The inspiration for this picture came during a boating expedition Sargent took on the Thames at Pangbourne in September 1885, with the American artist Edwin Austin Abbey, during which he saw Chinese lanterns hanging among trees and lilies. He began the picture while staying at the home of the painter F.D. Millet at Broadway, Worcestershire, shortly after his move to Britain from Paris. At first he used the Millets's five-year-old daughter Katharine as his model, but she was soon replaced by Polly and Dorothy (Dolly) Barnard, the daughters of the illustrator Frederick Barnard, because they had the exact haircolour Sargent was seeking. Dolly, aged eleven, is on the left; Polly, aged seven, is on the right. A sketchbook at the Fogg Museum, Cambridge, includes Sargent's outline designs for the painting, and two drawings at the Tate (Tate Gallery A00850-1) record the precise poses he required for the girls' profiles.

　He worked on the picture, one of the few figure compositions he ever made out of doors in the Impressionist manner, from September to early November 1885, and again at the Millets's new home, Russell House, Broadway, during the summer of 1886, completing it some time in October. Sargent was able to work for only a few minutes each evening when the light was exactly right. He would place his easel and paints beforehand, and pose his models in anticipation of the few moments when he could paint the mauvish light of dusk. As autumn came and the flowers died, he was forced to replace the blossoms with artificial flowers.

　The picture was both acclaimed and decried at the 1887 Royal Academy exhibition. The title comes from the song 'The Wreath', by the eighteenth-century composer of operas Joseph Mazzinghi, which was popular in the 1880s. Sargent and his circle frequently sang around the piano at Broadway. The refrain of the song asks the question 'Have you seen my Flora pass this way?' to which the answer is 'Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose'.

百度翻译：http://fanyi.baidu.com

　　《康乃馨、百合与玫瑰花》是萨金特精心绘制的传世经典作品，很多人会被这幅异常优美的画所深深地吸引，并产生一种莫名的感动。这幅画描绘的是两个孩子在花丛中点灯笼的情景。我们看到，在如诗的画面里伫立着两个天使般的小女孩，她们带着天真的梦想正小心翼翼地把灯笼挂在花枝上，灯笼为鲜花抹上一层温暖的光芒，于是，娇艳的花朵变得沉默而高贵，柔和而纯美。烛火柔软的光芒也为两个孩子笼上一层温暖的光芒，映衬出女孩活泼健康的脸庞。

　　此刻，人与自然圆融无间地在这个生生不息的生命空间中交流了。当我们站在孩子们的身后，注视着她们的天真时，我们能感觉到自然与天性、心灵与纯洁、人与天地，原来是如此的和谐一体。

　　与题材相比，这幅画最具有魅力的是画面千变万化的丰富色彩。原本简单的色彩在光影的巧妙捕捉下变得微妙而丰富，营造出梦境般的氛围，令人赏心悦目。令人惊叹的是，虽然画家重视色彩的表现，但花的形状依然历历可见，丰富的色彩和花的芬芳融为一体。

　　这种对色彩的运用有明显的印象派风格。画家萨金特并非印象派成员，但他非常善于用光线表现颜色多层次的内涵，作品总有一种妙不可言的诗意。