LILIES - RHS Lily Group
LILIES - RHS Lily Group
LILIES - RHS Lily Group
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affordable book with extensive information on the subject can usually obtain this<br />
work for around £10 to £15.<br />
1943 A Book of Lilies (Dr P. Fred Stoker)<br />
A delightful little book that was published during the war in the King Penguin<br />
series and was restricted to 48 pages. Dr Fred Stoker was a very keen lily exhibitor<br />
with an extensive knowledge of the subject, and he was also a contributor to one<br />
of Elwes’ supplements. There are two plus points to this work. His English is<br />
concise; every word clearly means something, and there is a series of 1/12 colour<br />
plates at the rear of the book reproduced from Elwes’ great Monograph.<br />
1947 Lilies for Every Garden (This work supersedes an earlier book, 1929)<br />
Isabella Preston is probably better known for her work on Syringa x prestoniae.<br />
A number of varieties were raised in various shades of pink. Regrettably the<br />
names have become confused, however they are superb subjects for the large<br />
garden. During the 1930s to 1950s she was well-known for her work on lily<br />
hybridisation. She was one of the first people to apply scientific principles of<br />
plant breeding in an attempt to raise disease-free hardy hybrids which would<br />
withstand the rigours of the Canadian climate.<br />
1950 Lilies of the World (W.D. Woodcock & W.S. Stearn)<br />
William Stearn who started off as a bookshop assistant, ultimately became one<br />
of the world’s greatest botanists and with a concise and precise mind brought<br />
perfection to almost everything he touched. This book is essentially an updated<br />
Woodcock and Coutts. However it has gone up from 242 pages to 431 pages. The<br />
botanical information which was poor in the early edition has been improved,<br />
and there is a much wider coverage of species. Like the 1935 work it can be<br />
obtained at a reasonable price.<br />
1961 The Complete Book of Lilies (de Graaff, Rockwell & Grayson)<br />
The great Dutch-American lily grower Jan de Graaff produced three books on<br />
the subject. One on his own (1951) and another two with garden writers. Oddly<br />
enough the garden writers provided more interest to his work. On this 1961<br />
publication (pity about the title) he co-operated with Rockwell and Grayson, two<br />
well-known American garden writers. This book with 352 pages gives extensive<br />
coverage of the subject with interesting notes on plant breeding.<br />
1963 Garden Lilies (M.E. Leeburn)<br />
The author of this book lived in Northern Ireland and this work supersedes the<br />
one published in 1955. This is a superior work and gives a practical insight into<br />
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