io4 



tHE CENTURY BOOK OF GARDENING. 



Liatrfs spieata is the most effective of the f nilv. It 



grows about 2ft. in height, and has purplish flowers in 



long spikes. L. pycnostachya, also purple, and L. elegans 



may be mentioned. Give rich soil, and propagate by 



division of the roots in spring. 

 Lilies. — It is hardly necessary to praise the Lily. During 



recent years many beautiful kinds have been added to 



our gardens, and there is a host of forms to choose from, 



flowering at various seasons of the year, commencing in 



early summer and continuing 



until almost upon the thres- 

 hold of winter, f It is to be 



hoped that the disease will 



not increase in severity as the 



years pass, as in the case 



of the unhappy Hollyhock, 



which was almost annihilated 



through a fungoid pest. Lily- 

 growers must take strong 



measures, especially with the 



lovely white Lily, the victim in 



thousands of gardens of a 



destructive foe. There is a 



brave procession of Lily 



flowers, amongst the first to 



expand being L. bulbiferum, 



L. davuricum, and L. tenui- 



folium. Then come the peer- 

 less Madonna Lib', the 



orange Lilies, the Nankeen 



Lily, and L. elegans, in 



whose train are the Martagons, 



the Swamp Lily, the Giant 



Lily of the Himalayas, the 



scarlet Turk's-cap, and Hum- 

 boldt's Lily, the wide-spread 



scented blossoms of the 



Golden-rayed Lily, and with 



autumn the forms of L. 



speciosum and the Tiger 



Lilies. The autumn is the 



best time to plant, but the 



bulbs are often planted in 



spring with satisfactory results. A little consideration 

 bestowed upon their quarters in the garden will be well 

 repaid. The Lily-bed should be deep — 3ft. deep if pos- 

 sible — and the soil open and porous, without being light. 

 There cannot be a better material than sound, fibrous 

 loam, with which a certain proportion of leaf-mould has 

 been mixed. Lilies rarel3' are benefited by animal 

 manure, and, though L. giganteum and L. excelsum 

 have been known to thrive when within reach of this 

 fertiliser, it is safer to keep such stimulants outside the 

 Lily-bed. Most Lilies will flourish in the compost men- 

 tioned, while for the Swamp Lilies, L. canadense, L. 

 pardalinum, and L. superbum, a peaty soil should be 

 provided. The bed should be sheltered from boisterous 

 winds, for Lilies lose half their beauty if it becomes 

 necessary to stake their graceful stems, and partially 

 shaded, so that the sun does not parch the ground or 

 prematurely wither the dainty petals. If there should be 

 running water in close proximity to the bed so much the 

 better, as even in the heat of summer the air absorbs some 

 of its moisture. In times of drought, the bed should be 

 given copious waterings occasionally ; not a surface sprink- 

 ling, but a steady soaking of an hour or two's duration. 

 Though many of the Lilies are capricious in their beha- 

 viour, and are difficult to cultivate successfully, except by 

 making a special study of their requirements, there are a 

 sufficiently large number that flourish under the most 

 simple culture, to render the bed charming from early 

 June till mid-September. A charming way to plant the 

 taller Lilies is amongst evergreen shrubs, a way 

 becoming very popular. The Lilies break up monotonous 

 masses of , Rhododendrons, and the rising stems 

 receive protection from frosts, sheltering thus amongst 

 the shrub shoots. The following is a list of the leading 

 kinds : 



L1LWU AURATUM 



L. auratum {/he Colden-rayed I Aly of Japan). — This Lily 

 is without doubt the most imposing of all the Lily tribe, 

 sometimes reaching a height of 8ft., and bearing wide- 

 spread, handsomely-marked flowers, frequently in great 

 numbers. There are now four well-defined named varie- 

 ties of this Lily in commerce, namely, L. auratum rubro- 

 vittatum, a gorgeous flower, the broad yellow band which 

 runs from the base to the tip of each petal in the type 

 being replaced by a crimson band, while the spots, 

 instead of being purple-black, 

 are lake ; platyphyllum, a 

 variety having very large 

 flowers, sometimes as much 

 as I2in. in diameter, band 

 yellow, spots generally crim- 

 son — this variety has much 

 wider leaves than the type ; 

 virginale, deep yellow band, 

 petals very sparingly spotted ; 

 Wittei, petals pure white, with 

 the exception of the central 

 band of yellow. Lilium 

 auratum is grown in great 

 quantities in the open air in 

 this country, and no Lily-bed 

 would be complete if this 

 kind were excluded. Still, 

 except in certain favoured 

 gardens, it cannot 

 be depended upon to flower 

 after its first season. Some 

 plantations, after flowering 

 well the summer succeeding 

 their importation, never show 

 a sign of subsequent growth, 

 while others throw up shoots 

 that collapse before reaching 

 the flowering stage. In other 

 cases some bear flowers the 

 second year, fewer the next, 

 and at length the spring brings 

 nosign of visible growth. Soil 

 appears to make but little 

 difference, as these losses occur in carefully-made beds 

 where the natural soil has been removed to a depth of 

 3ft., and replaced by a specially-chosen compost. Again, 

 these Lilies may be seen growing as strongly in heavy, 

 retentive loam, some years after being first planted, as in 

 fibrous peat, though the latter staple is to be preferred 

 for their culture. Imported bulbs of this Lily can, how- 

 ever, be procured at so cheap a rate, that even in places 

 where they do not permanently succeed, a continuous 

 display may be maintained at a moderate cost by yearly 

 planting. 



L. BrOWlli is a noble Lily, about 3ft. in height, with 

 flowers 8in. in length, often solitary, and pure white in 

 the interior, purplish brown outside. It is often found 

 more amenable to open-ground culture than the popular 

 L. longiflorum, and is well worth a trial in the garden. 



L. bulbiferum is one of the most easily grown of all 

 Lilies, reaching a height of about 3ft., and bearing 

 orange red flowers spotted with black. This Lily is 

 often confounded with L. davuricum ; it is quite hardy, 

 and one of the earliest of our garden Lilies, not being 

 fastidious as to soil. 



L. canadense, from North-Eastern America, and from 

 2ft. to 4ft. high, bears well-shaped flowers, varying from 

 pale yellow to orange red, heavily spotted. Named 

 varieties are L. canadense flavum, golden yellow, and 

 spotted maroon ; parviflorum, having smaller flowers 

 than the type ; parvum, a California!! variety with 

 brilliant orange red blossoms ; rubrum, dark orange ; 

 and Walkeri, differing mainly in the character of its 

 leafage. This Lily, together with L. pardalinum and L. 

 superbum, are known as Swamp Lilies, and succeed best 

 in moist, peaty compost, and a partially-shaded situation. 

 Thev can be easily grown in our gardens if their require- 

 Uicma in lespeas are studied, and are extremely 



