The Madonna lily first came to the attention of the man in the “dawn of prehistory.” This was in the part of the world traditionally associated with the Garden of Eden. Whether hungry people discovered and cherished the plant for the food value of the bulb or whether gardeners — their acre gardeners then — were delighted with the beauty of its bloom we shall never know.
It could be the latter, for the capital of the Elamite Kingdom was called Susa which means the City of the Lilies. This was earlier than 2350 B. C.
The lily was native in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates — in all other areas of the Near and Middle East what seem to be wild colonies today are “escapes” from cultivation.
A Link with Old Testament Times
From Susa and other parts of that almost legendary land, the lily traveled thousands of miles over mountains and deserts. rivers and seas. How it reached its new and distant homes is a matter of pleasant conjecture.
There were trade routes then as now and it could have been taken, like spices, as an article of commerce for food or garden decoration. Plant explorers roamed far and wide, too; several thousand miles was a long journey then, but still, they could have sought the lily out.
Nomad tribes, roaming with their tents, their flocks, their household goods, and their granaries could well have carried bulbs with them as a staple article of food: perhaps planting it where the pastures were green for a year or two. Before they moved on; perhaps simply dropping a scale casually on fertile soil Hs they were unpacking or preparing the edible bulb for a meal.
Entry into Egypt before Jacob
The Egyptian word for lotus and the various Semetie words for lily are so closely related that it is safe to assume that one derives from the other — though which is the chicken and which the egg is a matter for the archaeologists to determine. However, the lily seems to have made its entry into Egypt much earlier than Jacob and his sons, for they were cast as late as 1610 B. C.
It was greatly valued in Egypt and a bulb buried in a mummy case is still intact in the Louver. As early as Homer it was so thoroughly at home in Greece. Crete and Italy that it was taken for granted and no records exist as to when or how it came.
Old civilizations crumbled and. as they fell, the lily moved into the new that was taking from the old what they had to offer. By the time of the Roman Empire, the white lily was one of the most valued of all garden plants. It had become exclusively an ornamental try; it is for this purpose that it has been retained to the present day.
Strangely for such a luxuriant and exotic a plant. it has long been known as a symbol of innocence and purity: Susanna (meaning lily) the Chaste; anal, by the time of the Renaissance, it was known as the madonna lily or Saint Joseph’s lily — in either ease a symbol of virginity.
Many famous paintings of the Aladonna, particularly those of the Italian roasters executed from the Middle ages up to the seventeenth century, feature stately spikes of this ancient flower often arranged in a water jug.
Today, after six thousand years or more, it. is still a highly-favored garden plant. Unlike most that have been in cultivation for such a period, it has undergone no man-made transformation but is still identical to the plant that was native to a single valley long, long ago.
Commercially it is grown in many parts of Europe, but the majority of bulbs which come to us from European sources originate in Northern France, Holland, and England. It is grown most successfully in this country too — largely in central New York State, Pennsylvania, and the Pacific Northwest.
Two superb seed-grown forms are becoming increasingly available, L. candid um Salonika and the form known as the Cascade Strain.
It is an easy lily to grow and in most areas of this country so prolific it hurts one Call well expect it to escape and. in time, become naturalized (much as having the Chinese Tiger-lily, L. tigrinum or the European catnip.
Rules for Successful Growth
Cultural preferences are simple. Sun, especially morning sun, is important. It is benefited by air space and, if possible, some air movement around it. The plank prefers clay to light soil and lime to acid — but these are not essential.
Fertilizers such as bone meal, well-rotted manure, or compost may be used freely. The location should not be damp or, at least, it must be Iva drained. However, any of these rules may be broken — they are not requirements. The writer has seen it interplanted with azaleas and remembers well a magnificent stand in two spots under maple branches.
In some areas of the extreme northern parts of the country, it does tend on occasion to be uncertain. The problems have never been clearly defined, but would seem to be a combination of adverse factors: a series of late frosts in Spring that weaken the plant and make it liable to the onslaught of the fungi of basal rot which are present in many soils: protracted, damp Springs: too acid soils.
In those gardens where it has been uncertain. it. is suggested that it be planted where it is protected from late frosts. Air drainage, the shelter of a building, or overhanging tree branches all serve this function.
Planting Time
Bulbs usually arrive from the nursery anytime from the middle of August until mid-October and should be planted with the top of the bulb two to three inches below the surface of the soil and, approximately, a foot apart. They can be planted through November with perfect safety.
Late planting is a problem for the nurseryman and not the gardener, for it is he who must keep the births relatively dormant until they are to be set out. During the Fall most bulbs will send up a rosette of basal leaves, though newly-planted bulbs may fail to do so the first season.
In Spring these leaves can be cut off and burned as it is quite likely that they have acquired Botrytis river in the Winter. Once growth starts in Spring the young shoots and the ground around the Bulbs should be kept dusted with a copper fungicide or Bordeaux until the weather settles and becomes dry and warm.
From that point on, they need no attention aside from routine weedings. The stems will start to turn brown in mid-to-late July, and once they have died completely should be cut and burned—not put on the compost heap.
The Problem of Botrytis
The only problem this lily offers in the average garden arises from its susceptibility to Botrytis. This is an ugly and disfiguring fungus that attacks the leaves and occasionally even the stems or buds. Sun, air movement, and dry weather have already been mentioned as the best preventatives.
Precautionary measures and treatment. consist of the removal of the basal leaves in Spring and dusting both ground and plant with a copper fungicide or Bordeaux. In an exceptionally damp season, it might be simpler to use a spray mixed with one of the new spreader-sticker chemicals so that it will stay on the plant during rainy spells.
Suggestions for Grouping
Traditionally the madonna lily is planted on the border with delphinium. This is a striking combination and one that never seems to become hackneyed. But other groupings are effective, too: with L. hansom”. and/or the Backhouse Hybrids; with the tall yellow spires of Thermopsis: growing from soft lavender clouds of thick runt or out of pink heuchera: with rose or blue canterbury bells all of these are excellent.
It is thoroughly nice with a ground cover of apricot violas, and Miss Isabella Preston likes it against rambler roses. We have not tried it but should think that in those gardens where they flower together, it might well be combined with Oriental poppies.
These plant shapes make a good foil for each other and some of the new and more subtle tones of the Oriental poppy would be given clearer definition by contrast with the white of the lilies. The novelist, Rex Stout, has masses of them in his courtyard, interplanted with low-growing polyantha roses against a concrete wall that is painted deep and brilliant blue.
The tall and stately sterns make this lily completely appropriate for the formal garden. They may be used in isolated colonies for emphasis against a decorative wall or hedge or massed in long banks against the simple, clipped green hedge or curt-stone wall.
Old faded-red brick or weathered wood will both gain depth and richness behind these lilies and, in their turn, bring out the delicate glow of the white petals. Where a path or alli-Ce opens to a vista, long rows of the madonna lily will give even more enchantment when used to flank the walk.
A warning is indicated here: the plants should not be too close to passersby as the pollen stains badly on contact.
As everybody knows, Lilium rancid um is a sweetly-fragrant lily. The scent is not so strong as that of either L. auratum or L. regale and does not have the same tendency to get heavier at night — hence. For those to whom strong scents are unattractive, it can safely be used in quantity – and close to the open windows of the house.
44659 by Alan Macneil