The giant lily (Eremurus robusta) which grows to the 
height of a man and has spikes four feet long 
cially when they come right up out of the 
ground without any leaves as the autumn 
crocuses (colchicums) do. I was much im- 
pressed with their beauty last fall in New 
England. They have multiplied to an 
astonishing extent in Salem gardens, where 
they have been left alone for years. The 
commonest species is Colchicum autumnale, 
pictured on page 27. The typical form 
has light, purplish-rose flowers. ‘There are 
also single and double whites, a_ large 
petaled white, a double lilac, single and 
double rose, and a double variety that is 
prettily striped. The blossoms are crocus- 
like, three or four inches across, and each 
spathe has one to four flowers. The most 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
interesting autumn crocus is the checkered 
one (Colchicum Parkinsoni), which has 
beautifully tessellated blossoms—rosy-lilac 
squares on a white ground. The showiest 
species is Colchicum speciosum which often 
has blossoms six inches across, violet with a 
white eye varying almost to pure pink; and 
the variety rubrum is described as dark ruby 
crimson. ‘The colchicums should be planted 
two or three inches deep and left alone until 
they crowd too much or show signs of de- 
terioration when they should be divided in 
early July. 
A yellow flower of the same sort is Stern- 
bergia lutea, but the leaves of this appear 
with the flowers. It comes from Palestine 
and is supposed by some to be the lily-of-the- 
valley of the Bible. It should be planted 
about six inches deep in light soil and a 
sunny situation where the bulbs may ripen 
well. William Robinson says that imported 
bulbs are generally small and usually have 
to be grown one or two years before they are 
large enough to flower well. 
The largest hardy autumn-blooming bulb 
is Crinum Powelli, which has pink lily-like 
flowers perhaps six to eight inches across and 
as many as eight in a bunch. ‘The plant 
grows three or four feet high and kills down 
to the ground every winter but if the bulb is 
planted six inches deep and covered with a 
mound of ashes in winter to shed the rain it 
will prove hardy in the latitude of New York. 
It is a hybrid between the hardiest member 
of the genus (C. longifolium), and one of the 
showiest (C. Mooret). 
LILY SPIKES FOUR FEET LONG 
The giant lily (Eremurus robustus) is one 
of the stateliest hardy plants. It is a desert 
member of the lily family which actually 
throws up stalks taller than a man. The 
spikes proper are often four feet long and 
carry numerous small bell-shaped flowers. 
It is a costly plant because of the extra- 
ordinary character of its root, which con- 
sists of a number of long beet like roots 
arranged horizontally in a circle. They 
are so brittle that they must be packed 
with the utmost care. It takes about six 
or eight years to grow them from seed to 
The Easter lily can be flowered at Christmas, if the early arriving bulbs are bought now 
1906 
AUGUST, 
The Annunciation or Madonna lily (L. candidum) is 
the best hardy white lily. It blooms in June 
the flowering size, and therefore roots that 
will flower in a year or two cost from two 
to four dollars. It is best to cover this plant 
with a mound of ashes in winter. Its one 
weak point is that it shoots up too early in the 
spring and is likely to get caught by the late 
frosts. The new shoots (which are like as- 
paragus on a gigantic scale and burst tumul- 
tuously through the ground) should be cover- 
ed with a box on frosty nights. After flower- 
ing the plants disappear, and therefore 
eremurus should be planted in a spot where 
a careless stroke of the hoe is not likely to 
ruin it. 
THE FLORISTS’ ANEMONE 
The poppy anemone (Anemone coronaria) 
is a lovely old florists’ flower which has some 
of the richest reds and blues to be found in the 
vegetable kingdom. I have never heard of 
any one in America who has made a success 
of them. Their culture is very peculiar. The 
best strains of these flowers are said to come 
from St. Brigid and Caen and from Nice. 
The ‘‘bulbs” are like nothing else in the 
heavens above nor the earth beneath. They 
are thin flat bodies, no two the same size or 
shape, and one never knows which side up to 
plant them. The clearest cultural directions 
are to be found in William Robinson’s “The 
English Flower Garden,” from which these 
points are taken. The best bloom is se- 
cured by September or October planting 
where this can be safely done. Single vari- 
eties are now commonly raised from seed 
sown in June. The plants are pricked out in 
Autumn and will flower the following season. 
The anemone flower has two distinct types 
of doubling. In some varieties it is the 
stamens which are petal-like and in others the 
pistils. Plant the bulbs two inches deep. 
The crowns, or points that will make the 
stems, are obtuse bodies often a shade darker 
in color than the surrounding skin and are 
generally in clusters near the centre. 
