13 
August, 1917 
L I L I E 
R F E C T 
S — T H E PE 
The Varieties To Put In Your Garden Today 
Their Cultivation and Landscaping Possibilities 
F. F. ROCKWELL 
FLOWER 
I F a general election could be held to de¬ 
cide what is the most popular flower, I 
wonder how near the top of the list the 
hardy lilies would stand? Perhaps they 
would be “first choice” with comparatively 
few people. But I am sure that so many 
flower lovers would give them second or 
third place on their ballots that they would 
receive more votes than any other flower, 
with the possible exception of the rose. 
At any rate, the flower gardens or grounds 
that are planted without some of the hardy 
lilies cannot be perfectly satisfactory. They 
have a graceful stateliness which is equaled 
by no other flower. Their queenly dignity 
never lacks naturalness, and they are free 
from any appearance of artificiality. Even 
the most recent and splendid additions to 
the list, such as the Regal lily, and the Sar¬ 
gent lily, investigation shows that we owe 
to the brave foot of the explorer rather 
than to the skillful hand of the hybridizer. 
The Lilies Stand Alone 
There is no other flower that ranks so 
high as the lily for individual beauty and 
for general effect in the garden landscape. 
One clump of tall lilies against a suitable 
background of shrubbery or evergreens will 
prove to be the focal point of attention, no 
matter how lavishly other flowers have been 
used. Their attraction is largely due to 
their simplicity—and that in itself is a ser¬ 
mon in a nutshell, or rather in a bud. on the 
whole art of garden design. Notwithstand¬ 
ing this fact, lilies have not been generally 
used for beautiful effects in landscape work. 
Too often they are planted in a bed by them¬ 
selves, in an assortment of different kinds, 
evidently designed as a beginner’s collec¬ 
tion. The stately flowers which should 
stand like queens among their pretty but 
less imposing sisters, herded together in a 
bunch by themselves! As though there had 
been a social revolution in the flower bed 
and all the innocent but offensive princesses 
had been bundled together there to await the 
decision of the council of work-a-day 
flowers as to what their fate should be! 
Certainly this is not because other uses 
for the lily are wanting! They are good for 
as wide a variety of uses as 
almost any flower that grows. 
Take for instance their ad- 
vantagesas a flower for natu¬ 
ralizing. Some of the finest 
are perfectly hardy, and will 
continue to bloom indefinite¬ 
ly from the first planting. 
Many of them grow natur¬ 
ally in open woods, or in 
meadows where they are 
shaded a good part of the 
day. Grouped in naturalis¬ 
tic effect in the shrubbery 
border or among low-grow¬ 
ing shrubs, they find quite 
an ideal condition, since the 
soil about the roots is kept 
shaded and cool, and is 
mulched naturally in the 
fall with leaves and decaying 
humus, while the tall flower 
stalks push up easily through 
When God in His Garden had striven 
On the eve of the first Sixth Day, 
And wrought from His palette the flowers 
For a sign He approved of play, 
And breathed in the petals about Him, 
As a symbol of soul — perfumed — 
He paused from His eon-long labor, 
And smiled—and the lilies bloomed! 
the shrubbery branches into the full light. 
The foliage of the shrubs sets off tbe beau¬ 
tiful blossoms to perfection. 
In more elaborate gardens, where a 
larger collection of the hardy lilies is de¬ 
sired, they may be grouped in beds in a sec¬ 
tion of the garden where they can be given 
the special soil and drainage which some of 
the less hardy varieties require. If possible, 
the bed should be placed where the blooms 
will have a suitable background—a building, 
a fence, or tall sbrubs—for in most varieties 
they are so tall and imposing themselves 
that among the ordinary flowers they look 
about as much at home as a couple of grown¬ 
ups at a children’s tea party. 
A much more effective way of utilizing 
your lilies, however, even if you have quite 
a goodly number of them, is to distribute 
them through the hardy border. They 
should be carefully placed in the back¬ 
ground, near the taller growing things, 
where they will form fit climaxes in the 
general garden scheme. As lilies are espe¬ 
cially well adapted for growing up through 
other things, they lend themselves readily 
to use in the mixed border. 
Perhaps the most effective and pleasing 
way to plant lilies where soil conditions will 
permit, is to scatter them in small, isolated 
groups, in carefully selected positions in the 
garden, against buildings or fences, against 
or in the shrubbery plantings. If the gar¬ 
dener has artistic sense enough to make 
happy selections in choosing the spots where 
these hi°Ji lights are to 
go in the general 
Madonna lilies show best against a dark background which 
their pure white, trumpet shaped flowers. Do not mass too 
garden picture, they will make a very beau¬ 
tiful effect. By a careful selection of va¬ 
rieties, flowers may be had from late June 
until frost. Since they range from 18" to 8' 
in height, the gardener has a diversity of 
material ready to his hand. 
A very simple guide to the best arrange¬ 
ment of the varieties is found in a number 
of light stakes, cut to various lengths, and 
marked with the season of bloom of the 
lilies of corresponding height. These may 
easily be tried in various positions, and will 
be of tremendous help in assisting one to 
visualize accurately the exact effects. When 
one stops to think that these plantings may 
remain for years, it seems only common 
sense to go to some trouble in getting them 
just right in the first place. 
What the Lily List Offers—■ 
Various Types 
While the list of hardy lilies looks short 
and sweet compared to the endless items in 
any comprehensive offering of tulips or 
dahlias or gladioli, it is just as complicated 
a matter to “round up” the lilies, because 
they are for the most part very different. 
While they may be classified by color or 
height or season of bloom, perhaps the clear¬ 
est presentation may be made by considering 
them in a few main groups, based for the 
most part on geographical origin. 
The Japanese lilies may first be consid¬ 
ered. Most important among these are the 
auratums and the speciosums. Everyone 
knows the “golden-banded lily of Japan.” 
It is enormous in bloom, often 8" or 10" 
across; white, spotted crimson, with a broad 
golden band down the center of each petal. 
It grows to a height of from 4' to 5' and 
flowers in August. Auratum rubro-vittatum 
is similar, but with a crimson instead of a 
golden band; while Auratum platyphyllum 
is pure white with a golden band. 
The speciosum group has steadily in¬ 
creased in popularity. They are especially 
valuable for permanent beds and borders, 
for they are among the hardiest. They at¬ 
tain a height of 3' to 4', and continue in 
flower during the entire autumn until frost. 
Speciosum album and rubrum, or roseum, 
are the two forms best 
known; the first is pure 
white and fragrant, the lat¬ 
ter shaded with pink and 
spotted with rosy crimson. 
Speciosum magnificum is the 
most deeply colored variety, 
being heavily spotted and 
shaded with rich crimson. It 
has very large flowers, and is 
especially fine in every way. 
The so-called “yellow spe¬ 
ciosum" ( Lilium Henryi ) is 
an orange or apricot yellow, 
shaded with brown ; it is very 
robust in growth, usually at¬ 
taining a height of 6'. 
The Chinese lilies have 
come into prominence re¬ 
cently through the fine work 
of Mr. E. H. Wilson, of the 
sets off Arnold Arboreum. Most im- 
thiclcly portant of the new additions 
