LILIES FOR NOETHEEN GAEDENS 15 



who must decide what is best for Ms particular 

 garden. — ^best after considering not only Ms per- 

 sonal preferences but climate, soil, shade, shel- 

 ter and other conditions. From this point to 

 the end of the chapter, therefore, precedence of 

 mention will have nothing to do with precedence 

 of desirability. 



If any lily is magnificent it is the gold-banded 

 lily (L. auratum). Its color — ^white, spotted v 

 sparsely with reddish brown and each petal 

 banded longitudinally with yellow — is compara- 

 tively modest, but there is a richness and ele- 

 gance to it all that is siugularly impressive in 

 the July and August garden. Then there is the 

 size of the blossoms — sometimes a full foot 

 across, making this the largest of all lilies. The 

 gold-banded lily has been in cultivation half a 

 century, but its garden progress has been ren- 

 dered pitiably slow by the fact that, though 

 perfectly hardy, it is not ia the easiest class. 

 It rarely does its best in ordinary conditions 

 and, for some reason or other, it is apt to peter 

 out after two or three seasons, making frequent 

 renewal necessary. 



The Martagon lily (L. Martagon) is one of 

 the most graceful of border lilies, yet it is rarely 

 seen in American gardens. The finest kind is 



