Should Naomi Slade’s books come with a warning? As I found myself writing down yet another ‘must try’ variety from her new book, Lilies, it seemed sensible. There’s no doubt that reading them is dangerous.
I admit to being a bit of a plant collector. Not for everything but I do have quite a few snowdrops, tulips and dahlias. It seems lilies could well be added to the list.
I was given a copy of the book in return for a fair review.
Her latest portrait of a plant world star follows the same format as volumes on dahlias and hydrangeas, which I’ve reviewed in the past. Colourful, thanks to stunning photography by Georgianna Lane, they’re packed with information yet easy to read because of Naomi’s lively and amusing style.
Lilies, we’re told “are familiar because they are ancient”. The first lilies date back to around 19.5 million years ago and they are depicted in art through the centuries.
They’re not just achingly beautiful either, having been used in both bridal bouquets and funeral wreaths, as food, and even as a medieval cure for baldness.
They also span the political divide with the Easter lily a symbol of remembrance for Republicans who died in the Irish Easter Rising, and the orange Lilium bulbiferum used by the Loyalist Orange Order.
In the garden, many plants have the term lily attached to them but this book sets out to “cast these false liles aside”, concentrating instead on the genus Lilium.
And what a varied genus it is ranging from the dainty American meadow lily (Lilium canadense var. coccineum) described as looking like “a particularly gorgeous and well-designed art deco lampshade” to ‘Silk Road’, which can make 5-8ft-tall with huge trumpet-shaped blooms.
The bulk of the book deals with more than 50 different varieties, subdivided into types – ‘Elegant and Dainty’, ‘Wild and Wonderful’, ‘Fiery and Fabulous’ and ‘Majestic and Magnificent’.
Each lily is described, often with an outline of how it came to be named, there are notes on eventual height, whether it is scented and how to grow it successfully. A photograph completes the portrait.
The descriptions are evocative: ‘Guinea Gold’, has flowers that have “the golden-bronze tones of a brandy-snap basket filled with creme Chantilly and a splash of blackcurrant sauce”; ‘Magic Star’ is “striped like a pair of witches’ stockings’ and has a central magenta streak “a little like a sucked stick of seaside rock”. ‘Distant Drum’, we’re told, “must have supped deeply from the cup of punk culture”.
Some of the lilies are familiar – ‘Star Gazer’ is a household name – others are more unusual, including ‘Lady Alice’, which has orange and white reflexed petals.
While many of them follow the pretty pastel or white path, some are dramatically different. ‘Mascara’ is an almost black Asiatic hybrid, ‘Viva la Vida’ is a mix of yellow and raspberry, while ‘Apricot Fudge’ is not only an unusual caramel orange, it has a flower that is more reminiscent of a tulip than a lily.
Advice on which lilies to choose, how to grow them successfully and propagation round off this comprehensive exploration of a beautiful flower.
Lilies by Naomi Slade, photographs by Georgianna Lane, is published by Pavilion Books on May 13, 2021, priced at £25.
You can order a signed copy at £20 up until publication date via Naomi’s website. It can also be pre-ordered here for £17.85. (If you order through this link, I get a small commission. The price you pay is not affected.)
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