LILIES
Lilies, too, should have a book for themselves. My knowledge of them is
slight. _Lilium auratum_ (Auratum Lily), the grandest of all Lilies,
disappears after a few years. If large-sized bulbs are bought there
will be the first year from twenty to thirty Lilies on a stalk four
feet high, the second year seven to ten, the third year perhaps two
or three, but oftener none at all. If you then dig for the bulb, lo!
it is gone. The expense, therefore, of these Lilies is great, from
their having to be often renewed. Still, do not fail to have them, if
possible, for nothing can take their place. They bloom from the middle
of July for about a month.
I wrote to an authority on Lilies to ask the cause of this
disappearance. He told me that, as soon as planted in this country,
a microbe disease attacked them and they gradually disappeared under
its ravages. Botanists surely should find a specific, or antidote for
this; but perhaps, like some of the most terrible diseases of the human
being, it evades all research. Miss Jekyll, in her book on Lilies for
English Gardens, in speaking of _Lilium auratum_ says:
"This grand Lily, well planted, and left alone for three years,
will probably then be at its best. After this the bulbs will be
likely to have increased so much that it will be well to divide
them."
This would seem to imply that the Auratums thrive in England. Well,
they have climate in England, even if we have weather, and English
gardens will always fill American gardeners with despair.
[Illustration: _Lilium auratum_ growing behind Peonies and Columbines
that bloomed earlier
August tenth]
_Lilium candidum_, which blooms before the other Lilies, is hardy and
fragrant and increases rapidly. These Lilies must have full sun and
light soil. About every three or four years they can be separated,
which should be done as soon as the stalks turn yellow, as the bulb
makes an autumn growth. For this reason the Candidums must always be
bought and planted by the tenth of September. Other Lilies may be
planted in the spring, when the frost leaves the ground, or in October.
_Lilium speciosum rubrum_ thrives and increases in our climate, needs
a partly shaded location and, therefore, does well when planted among
Rhododendrons. It blooms after the Auratum, the end of August and first
two weeks of September.
_Lilium speciosum album_ blooms at the same time as _Lilium rubrum_. It
is a beautiful pure white Lily with wax-like curved petals, grows best
in full sun, and averages six Lilies on a stalk, although I have often
counted more.
_Lilium longiflorum_ blooms early in July. These lilies are very
much like the Bermuda Lily, except that they have, as a rule, about
four blossoms on a stalk, and are hardy. In my garden they have not
increased.
_Hansoni_, a Japanese Lily, flowering in June; bright yellow in color;
perfectly hardy and very desirable.
_Lilium Canadense_ (the Meadow Lily), yellow, red and orange,
increases, and is very satisfactory, but likes as moist a situation as
possible.
_Tigrinum_, the old Tiger Lilies, both single and double. These bloom
in July, increase rapidly, and by planting, when fully ripened, the
little black bulbils which form on the stalk, any number of bulbs can
be raised.
_Funkia subcordata_ is the old-fashioned white Day Lily of our
grandmothers' gardens. The broad leaves of this plant are almost as
handsome as the spikes of bloom. These Lilies flower best when grown in
the sun, but then the leaves turn yellow--so give them a partly shaded
place.
_Funkia cærulea_, with the blue blossom, is worthy of a place in
the garden, though far from being as effective as the white-flowered
variety. I also grow the kind with the small white and green variegated
leaves for the sake of the foliage, so useful in house decoration.
Funkias are not, botanically speaking, Lilies, but are mentioned in
this chapter because popularly known as Day Lilies and on account of
the lily-like form of their blossoms.
_Lily-of-the-valley_ should have a place in every garden. Absolutely
hardy, requiring no care, it blooms prolifically in early May,
fills the air with its fragrance, and is beloved by every one. The
German name for this flower, Mai Glöcken (May Bells) is particularly
appropriate. I have heard of one woman whose bed of these flowers,
four feet by fifty feet, has yielded as many as twenty thousand sprays
in one season. The pips can be set out the end of October or the
beginning of November. If the bed is quite large, when the Lilies have
finished blooming, some can be lifted here and there and transplanted.
As the pips increase rapidly, their places will soon be filled.
Lilies-of-the-valley do best in a partially shaded place, and require a
deep, rich soil, well mixed with leaf-mould.
* * * * *
A Lily bed should be prepared, if the place is damp and drainage not
good, by digging out the soil for three feet, and putting a foot of
cobblestones in the bottom; then fill up with a mixture of good soil,
leaf-mould and sand, and very old, well-rotted manure. In the ordinary
garden that is not wet, two feet are enough to dig out the bed, and the
cobblestones can be omitted. Lilies should always be set with a handful
of sand around the bulb, to prevent any possibility of manure coming in
contact with it, as the manure will destroy the bulb.
[Illustration: Vase of _Lilium auratum_
August second]
In my garden there is no special place prepared for the Lilies, but
they are grown in all the borders, the _Rubrums_ in the shade, the
others in the sun, and this year there have been thousands of them.
If there are no woods near, where the men can gather leaf-mould, have
the rakings of the autumn leaves put in a pile, cover with boards,
and occasionally during the spring and summer have them well forked
over; the next autumn there will be a quantity of the finest thing for
Lilies, Rhododendrons, Ferns, or indeed any kind of plant. This should
be mixed in a pile in the proportion of one wheelbarrow of mould, two
of good soil, two coal-scuttlefuls of wood-ashes, one-half barrow of
old manure and two spadefuls of fine bone-meal. There is also nothing
better for the Roses than some of this mixture.
All Lilies do better if well mulched with clippings of lawn grass or
with very old manure.
The varieties of Lilies mentioned are the easiest grown and the most
satisfactory.
Lilies should always be planted in clumps of the same kind--never less
than six, and the number increased according to the size of the garden.
Alternate clumps of a dozen each of _Lilium auratum_ and _Lilium album_
planted in a border just behind Foxgloves and Canterbury Bells will
come into bloom when these two biennials have finished, the _Auratum_
first, then the _Album_; these four flowers will keep the border gay
from early in June until the middle of September.
Lilies should be planted about eight inches deep, and have a covering
of litter late in the autumn.
[Illustration: Vase of _Lilium speciosum album_ and _rubrum_
September sixth]
SPRING-FLOWERING BULBS