The origins of so many garden plants are rooted in the mists of ancient civilisations. When and for what reason they were first cultivated is largely a matter of conjecture.
In the first century A.D., Pliny the Elder wrote in his Natural History that next to the rose there is no fairer flower or one of greater estimation than the lily. Pliny was, in fact, writing of a flower whose beauty had been appreciated for 2,500 years before he was born. Down through man's history the lily story can be traced. A fragment from a Cretan vase carries a lily flower motif. Assyrian architecture appreciates and records their beauty in stone. Greek and Roman writers extol the white flowers as an emblem of purity. Lilium candidum, the Madonna lily was, to early medieval writers and theologians, the celestial flower-emblem of St John the Baptist.
Lily bulbs made into a bread have been eaten by those suffering from dropsy, and the flowers infused in oil were applied to tumours. The petals when steeped in brandy were reputed to have powerful healing properties, and infusions of bulbs or petals were also prescribed in the treatment of coughs and asthma. Important though all these qualities must have been when medicine relied greatly on faith and little on science, it is as a garden flower that the lily has held a secure place over many centuries.
Precisely how many species of Lilium there are in cultivation is difficult to discover. A loose estimate of those native to temperate regions in the Northern Hemisphere would be between eighty and a hundred. Lilies are amongst the most beautiful of bulbous plants, though, as would be expected in so large a family with a wide diversity of habitats, not all of them are easily grown under garden conditions.
Most of the species grow in climates where the seasons are well defined - cold winters, a steady progression through spring to a dry summer with very hot sunshine. The bulbs are safe in winter under a covering of snow, then, during summer's drought, they are insulated by a mulch of rotting plant debris, their roots in many cases fed by moisture which percolates through the soil from melting snow. Indeed, when comparing the climate in this country with that enjoyed by lilies in their native habitat, it is surprising that so many of them survive and nourish.
In my experience, shelter is absolutely essential; lilies, more than most plants, detest being teased about by the wind or desiccated by draughts. A free-draining, lime-free soil which never dries out even in the hottest summer provides exactly the right root conditions. This is a situation I struggled to achieve on a heavy clay soil without success. Eventually, by raising the general level some 12 inches (30 cm) above that of the surrounding soil I provided conditions in which I grew over forty species and varieties very well. Given good drainage, most soils which are lime-free when prepared with generous dressings of humus in the form of rotted manure, peat, leaf mould, shredded bark or similar rottable material will grow lilies of quality. The ideal would be if the site sloped gently south west. A deep bed of humus topped up with 12 inches (30 cm) of sandy loam would grow any but the greenhouse lilies.
In areas where the soil is alkaline, the choice should be restricted to those species which are tolerant of lime and, indeed, there are a good number of these including such established favourites as L. candidum, L. regale, L. martagon, and L. monadelphum. L. candidum, the Madonna lily, is one of the oldest in cultivation, being featured on vases dating from the Minoan period. Where the Madonna lily originally came from is not certain, but it seems to be so well established in the Balkan Peninsula that this could be the natural home of this lovely lily. Hundreds of years before the birth of Christ it was being cultivated as a medicinal plant. No doubt, traders distributed bulbs throughout the Mediterranean region and, wherever it found conditions congenial, colonies grew. Thus it is now found as a garden escape in several regions of the Mediterranean. The conquering armies of Rome carried the bulbs to the furthest outposts of a vast empire once policed by the legions - possibly even to Great Britain where the Venerable Bede in his writings used it as a symbol of the Resurrection.
The monks of the Middle Ages cultivated L. candidum in their physic gardens alongside other medicinal plants. It is one of the hardiest, most easily cultivated of lilies, given conditions to suit it, though it is one of the species which defies exact definitions of cultivation. All that the optimistic gardener can do is plant the bulbs in late August into a lime soil - not too deeply, no more than 2 inches (5 cm) of loose soil above them. Within a few weeks basal leaves grow from scales in the centre of the bulb and, once established, it should be left undisturbed. Low-growing shrubs can be planted to supply root shade while still permitting the flowers to reach up to the sunlight. Only certain forms of the Madonna lily have ever seeded in my garden, and then only sparsely, in spite of my hand-pollination when the flowers appeared in early summer.
Lilium bulbiferum croceum, the orange lily, is a native of Savoy, Corsica, and Lombardy, and is a robust, easily grown bulb. The only difference that I can discover between this variety and L. bulbiferum is that of colour. The former has orange-petalled flowers, while those of L. bulbiferum have a distinct yellow overtone to the orange. Both will thrive in any ordinary garden soil, whether acid or alkaline, providing that the drainage is good. For centuries the orange lily has enjoyed the sort of popularity that only a tolerant, easily grown plant achieves. When left alone, it will in time form strong, well-flowered colonies. Both L. bulbiferum croceum and L. bulbiferum, unlike L. candidum which roots from the base of the bulb only, produce roots on the stem. This dual system of rooting is why so much importance is attached to making certain all lily bulbs are planted at the proper depth. The species that root from the base of the bulb only should be shallowly planted. Those that root from the base and from that part of the stem immediately above the bulbs need to be planted deeper - 5 inches (12.5 cm) or more instead of the 2 inches (5 cm) of a basal rooting type.
For L. bulbiferum croceum and L. bulbiferum a depth of 5 inches (12 cm) would be sufficient.
The various species of lilies I have seen growing in the wild, include L. pardalinum and L. columbianum. I found L. par-dalinum growing on a sunbaked hillside in California. Its versatility is demonstrated by the fact that I also saw the same species growing in the giant redwood forests in the northern part of this state. L. pardalinum is a part-parent of the Bellingham hybrids, which do so well at the Savill gardens. L. columbianum also has its home in N. America, and I found this high up on a hillside in Oregon. All species seem to enjoy close association with other plants, be they trees or shrubs. These give protection, particularly to the young flowering stems early in the growing season. Then, in due course, the debris of falling leaves forms a protective mulch which rots to enrich the soil.
There is a probability that the Turk's-cap, L. martagon is a native of this country. A colony which I saw in Devon some years ago, growing wild in rough grass alongside a copse, looked very much at home. The evidence is by no means conclusive -early writers on the subject describe it as a native of mainland Europe. L. martagon is the most widely distributed of all the species, its range extends from Portugal through Europe to Siberia, Turkestan, and Mongolia. As would be expected, the variations in soils over such a wide area must be enormous, and this is reflected in the way L. martagon has adapted to garden conditions. They are remarkable in the arrangement of the numerous dark green leaves, usually in the form of whorls round the stem. The flower stem can be anything up to 6 feet (1.8 m) in height. The pendulous flowers with turned-back petals and conspicuously protruding stamens are usually purple, but varieties are available with white, pink, red-purple, and almost black flowers - from three to as many as forty to a stem. Of all the L. martagon varieties, those with pure white flowers and dark green foliage are the most pleasing. The roots form at the base of the bulb, so they should be planted no more than 3 to 4 inches (7.5 to 10 cm) deep.
Another species which I find most attractive is L. albanicum. As its name suggests, it is to be found in southern Europe. Last year I found it growing on the edge of a pine forest in northern Greece quite near the border with Albania. Standing anything between 2 and 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 m) high, it carried the most delicate yellow flowers.
Scent, like beauty, is in the nose or eyes of the recipient, for L. pyrenaicum and, indeed, L. martagon are described as having a foul odour. Possibly because my memories of both these easily cultivated lilies are of seeing them in the most pleasant of circumstances I may be biassed, for the scent to me is pleasant enough. Of the early writers, John Parkinson is the first to depict what he describes as the yellow Turk's-cap, so L. pyrenaicum is a late sixteenth- or early seventeenth-century introduction. This is surprising, for an easy-going species, native to the Pyrenees, is almost local when compared to the Madonna lily. Very easy to grow, the base-rooting bulbs
planted 4 inches (10 cm) deep soon establish to push up greenish-yellow flowers with brown spots and brilliant orange anthers on stems 3 feet (90 cm) high in June.
The bright orange flowers of the tiger lily, flaunting themselves against the shiny waxen leaves of a laurel hedge in August, were such an accepted part of life's pattern that they conditioned me into thinking of L. tigrinum as one of the older species in cultivation. In fact, bulbs were sent to Kew from China in 1804. The Chinese grew them as a farm crop for the sake of the bulbs, which are edible. It is a stem-rooting lily which needs planting 6 inches (15 cm) deep. The orange-red petals curl back to show a purple spotted interior. A form, introduced by Robert Fortune from Korea in 1850, grows taller, with stems covered in a cottony pubescence and bearing from twenty to thirty large flowers.
Another species from the Far East which has won favour with indoor gardeners is the Easter lily, L. longiflorum. This has its origins in Japan. Its long, white, trumpet-shaped flowers and its ability to be forced easily make it a very popular house plant.
In his book The Lilies of Eastern Asia, E. H. Wilson, the plant hunter who introduced L. regale, writes: 'This lily has a surprisingly limited distribution, being confined to about fifty miles of the narrow semi-arid valley of the Min River in extreme Western Szechuan, between 2500 and 6000 ft [750 and 1800m] altitude - a region where the summers are hot and the winters are cold. From the last week in April to the first week in July, according to altitude the blossoms of this lily transform a desolate, lonely region into a veritable garden of beauty, and its fragrance fills the air.'
Along the valley, according to Wilson's report, the lily is plentiful, growing among grasses and low shrubs. So far as is known at the present time, this wild, lonely valley of the Min river is the only place where L. regale grows wild. Mr E. H. Wilson sent home bulbs to the nursery firm of Messrs Vietch in 1904. It was one of the most important plant introductions of his career, for this, one of the loveliest of lilies, has been a major influence in the breeding of new varieties. The slender, flexible, yet strong flower stems grow 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 m) tall and are crowned by a number of funnel-shaped blooms. These are shaded brown, fading to pink on the outside, while the inside is yellow in the centre graduating to pure white at the rim. It is a superb lily for the garden - the bulbs can be planted in the autumn or spring, 6 inches (15 cm) deep, as they are stem-rooting. New stock can be grown from seed for flowering in two years, thus amassing large quantities of bulbs for growing in pots, or for general planting.
Though L. auratum, the golden-rayed lily of Japan, was brought to this country by Mr J. G. Vietch some forty years before L. regale and caused something of a sensation when exhibited, it has not the same sound constitution and perennial qualities. Maybe the plant's immediate popularity led to overproduction, for it quickly becomes infected with a weakening virus disease. In Japan it grows wild in areas ranging from Honshu to the north, and down into Hokkondo in the south west. One form grows in volcanic detritus on the slopes of Mount Fuji Yama - a condition it would be hard to reproduce in a garden. Though L. auratum is virus-prone, it has made a most important contribution as a parent of numerous hybrids. Once again, it is Mr E. F. Wilson who, after seeing them growing in the wild, gives the soundest advice on their cultivation. Healthy bulbs planted from 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) deep in not-too-fertile, lime-free soil where the drainage is perfect and amongst shrubs which protect the young growth from sunlight, will thrive as they do on their native heath. I grew several varieties of L. auratum in open woodland amongst azaleas whose roots ensured that no surplus moisture lingered over-long, and they flowered well for eight years. Deep planting is important, as this is a stem-rooting species, and an annual top dressing of leaf-mould will be beneficial. The flowers are large, often 12 inches (30 cm) across, and carried in profusion on tall stems. Ivory white in colour, they are spotted maroon to red and with a distinct gold bar down each petal. Add to the superb flower a fragrance which rejoices the garden from July to October if several varieties are planted, and this lily becomes a paragon of garden plants.
