LAVENDER is a precious, fragrant, hardy bush. Its sweet-smelling leaves and blue flowers are ever welcome, whether in the border, or as a low hedge, or standing alone. A very light soil and sunshine are essential. Propagate by cuttings in early autumn out of doors in a sheltered, but not shady, place and plant out when rooted, or divide in March, planting out the rooted slips one foot apart in light soil. Lavender may be used to beautify walks. Bushes in some sunny corner of the garden are pretty for picturesque growth and color. Lavender can be grouped so as to give a touch of silvery gray to the border. It permits itself to be clipped, and it must be cared for, or it will grow twisted and gnarled. If flower-spikes are desired, the lavender must be clipped in autumn; if the gray leaf is all that is desired then it must be clipped in the spring before the young twigs have begun to grow. LILIES. The lily bed should be deep--three feet if possible,--the soil open and porous without being light. There cannot be a better material than sound fibrous loam with which leaf-mold has been mixed. Lilies are rarely benefited by animal manure. The bed should be sheltered from boisterous winds, for lilies lose half their beauty if it becomes necessary to stake their graceful stems, and partially shaded so that the sun does not parch the ground, or prematurely wither their dainty petals. In times of drought the beds should be given a copious _soaking of an hour or two's duration_. The Madonna Lily is a great favorite and is very effective in small clumps against a background of shrubs and in borders. Unfortunately it is subject to disease. It is bulbous. Propagate by offsets, scales, or very slowly by seed. It likes rich, well-dressed soil and half-shade. Avoid contact with manure. The Madonna Lily flowers in June and July with white blossoms. The Martagon has much reflexed flowers on long spire-like racemes and is light-purple with darker spots. The _Martagon dalmaticum_ grows from six to seven feet. It has dark purple flowers. There is also a white kind. Both are very hardy and succeed in open borders. The _Chalcedonicum_, or Scarlet Turk's-Cap, grows from three to four feet high and has waxy flowers of bright vermilion. This is the _brightest_ of all lilies. It is very hardy and easy to cultivate.