HINTS ON LILY CULTURE 
Probably no one garden will grow all lilies well; but 
| am growing all those listed and about fifty more with 
fair success on an acre of ground in Seattle, It is rath- 
er heavy loam underlaid with hardpan, but rolling enough 
for surface drainage. |! have a drain tile through the 
middle of the tract. 
if your conditions are favorable you can just plant the 
bulbs and leave them alone. Usually some precautions are 
needed. All lilies like good drainage. Most of them will 
grow in a good sandy loam where water does not stand. 
Even the so-called bog lilies want their bulbs above water 
level. If your garden does not slope enough for drainage 
the lily bed should be raised. Do not dig a hole and fill 
it with gravel. That collects stagnet water which will kill 
your bulbs if they must stand in it. 
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Air drainage is also important. A little circulation of 
air during the night will often prevent frost damage when 
early spring growth in an air pocket a few feet away will 
be killed. And a brisk breeze that dries the foliage ates 
a rain or heavy dew may keep botrytis from damaging your 
plants. Lilies thrive and look best with certain compan- 
ion plants; but do not surround them with so much shrubbery 
that they get no air or sun. 
Some sunlight is indispensable; but most lilies apprec- 
iate the shade of neighboring plants at least part of the 
day. Loosely-growing herbaceous plants shelter lilies from 
destructive winds as well as shade the soil. Too much 
shade results in soft growth and few flowers.Lilies planted 
too near a building usually suffer from lack of water. Be- 
side a fence is better. In the filtered sunshine of Puget 
Sound most lilies thrive in the open field--hence our com- 
mercial plantings that produce strong, thrifty bulbs. 
If possible, the ground should be prepared for planting 
some months in advance. The incorporation of leaf-mold or 
other humus will improve most soils, especially heavy clay 
or light, sandy soils. 
if bulbs are to be planted near vigorous trees or shrubs 
a wooden box (like an apple box) should be sunk and the 
bulbs planted in that. The boards may deter the tree roots 
until the lilies become established. 
To prevent damage by mice or squirrels, the bulbs may be 
surrounded by a wire netting. The material sold as hardware- 
