2.32 FLOWER GARDENING 
as L. tigrinum, L. croceum and L. speciosum. At 
the same time that you are learning to grow these to 
perfection, familiarize yourself with the way that 
lilies separate themselves into groups, largely ac- 
cording to the form of the blossom, and get a clear 
understanding of the reasons why some lilies are 
more difficult in culture than others, and to what ex- 
tent such difficulties can be overcome. There are 
eighty or more species of lilies in culture, but with 
a little research—that will be a great pleasure—it 
will not be troublesome to separate them into zones 
of difficulty, through which you may care to venture 
farther and farther as the years go by. Very likely 
it will not be many years before you find yourself 
trying to persuade those lovely, but tender, pink 
lilies, L. japonicum and L. rubellum, to stay with 
you by guaranteeing special attention to their wants 
in the way of food and winter bedclothing. 
The iris offers just as fascinating a field as the 
lily, with the advantage of being a less expensive 
hobby within the zone of easy culture. “The poor 
man’s orchid” has the further advantage of a mate- 
rially greater variation of species. One could easily 
make a hobby of the German, the Japanese, the 
Spanish or the English iris, so many are the varie- 
ties of each. No less than fifty-six named varieties 
of Japanese iris are in a single American list. An- 
other offers forty-two German irises, while in a 
British list are thirty-five Spanish irises and thirty- 
two of the English—and all these are only selec- 
tions from larger nursery collections. 
