64 
THE GARDENING WORLD. January 30, 1909 
Sweet Peas. 
How to Grow them Successfully. 
There is scant need to praise the many 
virtues of this all-popular flower; its 
beauty of form, extensive range of colour¬ 
ing, and its most agreeable perfume—all 
have helped to lift it to its present lofty 
pinnacle of popularity, so that we now 
have Sweet Pea enthusiasts everywhere, 
while specialists and a society devoted to 
its interests foster the production of new 
and improved varieties. 
One may notice in reading the lists of 
prize-winners at the various large shows 
where Sweet Peas are a special feature, 
that the prize-winners often hail from 
Scotland and Wales, and one reason of 
this is the cooler and more humid climate 
in comparison with our own. To remedy 
this it is best if possible not to expose 
the plants to the full glare of the mid¬ 
day sun, and we have found a border fac¬ 
ing west an ideal situation. 
Though there are various systems of 
growing in vogue, yet the best I think is 
to grow them in clumps of one variety, 
the sun and air having free access to all 
sides of the plants. These clumps should 
be 8 ft. apart, and now is a good time to 
prepare the stations for next year’s dis¬ 
play. The soil should be taken out a 
yard wide and a yard deep. Iij the bot¬ 
tom, place a good layer of farmyard 
manure. If the soil taken out be of a 
suitable nature it may be mixed with a 
good mellow loam and wood ashes and 
upland, but if it be of a clayey nature it 
will be better taken right away. If, how¬ 
ever, it be a stiff loam, add a 7 in. potful 
of basic slag to the aforementioned ingre¬ 
dients, leaving the whole when replaced 
as rough and open as possible. 
In February the seed may be sown 
singly in small 60-size pots, watered, and 
placed in a cool frame, where, however, 
an even temperature can be maintained. 
The pots may be sprayed over on a warm 
day, keeping the frame close till ger¬ 
mination has taken place, when they 
should be gradually inured to more air, 
the aim being to get a good sturdy plant. 
During the latter part of March or 
early in April they may be planted out, 
placing six or eight plants at each station. 
Place small twigs to assist them to cli b 
upwards, and laurel boughs may be pla I 
round if cold winds are prevalent. Sc e 
groAvers jflace a width of wire mes I 
netting around each clump, and up - s 
the plants may climb, but 1 see very li e 
advantage in so doing. 
Whatever method may be adopted, e 
final staking should take place before j 
young plants reach the top of their j . 
vious supports, or the young groAvths ’ 1 
drop and get trvisted or broken. Wooc f 
a brushy character 10 ft. high is best, ; ] 
here the plants will find ample suppori 
In dry weather they should be t . 
dressed with old hot-bed manure, and 1 - 
quently Avatered with liquid mani , 
while an occasional sprinkling of a gi 1 
guano will materially improve the qua! / 
of the flowers. 
Other beneficial manures are nitrate f 
potash and phosphate of potash, us: • 
this at the rate of i oz. of each mixed j l 
dissolved in a gallon of water. 
Keep all seed pods picked off, anc : 
exhibiting, always cut flowers a day. 
even tAwo days, previous to the show, ke ■ 
ing them in a cool place. 
The catalogues issued by the vari<; 
groAvers in the trade are notv so compl . 
and explanatory that it is needless for : 
to enumerate varieties. 
Suffolk. F. W ,S 
LILIES. 
BY' SCRIPTOR. 
As an occasional contributor to this 
paper, I will, with the Editor’s permis¬ 
sion, give a few notes on Liliums and 
their culture, both under glass and in 
the garden. As most of the readers of 
this paper are not fortunate enough to 
have much glass, I shall deal chiefly 
with those species and varieties that 
answer well to out-door cultivation and 
can be groAvn successfully by any ama¬ 
teur who has to go to business during 
the daytime. 
Many amateur gardeners seem to be 
under the impression that one has to 
have special houses, special soils, and 
many other things that an amateur gar¬ 
dener cannot get, to be successful in 
growing Lilies, whereas, in my own 
opinion, few plants repay so well for 
the little trouble and attention that may 
be given to them, and then to get good 
results. 
As a feature of the herbaceous border, 
few plants can beat a good group of the 
Madonna Lily (L. candidum), with its 
beautiful white flowers in June and July,, 
and a feAv of these beautiful flowers in 
a bouquet of hardy flowers has more than 
once gained a prize at a summer shoAV 
that would have otherwise been awarded 
to some other exhibit. 
This is by no means ’the only one 
that may be grown successfully in the 
open garden ; in fact, the greater portion 
of the class can be grown without any 
protection whatever excepting a few ashes 
round the stems during the winter, and 
for this little trouble A\ r e are rewarded 
the following summer by having a splen¬ 
did show of Lilies. 
Perhaps the most popular of all, is the 
golden-rayed Lily of Japan (L. auratum),. 
Their Cultivation . . 
in the Garden. 
The Best Kinds to Grow. 
and it well deserves its popularity, but 
there are others equally deserving, if 
they were only more generally known 
and grown. I shall never forget a group 
of L. testaceum I once had the pleasure 
of seeing in a garden where Lilies were 
one of the great features; indeed, it 
might almost have been described as a 
garden of Lilies, for there, in the sum¬ 
mer, were great masses of L. candidum 
in the borders, and these were followed 
by many others of different classes until 
the autumn, and then the season was 
•ended by a fine show of L. speciosum 
magnificum. Amongst the Rhododen¬ 
drons, American Azaleas, and other peat- 
loving subjects, were planted groups of 
L. auratum and L. a. platyphyllum, and 
being shaded at the roots by the foliage 
of the shrubs, they were looking remark¬ 
ably well. 
The most useful Lilies for garden 
decoration are to be found amongst the 
speciosum group, but all the following 
.are very good for such work:—Speciosum 
.group: album Kraetzeri, cruentum, 
magnificum (very fine), Melpomene, 
roseum superbum. Continental forms : 
album roseum and rubrum. The others 
that are useful for garden decoration 
are: L. auratum, L.a. platyphyllum, L. 
'canadense, I,, candidum, L. croceum, L. 
festacom, L. chalcedonicum, L. Henryi. 
L. Humboldtii, L. Martagon, L. Browni, 
L. monadelphum, L. tigrinum and L. 
washingtonianum. I harm not wearied 
my readers with a detailed description of 
each variety, for any good catalogue will 
give them, neither can our Editor spare 
me space enough to do so. 
All Lilies do not succeed equally as 
well in the same soil, but I will arrange 
them in order, so that the reader may • 
at once the kind of soil that suits ea 
class best. (A) All the speciosum groii 
L. candidum, L. chalcedonicum, 
Henryi, L. Martagon, L. tigrinum, 
croceum, and L. testaceum are vej 
hardy, and will thrive in any good g.j 
den soil with very little attention, but 
it be wet and heavy, Jighten it by t 
addition of sand or road scrapings. Tl! 
class of Lilies is very useful i| 
naturalising in the wild garden, and 1 
general border planting, for all a 
strong and vigorous growers. 
(B) L. auratum, L. a. platyphyllum, 
Humboldtii, L. monadelphum, L. Avas 
ingtonianum, and L. Browni requi 
planting in good soil, and succeed ve 
well if planted amongst peat-lovii 
shrubs, for then their roots are protect- 
from the sun’s rays. I 
These Lilies cannot stand drought, 
it is necessary to keep them well suppli' 
Avith Avater during the dry seasons: . 
(C) I,, canadense, L. c. flavum, L. 
rubrum, L. Parryi, and L. pardalinu 
and its varieties, are shade and moistu 
loving plants, and should be planted 
a position suitable to their needs. 
In preparing the ground for Lilies, tl 
soil should be moved at least tA\-o fe 
and plenty of Avell-rotted manure iA r ork< 
in, but under no circumstances shou 
fresh manure be used, but peat or lea 
mould instead, and if the soil is too heav 
work plenty of road scrapings and sar 
amongst it. Strong growing Lilies sue 
as L. auratum, L. Henryi, L. speciosu 
and L. monadelphum may be safe, 
planted six or serpen inches deep, and a 
the others may be planted three to foi 
inches deep. 
When planting, the bulbs root quick' 
if placed on a small heap of sand, and 
a coating of sand is sprinkled 0A r er tb 
bulb itself, it is a great protection again, 
excessive moisture, and thus lessens tl 
chance of the bulb decaying to a min 
