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A New Way to Use White and Blue Day Lilies—By W. E. Pendleton, 2" 
THE FUNKIAS HAVE LONG BEEN FAVORITES FOR LAWN SPECIMENS AND EDGING PATHS. 
SOME OF THEM CAN NOW BE USED FOR WILD GARDEN 
D** lilies are splendid hardy perennial 
flowers which derive their common 
name from the fact that the individual 
flowers last only a day. The mass effect, 
however, does not suffer, as there is a good 
succession of flowers. The yellow and 
orange day lilies belong to the genus 
Hemerocallis; the blue and white ones to 
the genus Funkia. It may save you some 
money to remember this, for many people 
simply order “day lilies” and get the color 
they don’t want. 
There is no need of wasting your money 
in trying to get a big collection of funkias 
for, though there are about twenty names, 
there are only five species worth growing. 
The grandest of all the funkias is the white 
day lily (F. subcordata), because it has the 
longest flowers, purest color and an orange- 
like odor. This is the one that bears in 
September chaste, waxy white flowers five 
or six inches long. This the only one that 
has ascending flowers; the others are nodd- 
ing and bloom in summer, being generally 
at best through August. The most desirable 
form of it is the variety grandiflora. 
The other funkias vary from lilac to purple, 
for their blue is not very pure, and therefore 
it is impossible to distinguish them by 
color, but they can easily be told by the 
color and shape of the leaf. 
The showiest day lilies in foliage effect 
are the two with glaucous or bluish white 
leaves —Siebold’s and Fortune’s. Every 
catalogue offers F’. Sieboldiana, but the true 
Siebold’s day lilyis probably not in cultivation 
and is certainly inferior to Fortune’s, because 
the flowers are hidden beneath the leaves. 
It is probable that most of the plants cul- 
tivated under the name of Sieboldiana are 
really F. Fortunei, the flowers of which 
stand well above the leaves. They are 
normally pale lilac. 
The green-leaved day lilies are the ovate 
and lance-leaved lilies. These names 
indicate how F’. ovata and lancijolia may be 
distinguished even when not in flower, for 
the former has a broad leaf (two and a half 
to five inches), while the latter has a narrow 
one (two inches or less). The flower of the 
ovate-leaved day lily is normally deep blue 
and of the lance-leaved pale lilac. But asurer 
test lies in the form of the flower. The 
flower of ovata has a short slender tube and 
then suddenly expands into the shape of a bell, 
while the tube of lancifolia enlarges gradually. 
EFFECTS ON A GREAT SCALE 
The names of day lilies are frightfully 
mixed in the trade, but here is a simple key 
to all the difficulty. 
The white day lily is F. subcordata, but 
you will find it called a/ba, liliiflora, Japonica, 
cordata, grandiflora and macrantha. 
The true Siebold’s day lily (F. Sieboldiana) 
is probably not in cultivation. 
Fortune’s day lily is F. Fortunei, but it is 
catalogued as Szeboldii, glauca, Sinensis, 
cucullata, glaucescens and cordata. 
The ovate-leaved day lily is F. ovata, but 
it is often called c@rulea or lanceolata. 
The lance-leaved day lily (F. lancijfolia) 
is sometimes catalogued as Japonica, 
albo-marginata, and undulata. The two 
last named are varieties with varie- 
gated leaves which are altogether too giddy 
for my taste. I would not have them at 
any price. 
Funkias make wonderfully symmetrical 
clumps of foliage. It is astonishing how 
they can bear so many perfect leaves. The 
first two are the favorites for lawn specimens; 
the latter for edging paths. 
The accompanying picture shows a new 
use for the day lilies that “self sow,” viz., 
wild gardening effects on a grand scale. 
Part of a big colony of the ovate-leaved day lily at Croton, N. Y., where it has 
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‘self-sowed’’ for many years 
