268 The American Flower Garden 



hardy; it is cheap; it blooms early, coming before the hyacinths 

 in April and dying down in summer; its petals drip nectar; it 

 wears an air of distinction; what virtue, except fragrance, doth 

 it lack? Let us neglect it no longer! The perennial border 

 especially needs so richly coloured and decorative a flower that 

 blooms early. 



A joyful garden might almost be made from lilies alone. Bulb 

 beauty would seem to reach its culmination in them. Only the 

 rarest kinds are costly, and large, heavy bulbs of, perhaps, the 

 loveliest of them all the hardy, easily grown white Madonna 

 lily (L. candidum) may be had for less than nine dollars a 

 hundred to plant in parallel rows along a formal path or through 

 the aisle of a pergola or pleached arbour. Formal treatment best 

 suits this stately lily. It makes a delightful companion crop for light- 

 blue larkspurs. Its pure white trumpets, shorter than the Easter 

 lily's in the hot-house, fill the evening air with fragrance and lend 

 a heavenly beauty to the garden by moonlight to refresh the weary 

 eyes of the commuter. Let us more often think of him in planting 

 our gardens! The superb gold-banded lily of Japan (L. auratum) 

 seems really too good to be true. Each tall, stout stem hung with 

 lilies of huge size, whose ivory petals have a golden stripe through 

 the centre, is surprising; and where dozens rear their heads from 

 among the rhododendrons the effect demands strong superlatives 

 to express its splendour. Many other lilies may be grown among 

 rhododendrons, and laurel and azaleas, too, for the conditions suit 

 them perfectly light, rich, peaty, moist, but well-drained soil in 

 partial shade. Unhappily the gold-banded lily bulbs are some- 

 times attacked by a fungus disease either when we receive them 

 from Japan, or shortly after. Dip them in a weak solution of for- 

 maldehyde such as would be prepared for seed potatoes, and sift 



