The function of the garden in residential houses has changed considerably over time. In earlier times, the garden was mostly used as a vegetable garden for growing your own fruit and vegetables and only the wealthy had an ornamental garden and a herb garden. One of the earliest examples of ornamental and herb gardens are the famous gardens of Emperor Charlemagne. A special detail is the list issued by Charlemagne with 94 plants that had to be planted in all the imperial gardens. At the top of that list are the lily and the rose, both important symbols in medieval art, the list also includes 73 herbs and vegetables, sixteen types of fruit trees (including vines) and five plants that provide raw materials for textiles or dyes.

Due to increasing urbanization and thanks to the growth of prosperity, people got an increased need for ornamental flowers and plants in the garden. Therefore, more and more ornamental plants appeared in the gardens. Of course, the ornamental garden had to distinguish itself from any random wasteland where native flowers and plants thrived. This is why there was a demand for striking exotic flowers and plants that could survive cold winters. It soon became apparent that bulbous plants in particular lend themselves well to this. Because bulbs in a state of rest could be transported over great distances for a long time without conditioned transport, Dutch explorers and merchants took them from all over the world. The best-known bulbous plants that they imported are the tulip, the lily, the hyacinth, the narcissus, the gladiolus, the dahlia, the crocus and the snowdrop (galanthus).

The crocus flowers from January to April, the daffodil flowers from March to May, the hyacinth flowers in April and May, the tulip flowers from April to June, the gladiolus and the lily bloom from June to August , the dahlia flowers from July to November and the galanthus flowers from December to March. The arrival of these flower bulbs made it possible to have various flowers all year round in the garden in a cheap way. All flower bulbs thrive in a perennial border or in a pot. In addition, the crocus, snowdrop and daffodil also thrive in the lawn if they are mowed after growth, allowing even more flowering in the garden. Because the tulip, lily, hyacinth, daffodil, gladiolus, dahlia, crocus and snowdrop require little care after planting, they were also suitable for park planting. The crocus, the snowdrop and the daffodil were discovered by municipalities to brighten up roadsides and embankments in the spring.

Of all bulbous plants, the lily is the crop with the most diverse natural appearances. The wild lily is subdivided into 7 main groups on the basis of these appearances, namely the Martagon group, the Pseudolirium group, the Liriotypus group, the Archelirion group, the Sinomartagon group, the Leucolirion group and the Daurolirion group.

The Martagon or Turkish lily has a yellow scaly bulb that sits deep in the ground. From this grows a straight stem with lanceolate leaves that grow in a whorl halfway up the stem. The flowers grow at the top of the stem on a nodding peduncle. The flower gets its name from the fact that it resembles a turban.

The liriotypus lily also has a straight stem with lanceolate leaves, but these do not grow in whorls but unevenly distributed over the stem. The flowers grow at the top of the stem on a nodding pedicel and are on average larger than those of the martagon and pseudolirium group.

The archelirion lily also has a straight stem with lanceolate leaves that grow unevenly spaced along the stem. The lilies of the archelirion group have large flowers. These flowers also grow on a nodding peduncle at the top of the stem.

The sinomartagon lily also has a straight stem with lanceolate leaves that grow unevenly spaced along the stem. The lilies of the sinomartagon group have medium-sized flowers. These flowers also grow on a nodding peduncle at the top of the stem. The most famous lily from this group is the pumilum lily.

The leucolirion lily also has a straight stem with lanceolate leaves that grow unevenly spaced along the stem. The lilies of the leucolirion group have large elongated trumpet-shaped flowers. These flowers also grow on a nodding peduncle at the top of the stem. The best-known lily from this group is the longiflorum lily.

The daurolirion lily also has a straight stem with lanceolate leaves that grow unevenly spaced along the stem. The lilies of the daurolirion group have medium-sized flowers. These flowers also grow at the top of the stem, but unlike the lilies from all other groups, they are directed upwards.

The modern lily varieties as we know them today have almost all originated from crossings and selections from these 7 main groups. More information about these modern lily varieties can be found in this article.