Lilies, there is 

 a certain 

 sameness of 

 character that 

 proclaims a 

 Lily to be a 

 Lily under 

 whatever con- 

 ditions it oc- 

 curs. They 

 all form bulbs, 

 which, differ- 

 ing as they 

 may do in 

 size, are com- 

 posed of scales 

 more or less 

 loosely d i s - 

 posed. It is 

 owing to the 

 bulbs being of 

 this character 

 that Lilies 

 suffer far more 

 when d o r - 

 mant, if they 

 are kept out 

 of the ground 

 for a length- 

 ened period, than do such bulbs as 

 Hyacinths, Tulips, etc. Owing to the firm, 

 solid nature of the latter the central and 

 most important part of the bulb is pro- 

 tected from atmospheric influences, whereas 

 the loose scales of Lilies in general are not 

 able to protect the centre of growth so 

 effectively. This points markedly to a 

 golden rule to be observed by the Lily 



