500 



Gardening for Amateurs 



The African Lily (Agapanthus umbellatus). 



Flowers of Unusual Interest 



THE African Lily (Agapanthus 

 umbellatus). This old favourite, 

 which is a native of the Cape of 

 Good Hope, must be among the first 

 plants introduced into British gardens 

 from other than European countries, for 

 1692 is the date of its first arrival. 

 That it has been grown for more than 

 two centuries, and is still a popular 

 greenhouse plant is ample evidence of its 

 value. The Agapanthus is a comparatively 

 easy plant to manage, only sufficient heat to 

 keep out frost from a greenhouse being re- 

 quired. Some amateur gardeners without 

 even this convenience manage to cultivate 

 the African Lily successfully in pots or tubs 

 outside during the summer, storing the 

 plants in a frost-proof cellar or shed for the 



winter. In warm, sheltered gardens of the 

 south and west the Agapanthus can be 

 grown out of doors with protection by 

 bracken or dry litter in severe weather. It 

 thrives' in just ordinary potting soil : loam, 

 a little leaf -mould, some old decayed manure 

 or bone meal, and coarse sand. March or 

 early April is the best time to repot ; but with 

 large plants in pots and tubs this is seldom 

 necessary or even desirable, for large plants 

 which have not been potted for some years 

 flower best. Increase is readily accom- 

 plished in spring by division. Occasionally 

 the African Lily is raised from seeds, but this 

 is a rather lengthy business from the sowing 

 of the seeds until the first flower spike pushes 

 up. In summer the plants delight in abund- 

 ance of water, with frequent applications of 



