June, 1915. 



THE CANADIAN HORTrCULTURIST 



Plant Lilies in Your Garden 



149 



IN beauty and in stateliuess the lilies 

 are unsurpassed. There is a charm, 

 almost a mysterious enchantment 

 about them, that is as ancient as the 

 proverbial beauty of the rose. The su- 

 perb elegance of their blooms, of wax- 

 like whiteness, bright orange scarlet, or 

 yellow in color, on their stately stems, 

 compel our aidmiration. One wonders 

 that the lily seems to be so often over- 

 looked, 'but if it is somewhat of a rar- 

 ity, this should add the more to its 

 charms. But perhaps one reason they 

 are not more often seen is that the 

 bulbs, of some of them at least, take a 

 year to bloom. Another reason may be 

 the price of the bulbs. In considering 

 the price of the bulbs, however, it must 

 be remembered that, although the bulbs 

 may cost ten to twenty cents or more 

 each, and of some of the rarer sorts 

 such as lilium regal, <as much as two 

 dollars each, they remain in the soil 

 flowering year after year, and do not, 

 like many of the cheaper bulbs, require 

 replacing every few years. Apart from 

 this, the miagndficence of their blooms 

 more than repays the little extra ex- 

 penditure on their production. 



However small a garden it is not so 

 small, if it possesses a flower border, 

 ■but that space can be found for one 

 chvmp of lilies, especially as the plants 

 do well in partial shade. The culture 

 of the hardy kinds is very simple. The 

 results depend largely upon the care 

 taken in selecting varieties suitable to 

 our climatic conditions, for some kinds 

 are consideralbly hardier than others. 

 The well-known tiger lily, lilium tigri- 

 num, will succeed almost anywhere if 

 eondiftions are at all favorable. 



The golden^banded lily of Japan, 

 lilium auratum, with its unusually large 

 and fragrant white flowers — often 

 twelve inches across — 'is by many eon- 

 .sidered the most beautiful of the lilies. 

 It is not always quite sio easy to suc- 

 ceed with as is speciosum and its vaii- 

 eties. Mium speeiosnm, one of the 

 hardiesit of the lilies, although fragile . 

 in appearance, serves admirably as a 

 pot plant as well as for the border, 

 especially the pure white variety known 

 as album Kratzeri. Other beautiful 

 varieties of speeiosnm are S. roseuni 

 supeirbum, Avith large 'blooms; S. mac- 

 ranfhum, with its deep rose flowers, 

 and S. Henryri, which is decidedly at- 

 tractive with its brilliant orange-yellow 

 blooms. Bulbs of both auratum and 

 ST)Pciosum cost from twenty to twenty- 

 five eetits'each. Sp<>ciosum rubrum is 

 another exceedingly handsome variety 

 and very hardy. 



Lilium candidum, often called the 

 Annunciation, or Madonna lily, is one 



B. C. Tillett, Hamilton, Ont. 



of the handsomest of the pure white 

 lilies, in fact, it seems to impress one 

 with a sense of refinement by the pur- 

 ity of its wax-like flowers. June sees it 

 in aill its glory, and three or four plants 

 of this lily in full bloom make an ex- 

 ceedingly effective addition to the bor- 



has this advantage, that the blooms can 

 be 'brought on a/t almost any time of 

 the year, at Christmas or midsummer, 

 Easter or November. If potted in 

 August, flowers can be had in Novem- 

 ber, and a succession of blooms ob- 

 tained from thence on till May, with 



Lilium Auratum, tlie golden banded lily of Japan, is a white lily, spotted with gold and with 

 golden ribs. It is considered by many the most beautiful of the lilies. 



der. It is also another of the hardy 

 kinds, and once well established in a 

 border s'hould he left undisturbed. 

 Planted early in autumn, leaves will 

 soon appear, and the stems often bear 

 as m'any as twenty blooms. 



Lilium longiflorum is another of the 

 snow-white lilies, the chief characteris- 

 tic of which is its long, trumpet-like 

 flowers, from six to eight inches in 

 length. It flowers in June and July, 

 and, like speciosum, is well suited for 

 pot culture. 



In a somewhat .shaded position, pre- 

 ferably among evergreens, a striking 

 feature can be made with a single bulb 

 of lilium giganteum, the Easter lily of 

 Bermuda. Towerimg to a height of 

 eight ^T ten feet on a strong stem, 

 and throwing out a dozen wax-white 

 blooims. n'othing could be more effect- 

 ive. This is a lily which produces a 

 surprising number of blooms, and it 



the use of a cold frame. The flowers, 

 are delightfully fragrant, and if cut 

 when only partially open, will keep for 

 two or three weeks. Bulbs of this 

 grand lily are very reasonable in price 

 and can be purchased for twenty cents, 

 each. 



Give Grood Drainage. 

 The great secret of success with 

 lilies is proper drainage for the bulbs. 

 If this is secured, the cultivation of all 

 the 'hairdy kinds is very simple. Lilies 

 require a very rich soil, slightly sandy. 

 Where the soil is too clayey or loamy,, 

 it can he brought into suitable condi- 

 tion by adding a few shovelfuls of 

 wood or coal ash, and sand or fine 

 gravel, with a good heavy dressing of 

 leaf mould well worked in. There is no 

 better material with whicih to enrich 

 soil for lilies than well rotted stable 

 manure, the older it is the better. In 

 addition to this, some good bone dust 



