-LHE Madonna Lily, Lilium candidum, 
is known throughout the world as one of the oldest 
garden plants; it blooms in early spring and gives 
the garden an atmosphere of stately elegance and 
an almost overwhelming fragrance. Unlike other 
lilies, it is usually planted in early autumn so that 
the bulbs may have time to develop a rosette of 
foliage before cold weather sets in. Because of its 
showy display of flowers, the Madonna Lily is one 
of the best lilies for general cultivation; its unusual 
combination of stately magnificence, beauty, and 
gracefulness makes it especially desirable for large 
beds and masses. It produces a charming effect 
when planted among low shrubbery so that the 
flowers rise above their foliage, and also when 
planted in front of large shrubs such as magnolias 
and rhododendrons, where the flowers appear 
against a green background. Among older nations 
the lily, like most white flowers, also symbolized 
innocence. There is a folk-tale of how a kind Abbot 
near Seville took an innocent boy into his monastery. 
The monks made every effort to teach him but the 
boy, being an imbecile, was unable to learn, so he 
was kept busy in the fields and given menial jobs 
about the monastery. Patiently he did his work, 
and whenever he had free time he went into the 
Church and prayed, “I believe in God; I hope in 
God; I love God.” One day, as the Abbot went into 
the garden he found the innocent boy dead; his 
hands were clasped and there was a smile on his 
face. He was buried and at his head was placed a 
cross bearing the words he had so often repeated. 
Soon a lily appeared upon the grave. The Abbot, 
interested in its origin, had the boy’s body raised 
and found that the heart of the innocent boy had 
become the root of the lily. Owing to its sweetness 
and purity, the Madonna Lily is believed to repre¬ 
sent the Virgin. The Church associates the lily 
with the Virgin because after she had ascended 
into Heaven her tomb was strewn with lilies and 
roses. In Spain, miracles were attributed to the 
lily, for in a Spanish garden, in 1048, an image of 
the Virgin was seen to emerge from the lily, and 
after the vision appeared, the king who lay dan¬ 
gerously ill of a dread disease arose from his bed, 
a well man. Appreciating the divine help given 
him, he instituted the ‘‘Knights of St. Mary of the 
Lily.” No other flower is more suggestive of the 
spirit of Easter than the lily. Thousands of blooms 
are forced in order to be ready for market during 
Easter week. The Madonna Lily is one of the species 
usually forced in order to meet the demands of the 
flower loving public on Easter 
and Memorial Day. 
